Road Trip - Day 5

Road Trip - Day 5
Tulsa, Oklahoma to St. Louis, Missouri

We are now into our fifth day of our route 66 road trip! Our first stop yielded our first disappointment of the trip. South of Tulsa we tried to find the deserted, long closed Blue Whale Amusement Park. This was a very low quality park from the 50's whose main claim to fame was a huge fiberglass bright blue whale in a marshy small pond. We couldn't find it. We were not sure if it had been removed or maybe we were searching in the wrong area. We finally had to move on.
The next picture moment was not planned ahead of time. Chris was looking for a McDonalds
and did we ever find one! The pictures below are of the worlds largest McDonalds (formerly
the Glass House) that straddles the Interstate in the town of Vinita, Oklahoma. I couldn't believe that I could stand in the middle of the restaurant and watch all the traffic zoom by
underneath!



Our next off freeway trip was through a tiny corner of Kansas. Route 66 did go through a small portion of the southeastern part of Kansas until the interstate cut it off. We drove from Oklahoma through Kansas and into Missouri all within 45 minutes. The first stop on the journey was through Miami, Oklahoma (pronounced Mi-ah-ma) by the locals. In Miami they have a drive-in called CooCoo Bird! I just had to take a picture of it (notice the ad for fried green beans : )


We went through the small town of Quapaw, Oklahoma and entered Kansas.

We went through the town of Baxter Springs (remember Radiator Springs?)


We took a slight detour to the Rainbow Bridge, a historic unique bridge, in the beautiful setting at Brush Creek. This is the only "Marsh Arch" bridge, (named for their designer) left to grace route 66. Progress claimed the others; preservation saved this one.





When we moved out of Kansas into Missouri we stopped in Springfield, Missouri for lunch.
We ate at a local Missouri chain called Steak and Shake. It had really good food. They serve steak hamburger and homemade ice cream shakes. The vanilla shake I had was probably the best I have ever tasted!



We stopped to get gas after eating lunch. Chris pointed out to me the cost for gasoline here in Springfield, Missouri. I couldn't believe it! All my friends out in California will have to pout over this : (


Our next stop was "Devils Elbow" and "Hooker Cut" in the middle of Missouri. Devils Elbow was named for a bend in the river that caused log jams and sits below 200 foot tall tree lined bluffs. This is one of the few bridges left on the old route. A little further down the road is "Hooker Cut" At 90 feet this used to be the deepest road cut in Missouri.



Our last side trip on the old road was into Times Beach. If that name sounds familiar it is because this little community on route 66 ceased to exist because of toxic contamination.
Back in 1982 scientists had been studying the deaths of some horses in the town.
The problem was traced to waste oil that had been sprayed in the yards to control dust. The oil had been contaminated with dioxin. The same waste oil hauler had also sprayed all the streets of Times Beach with the same oil. After a major flood the same year residents were asked not to return to thier homes. Amid controversy, a plan was developed to purchase the property tear down all the buildings bury the debris and incinerate all of the contaminated soil. When the job was finished the property was turned over to the state park system and it was named
Route 66 state park. The land is now a beautiful blend of natural and manmade meadows and trees with a growing herd of deer.




We are now in St Louis, Missouri and ate dinner at Bandana BBQ a chain BBQ restaurant in the St. Louis area. I had BBQ beef and pulled pork with deep fried corn on the cob and potato salad.
Another good restaurant.
Next stop Illinois!