Route 66-Kansas

   Thirteen miles of Route 66 cuts through a tiny corner of southeast Kansas making this the shortest section in any state. Just before entering Kansas the State Line Liquor Store, a remnant of the days of strict liquor laws in Kansas, displays a couple of old gas pumps.

  This is not the Kansas of endless corn and sunflowers fields. The three towns along the route sit on top of the 2,500 square miles tri-state lead and zinc deposit. The mines closed in 1960s devastating the economies of the towns and leaving a legacy of sinkholes and polluted soil, water and air. Picher and Cardin, just across the border in Oklahoma, are now ghost towns, evacuated as part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site cleanup.

  Cars on the Route at the north end of Galena is a little gift and snack bar in a restored Kan-O-Tex gas station. An old tow truck, the inspiration for Tow Tater from the movie Cars, is parked beside the building.

 

  Empty buildings line the north end of Main Street.

  The east to west crossroad of Hwy 66 is faring a little better. The Galena Mining and Historical Museum looks interesting but it was already closed for the day when we arrived. :-(

  The tiny town of Riverton is the location of the Old Riverton Store which has been in operation since 1925. They sell made to order sandwiches, canned goods, staples, fruit, plants and gifts.

  This little roadside park is a good place to spend the night but the traffic along 69A means it’s noisy. A few spots are wide enough to pull off. Large RVs will fit in just one spot.

  A short distance down 66 another small park has an information kiosk. The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

        

  The Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge, designed by architect James Marsh is made with reinforced concrete. Although hundreds of these bridges were built during the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, few remain today. This is the only one left along Route 66.

  Baxter Springs got it’s start as a cattle market town and the population doubled with the discovery of lead and zinc. Because this was where most of the mine owners and operators chose to live city ordinances greatly limited any mining within city limits and saved the area from most of the pollution. The Baxter Springs Museum has many artifacts and good displays covering Civil War action in the area, Native Americans, mining and other local history. Don’t miss the 1,145’ hand carved chain.

  Most of the museum is accessible. One exhibit with a boardwalk does not have a ramp to access it.  Visiting the basement level requires exiting the building and traveling along the street for a short distance to access another entrance.

  The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

  The city has renovated a 1930 gas station to serve as their Visitor Center. We didn’t see the inside because it was closed. Short RVs will fit in the lot.

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Route 66-Carthage and Joplin

 

   Two more folk art sculptures by Lowell Davis are located at businesses on the east side of Carthage. This one is at a tire shop.

  Carthage claims that the very first battle of the Civil War was fought in the streets of their little town. Missouri was a border state with it’s citizens pledging allegiance to both sides in the conflict. The governor, against the wishes of a majority of the Missourians, declared Missouri a free republic and sided with the south. Using the Missouri Volunteer Militia, he planned to keep Federal troops out of Missouri. The Battle of Carthage was fought on July 5, 1861 against Union forces led by Colonel Franz Sigel and was the beginning of conflicts that left Carthage a near ghost town for the duration of the war. 

  Battle of Carthage State Historic Site is a flat, grassy park with an interpretive kiosk and a picnic table. The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

  If you want to learn more about the battle and Carthage during the Civil War visit the Carthage Civil War Museum. The museum is accessible. RVs can be parked on the street.

  The little Powers Museum has more local history. A special group of historic quilts was on display when we visited. The museum is accessible. The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

        

  Kiwanis Kiddieland located in the park across the street from the Powers Museum  opened in 1951. It has only five rides but is the  largest non-profit amusement park in the US.  The “diesel” engine is unique for a little amusement park train.  It’s located in a big city park with plenty of parking.

         

  The most famous Route 66 site in Carthage is the art deco styled Boot Court built in 1939. 

The Whee Bridge may not be around much longer. It was built in 1920 to span the railroad tracks. The wood construction and high hump makes it unusable for heavy vehicles like fire engines. It reminds me of the arched bridges found in Japanese gardens.

       

   Don’t leave town without driving around the downtown square to see the magnificent Jasper County Courthouse which was built in the late 1800s and looks like a castle.

       

The 66 Drive-In was built in 1949, restored in 1996 and shows films during the summer.

    Little Webb City has a restored gas station which is a combination chamber of commerce and Route 66 visitor center. There is very little information about Route 66 inside but the exterior is cool.

  The Joplin Museum Complex is a fairly standard small city museum with collections donated by local citizens and exhibits about local history, businesses and noteworthy citizens. The museum is accessible. The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

         

Side trip - Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center protects the ecosystem of the chert glades which are very dry places with thin soils and specialized plants. Six miles of trail lead to overlooks of the glades, along the bluffs and the creek and through the woods. The Audubon Nature Center has interactive displays. Most are geared towards middle school or younger children.

  About a mile of trail is paved and accessible. Stop at the nature center to view the exhibits and get a map then continue on the road until you come to the end for the easiest trail access.

  All of the parking lots are large enough for RVs.

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Route 66-Springfield to Carthage

  This scenic, rural section is perfect for a Sunday drive!

  Whitehall Mercantile started it’s life as a general store and post office and now is packed with antiques and Route 66 souvenirs.

  Paris Springs Junction isn’t even a dot on the map but it’s the home of a favorite 66 stop the Gay Parita Sinclair Station. The original station, built in the 1930s, was owned by Gay and Fred Mason until it burned down in 1955. Gary Turner and his wife, Lena bought the property, rebuilt the gas station and filled it with a collection of old cars and signs.

  Gary, who from all accounts warmly welcomed visitors and could tell stories for hours, passed away in January and Lena followed just a few months later, so the future of the station is in jeopardy. At the moment the station looks unchanged but the gate is locked. There’s enough room on the side of the road to pull over.

          

   The little town of Spenser had a grocery store, a Phillips 66 station and a garage, a dry goods store and a barbershop, all abandoned when I-44 was finished. The buildings have been beautifully restored by Francis and Marie Lynn Ryan. There’s enough room in the parking lot for RVs.

  For convenience we’ve spent almost every night in a Walmart parking lot so this little free camping spot in the Robert E. Talbot Conservation Area was a nice change. It’s bit more than a mile south of Route 66. The four sites are close together but the area is very quiet.

   Red Oak II is a side trip of a few miles but it’s definitely worth seeing. Lowell Davis grew up 23 miles away in the town of Red Oak. After spending some time in Texas as an art director for an advertising agency he came back to Missouri and started making figurines of farm animals and country life. The figurines were a bit hit with collectors giving Lowell the money he needed to move buildings from the dying town of Red Oak and other locations to his new village of Red Oak II. Look for the farm jalopy sculpture along Hwy 96, turn north on Hwy V and follow the signs.

        

This is more than a restored village. It’s a giant art project full of marvelous creations.

 

  We had a chance to meet and talk a while with Lowell. His house is the green one with the fountain made of water pipes.

    

  The buildings in the village have been sold and are carefully tended by their owners but that means none are opened to the public. Visitors are free to walk or drive the loop road but must stay off of the private property. The road is rough gravel and not accessible without help.

  There isn’t a place anywhere to park a large RV. Smaller RVs will fit in the wide section of the road just inside the entrance but do not drive down the road as the wooden bridge does not look sturdy enough to support a heavy vehicle.

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Route 66-Springfield

   Route 66 has several paths through Springfield so keep your eyes opened for old motels. On the way into town we spotted the ruins of Luvrey’s  Court built in 1930. A little way down the road Rest Haven Court and Rancho Motel are still in business but a bit rundown. The Rest Haven Sign is almost an exact copy of the Munger Moss sign.

Shamrock Court has a great sign but it doesn’t appear to still be a motel.

  The stone cabins of Rock Fountain Court were arranged in a semi-circle around a fountain (long gone). The cabins are now apartments.

  Springfield doesn't promote their 66 connection very much but a Birthplace of Route 66 Roadside Park is in the works. So far it’s just a pull off with one sign and plans to add more in the future. The pull off which loops back to the road is very narrow with tight bends so large RVs should not attempt driving on it.

  The retaining wall across the street is covered with mosaic art.

       

   Springfield has a couple of museums – the Springfield Art Museum which is free and the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.

   Reposted from a visit in 2012.

  The Springfield Art Museum rotates it’s collection of almost 9,000 paintings, watercolors, sculptures and prints throughout the year. They also host Watercolor U.S.A., an annual juried exhibition.

  Everything is accessible.

  The parking lot is large enough for all RVs. Use the entrance on E. Brookside Dr. The entrance on E. Bennett St. has a big dip and many scrape marks on the pavement.

  The Springfield-Greene Botanical Center is another free attraction that we visited in 2012.

  Wide, paved, interconnected trails wind past themed gardens and around a little lake. The main trails are accessible but most of the gardens can only be viewed from the edges. The Master Gardener Demonstration Garden is an exception with paved paths through most of it. The Gray-Campbell Farmstead which wasn’t opened when we visited does not have ramps into the buildings or paths around the grounds. The Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, the only garden with a fee , was also closed.

The largest lots are at the Botanical Center –plenty of room for RVs.

   We also stopped at Bass Pro in 2012 so this is a repost of that visit. It looks like the museum still hasn’t opened.

  Stores (along with the parking lots where we are generously allowed to park overnight)  usually don’t make it into my posts but this one deserves a mention, if only for consumerism gone wild. Who would have thought that simple outdoor activities like hunting, fishing and camping would require a 300,000 square foot store?!

   This is the location of the first Bass Pro store. It’s the largest one and even has a museum which we didn’t get to see as it’s still under construction. The inside of the store is decorated with hunting lodge facades, waterfalls, ponds, giant trees used as posts and beams, large aquariums and many, many stuffed animals and fish.

   To get to the RV parking area follow the oversized vehicle signs. It’s located in the far southwest corner,butting against a residential neighborhood so it’s relatively quiet. Very fast, free WiFi! 

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