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How Route 66 Brought Us Together
Our story actually began because of the Mother Road. Years before we met, both of us had independently fallen in love with the history, nostalgia, and adventure of Route 66. Through the Route 66 community and a mutual friend, our paths eventually crossed, leading to a first date on the Mother Road in Illinois. That shared passion ultimately brought us together and led to our 2002 honeymoon along the very highway that started it all. Pat’s Route 66 Journey In the early 1990s, Pat was living in Indianapolis, Indiana when he came across an article about Route 66 in the Indianapolis Star. The story sparked his fascination with the…
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2015 Route 66 RV Trip Overview | September 12–20 Road Trip Adventure
By September 2015, we were starting to feel comfortable traveling Route 66 with our RV, but we were still learning something new on every trip. Traveling the Mother Road in an RV is a very different experience than traveling by car and staying in motels. The pace is different, the planning is different, and the experience of the towns and the road itself feels different when you’re bringing your home along with you. This trip would take us west on Route 66 through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, before turning around and heading back east toward home. We planned the trip around RV parks along or near Route 66, which…
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Final Days on Route 66 – St. Louis KOA and Heading Home (September 19–20, 2015)
September 19–20, 2015 – Final Stop on Route 66 After feeding the fish one last time, we left the Joplin KOA and made a stop at the Candy House Gourmet shop in Joplin, Missouri. It was a fun little stop and a good way to start our final travel day before heading east. From there, we made our way to our third KOA of the trip — the St. Louis KOA West in Eureka, Missouri. This would be our final stop of the trip. We had actually stayed here back in 2013, and it left a good enough impression on us that we decided to stay here again. Unlike the…
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Route 66 with Our Grandson – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Joplin, Missouri: September 18, 2015
On the morning of September 18, it was time to leave Twin Fountains RV Resort in Oklahoma City. I really can’t say enough good things about this place. The grounds were beautiful, the facilities were excellent, and the staff were wonderful. It’s definitely the kind of campground you remember and want to return to. We look forward to heading back there sooner rather than later. After packing up, we continued east along Route 66. Visiting Jerry McClanahan in Chandler Our first stop was in Chandler, Oklahoma at the gallery of Jerry McClanahan. Jerry is a well-known Route 66 author, artist, and historian who has spent years documenting the many alignments…
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Route 66 with Our Grandson – Amarillo, Texas to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: September 17, 2015
We left the Oasis RV Park in Amarillo this morning to begin the return leg of our journey home. As we were packing up, Jameson wanted to spend a little more time enjoying the playground at the campground. While he played, the truck doors had been left open while we loaded gear. Unfortunately, that turned out to be an invitation for a swarm of Texas flies to move into the cab. When Jameson climbed back into the truck, he was immediately surrounded by buzzing intruders and quickly became very upset, loudly declaring: “I hate Texas flies!” We opened the windows and spent a few minutes shooing them out until the…
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Route 66 with Our Grandson – Amarillo to Tucumcari: September 16, 2015
After finishing our visit at the Jack Sisemore RV Museum, we headed west from Amarillo along historic Route 66 toward Tucumcari, New Mexico. Our first stop was the Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas, where we enjoyed a simple Route 66 lunch of burgers and fries. Adrian is home to the Midpoint of Route 66, marking the exact halfway point between Chicago and Los Angeles. Of course, we had to stop for photos at the famous Midpoint of Route 66 sign. Next door we visited the Sunflower Station, owned by Fran Houser, who previously owned the Midpoint Café for many years. It was a nice stop to browse souvenirs and chat…
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Route 66 with Our Grandson – Shasta Trailer Adventure: September 12–14, 2015
Our latest journey took us back to the Mother Road, but this time with a new twist. Instead of our usual road trip by car, we brought along our Shasta Travel Trailer. Another special part of this trip was traveling with our four-year-old grandson, Jameson, introducing him to the adventure of the Mother Road. Because we were traveling with the trailer, we planned the trip differently than usual. Instead of long driving days, we chose shorter travel distances with planned overnight stops, giving us more time to enjoy each location along the way. Saturday, September 12, 2015 Speedway, Indiana → Springfield, Missouri Originally we planned to leave Friday evening after…
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Birthplace of Route 66 Festival – Day 4: August 16, 2015
Not too much to say about today, really. We started the journey home early, broke down camp, packed up the trailer, and hauled it east to Indy all day. No festival attendance for us today, since yesterday was our big day. We took Route 66 most of the way out, but eventually had to take the Evil I home. Still, we did stop at the Route 66 Rest Area and Visitor’s Center, which is a great place to pick up information not just on Missouri, but on Route 66 as well. The rest area is very much Route 66-themed. Here are a few examples; see the gallery below for more.…
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Birthplace of Route 66 Festival – Day 3: August 15, 2015
Saturday was the big festival day for us. We knew we’d be heading out early the next morning, so this was our one full day to take it all in—and we made the most of it. Getting ready in the bigger trailer has definitely been a nice upgrade. There’s still a bit of morning choreography involved, but nothing like the old Scotty days. Everything has its place now… even if I was still figuring out exactly where those places were. We made our way over to the festival grounds and started with the car show and local vendors before heading into The Glass Place—basically the hub for many of our…
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Birthplace of Route 66 Festival – Days 1-2: August 13-14, 2015
As online chatter started among Route 66 roadies about the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield, Missouri, we thought it might be fun to attend, especially since we weren’t able to make it to the festival in Kingman the year before and knew we wouldn’t be able to attend in Los Angeles the following year. When we first considered going, we debated taking the car versus the RV. But after purchasing a new-to-us truck to haul the Shasta Oasis, we didn’t want to leave that costly combo sitting at home collecting dust. If it was going to collect dust, it had better be road dust! The Rail Haven was…