This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
It was on April 30, 1926, that a telegram traveling from Springfield, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., made official the name of a road that would connect Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 was officially created, making Springfield the birthplace of this storied 2,400-mile road. As its 100th anniversary approaches, cities, towns, and communities along the original Missouri River route are already mobilizing to mark the occasion.
If, in Missouri as elsewhere, there are not many traces left of Route 66, we can count on captivating, singular and generous characters who keep it alive. We meet them seated at a diner counter, a filter coffee in hand, at the gas station under a mosaic of license plates from all over the world or at the doors of a museum held by a handful of volunteers.
Kilometer 0 – Joplin
THE road trip begins in Joplin, specifically at Three States Corner, where Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri meet. The small town is best known for being the home of Bonnie and Clyde on the run; the apartment they occupied is available for rent on Airbnb. But the beautiful murals commemorating the passage of Route 66 through its historic center are a reminder of the important role it played for travelers passing through: lodging, entertainment, and supplies before continuing west.
Along the way, we stop at Supertam On 66. The well-stocked ice cream counter is smothered in a collection that brings together nearly 3,000 Superman-themed objects. The ice cream shop-museum is a refreshing and colorful stop on this stretch of Route 66 that leads to the very photogenic Carthage 66 Drive-In, one of the few drive-ins still operating on the road. About sixty kilometers further, we cross in the blink of an eye the ghost town of Spencer, a dream of Sidney Casey who bought a building and two acres of land for the sum of $400 in 1925. Of the gas station, the grocery store, the post office, the restaurant, almost nothing remains. Much livelier and just minutes away, Gary’s Gay Parita, a recreation of a 1930s Sinclair gas station, takes us back to the glory days of Route 66. It wouldn’t be the same, however, without George Bowick, the elusive and irreverent co-owner of the place.
Kilometer 120 – Springfield
In Springfield, we have lunch at the College Street Cafe for sunny-side-up eggs and a ham steak, a house specialty that can keep us going until dinner. In the purest tradition of small restaurants along Route 66, we meet a clientele of locals, with whom exchanges begin quite naturally. Then, right next door, there is the Route 66 Car Museum, where the charismatic octogenarian Guy Mace welcomes visitors who come to discover his impressive private collection of 75 cars dating from 1907 to 2005, all in working order.
Kilometer 200 – Lebanon
The Route 66 Museum in the small town of Lebanon is a hidden gem. Replicas of a motel room, a small diner dining room and a gas station storefront sit in a room adjacent to the public library. It also documents the construction, success and demolition of the Nelson Dream Village, a pioneering, multi-purpose transient lodging concept built nearby in 1934.
Kilometer 325 – Cuba
Halfway between Lebanon and Cuba, it’s impossible not to stop at Uranus, a fictional town run by Mayor Louie Keen. The entertainment complex with its dubious pun and difficult-to-explain purpose includes a general store popular for its fifty varieties of fudge, a museum of curiosities, a miniature golf course, a playground, an ice cream parlor, sculptures and other installations. All built on the vast grounds of the former Mark Twain Motel.
Crossing Pulaski County, you cross the Devil’s Elbow Bridge, recognizable by its curve over the Big Piney River. It offers a magnificent view of the landscapes of the Ozarks region, popularized by the television series of the same name. Next come the villages of Rolla and Cuba and their many murals recalling the best days of Route 66. The day ends at Shelly’s Route 66 cafe for the specialty: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and cornbread. We lean against the bar at Missouri Hick Barbeque and share beers and whiskey until nightfall with locals with strong Midwestern accents who tell us they regret seeing Route 66 disappear like this.
Kilometer 450 – Saint-Louis
With or without Route 66, St. Louis is a fascinating city. The history, architecture, food, the Gateway Arch, the Botanical Gardens, the National Museum of Transportation, baseball… so many attractions that make it a great stopover after a trip on the Mother Road. Admittedly, Route 66, like everywhere in Missouri, gets a little lost in the city of 79 neighborhoods. But the ice cream served at Ted Drewes for nearly a century at the same address on the original route, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi and many other iconic sites are just more memories on an already memorable trip.
We leave the Midwestern state of America carried by a wave of nostalgia for this dream that did not survive our need to go ever faster, by the highway in this case. There is a hint of sadness in the eyes of the people we met along Route 66. These aging women and men have seen one of the most important roads in North America slowly disappear. The asphalt has cracked and the neon lights have disappeared, certainly. But thanks to them, the story does not die.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.