Intermission

While we sit here in Rio Rancho until the Balloon Fiesta I thought I would regale you with some interesting and quirky things we have encountered on our trip so far.  And the only way that I could keep them straight is by doing them in state order.  But I need to let you know that I am working with two books and trying to see as much as we can is a little difficult.  Our main book is an excellent one that takes you step by step through this journey as we travel '66, but sometimes he does go off route if there is something he thinks is worthy of discovery.  Our second book does the same thing, but not with the same detail.  The only problem I have with going "further afield" is that the directions are a little sketchy in that they will say "west of town on route such-n-such you  will find so-n-so.  Problem with that is they do not put in the mileage or any other focus point for you to look for.  So we have probably missed quite a few things.  Also, like I said in my last post, if we stopped at every museum and/or antique shop they suggest we would be on the road for months!  Now with that said, let's go!

Illinois:
They love their "three giant brothers" in this state.  If you have ever seen large or giant statues of  men that look like Paul Bunyan holding an axe or a muffler or something like that, that is what these "giants" are.  And they are well loved here.  One is dressed in a spacesuit, one holds a hot dog and the third holds an American flag.
There are few places where original '66 is abandoned, but you walk (or drive) on some of it.  The concrete is cracked and grass is coming up through the cracks giving it a very depressed look, and it goes parallel with the newer section of '66.
Bloomington is the home of McLean Stevenson of M*A*S*H and his cousin Adlai Stevenson, but you would never know because there is no notifications that we could see.  BUT it is also the world's sole source of BEER NUTS!!!!!
We took a side trip just so we could go by the town of Funks Grove.  I mean how many times can you see a place called Funks Grove?  Also they are the home of Funks Grove Maple SIRIP (correct spelling), sold since 1891.
Springfield we already told you about the Abe Lincoln stuff, but we didn't tell you about having lunch at the Cozy Drive-In.  So what you say?  Well, I will have you know that the Cozy Drive-In is home to the original CORN DOG!
The Luna Café in Mitchell has it's history with the gangsters including Al Capone.  Also gambling and "ladies of the night" were in residence there and the neon sign out front would tell when the "ladies" were there by lighting the "cherry" on the sign.

Missouri:
Stanton is home to the Meramec Caverns ((which were advertised for MILES before ever reaching them) and the Jesse James Wax Museum.  They claim the outlaw didn't die in 1881, but in 1952 under the name J. Frank Dalton.
Bourbon tickled me when we saw the huge water tower with just the word Bourbon on it.  Imagine a whole tower full of bourbon!
In Buckhorn another sign got me giggling - there is an adult bookstore by the road and a sign that advertises it and right below the sign is a bowling pin (with no bowling alley in sight) - go figure.
Marshfield is the hometown of Dr. Edwin Hubble, the astronomer and namesake of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Kansas:
This was the shortest route that '66 took.  It is only 13 miles on the Southwest corner of the state. 
In Baxter Springs there is Murphy's Restaurant hitch is housed in the former Baxter National Bank.  Checks are positioned under the glass table tops and the ladies room is the former bank vault.

Oklahoma;
Commerce was the former hometown of Mickey Mantle.  Unfortunately there has been no push to point this out at all.  There is a little league field named after his dad, Mutt and the book mentions his former "home" address, but there is nothing there.  There is also supposed to be a small display in a park commemorates a local constable who was killed by Bonnie and Clyde.  We found the park and where the display would have been, but everything was gone from it.
Miami (say My-am-uh) is a remnant of the 9-foot Hwy AKA Sidewalk Hwy, Ribbon Rd.  It's only 9 feet wide, made of concrete with curbs and asphalted over was paved in 1922.  The book said that some sections were bumpy and gravelly.  HA, most of the road was gone and only dirt remained.  We did find some concrete sections towards the end, but remember that we are in the Corvette.  Needless to say, the car got a little dirty that day.  It was an experience though.
Vinita we stopped and ate at Clintons Café which has been owned by the same family since 1927.  In fact the son, grandson and niece were working there that day.  The World's Largest McDonald's is there and it crosses over the I-44 freeway (all lanes).  It was a rather awesome sight!  We missed the World's' Largest Calf-Fry Festival too.  That was in mid-Sept.  You do know what a calf-fry is, right?
Chelsea has the honor of being the home of a vintage house mail-ordered from the Sears catalogue in 1913.  They even take tours by appointment so you can see inside.
Andy Payne is honored in his hometown of Foil  as the winner of the 1928 Bunion Derby - the transcontinental foot race from LA to NYC that followed all of US 66.
Claremore is all about Will Rogers.  Museum, Blvd, Hwy, and statue.
Erick is the hometown of the singers Roger Miller and Sheba Woolley who sang Purple People Eater.  There is a Roger Miller museum in this tiny town.

Texas
Second shortest alignment of '66 at only 178 miles of the original.  Now about 150 miles remain.
Shamrock has it's own piece of the Blarney Stone from Ireland..
Conway has it's version of Cadillac Ranch (in Amarillo next to I-40 where Cadillac cars are buried nose first into the ground then graffitied) with Bug Ranch.  Instead of Cadillac's buried, it's VW bugs.  Karl was rather offended since he still owns his first VW.
Adrian is billed as midpoint on '66.  It has a small display roadside, a café and gift shop.
Glenrio is basically a ghost town now.  It was bypassed by I-40 and so it died.  There was good picture taking shots there and there is one house still occupied.  In the town there is the ruins of the Texas Longhorn Motel and as we were entering the town here comes a couple from the front of the motel where they staged a photo op with the women waiting at the front of the motel with a suitcase!

New Mexico:
Tucumcari is still a busy town, but it has a lot of  old '66 remains.  And that brings us to Rio Rancho after going through downtown Albuquerque. 

When we leave here we will be continuing to Arizona, drop down into Phoenix to see our building project in Surprise and then back up to Flagstaff to finish '66 into Santa Monica, CA.  So stay tuned and we will move in about a month.  See ya!!