Still in Chicago. Let’s set the GPS. K-A-N-S-A... “Guys, are you sure that you want to skip the first stretch of Route 66?” – Steve asked me and Ania. Well, none of us was... Colorado, Rockies – it was tempting but... since we are in Chicago where the Mother Road starts and we have the opportunity to make it all... Let’s do it! From the top to the bottom. 2400 miles long across America.
As soon as we left Chicago and we went to the first “66” original fragment it became obvious that following paths of farmers from 20s and 30s would be hard. Route 66 disappears in some places. Dead-ends and rough conditions are quite common. Here comes the less romantic note: the most convenient option is to use new interstate system paving over the Route or bypassing it. If you have a good guide, it can lead you to the most important points worth taking the exits. What does it mean “an important point” in terms of the old road?
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| On some wall in Oklahoma |
Let’s take Illinois where you have not too much of natural beauty so it can serve as a one extreme. Some prairies, post-industrial scenery... Some prairies. Old farms with grass instead of wheat. Sometimes a pile of garbage. Some livestock. Prairies. The whole charm of this stretch might lay in the rural small towns like Mount Olive. It used to be a bustling coal-mining center. When we got there, the only comment made by Steve was: „There have more people dead than alive”. He was pointing the Union Miners Cemetery. We couldn’t agree with him more looking at the tiny hamlet next to the pretty spacious graveyard.
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| The Mount Olive cemetery |
We stopped at Mount Olive as I had read that it is home to the oldest surviving service station on Route 66 – restored Soulsby Shell station. It is no longer in business like are not other ancient pumps on our further way, including Lucille’s (they got the names after long-living owners). And from here the typical Mother Road attractions starts – old stations, local diners, flea markets, past amusement parks, stylish neons, drive-in theaters, dead towns... All in front of us. That one was only a modest introduction. Some places like this Shell gas pump are musts for well-prepared old-road fans. They wouldn’t be noticed if it hadn’t been pointed in special maps or guides. On the other hand some landmarks are restored and additionally designed in order to draw tourist’s attention like Shea’s Gas Station.
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| Soulsby Shell Station | |
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| Shea’s Gas station |
On the road we hit sometimes bigger towns for other reasons than exploring the nostalgic small-town life. Before Mount Olive we got for a moment to Springfield because it is the capital of Illinois. Well, you can stop here for longer period if you are a fan of Abraham Lincoln. The town embodies his whole life: the office where he worked, Lincoln Presidential Museum, the only home Abe ever owned, his tomb, tomb of his wife, remains of his three children...
The capital is famous also for the Cozy Dog Drive-In where we stopped for a lunch. A birthplace of Cozy Dog! Doesn’t it make any impression? Replace “Cozy” with “Corn”. A birthplace of Corn Dog! Founded in 1949. We got to the source:). However in such places you can feel like a typical tourist. They are full of Route 66 memoralibia which not necessary make you feel like a real explorer. Somebody had already explored it with details before you, and has been even making a good business out of it. They put a sign of R66 wherever there is a free spot – chairs, tables, ceiling and the floor. The only place you don’t see it is in your coffee and on the corn dogs. Maybe on yourself if you haven’t bought the earings with “66” in the attached gift shop.
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| Cozy Dog Drive-In |
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| Cozy Dog Drive-In |
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| Cozy Dog Drive-In |
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