Written by Kim
***Warning long post with lots of pictures***
We drove the stretch of historic Route 66 from Tulsa to Joplin, Missouri today for something different on our amazing road trip. Route 66 was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles. US 66 was a primary route for those who migrated west. It was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985. Our trip hit part of Oklahoma and Missouri Route 66 and all 11 miles in Kansas.
Oklahoma takes pride in, and embraces, most of its nearly 400 miles of Route 66. There are more driveable portions of the old Mother Road in Oklahoma than in any other state, and plenty of reasons to stop the car along the way. Route 66 zigzags along sometimes hard to follow as it goes 1 mile and then turns and in some places has 2 different routes in the same area as it was rerouted over the years.
We visited several wacky, kitschy & unusual Roadside Attractions as we got our kicks on Route 66. A drive that should have taken us about 2 1/2 hours without stops took us over 6 hours as we enjoyed all the attractions.
Have you ever heard of Muffler Men? They are a tribe of titans, made of fiberglass and 14 to 25 feet tall, that stand watch along the vibrant roadside landscape. They include exaggerated caricatures of lumberjacks, cowboys, and Indians, but the first statues spotted held big car mufflers, so they were named them “Muffler Men.”
Here’s a link to a website where you can see lots of Muffler Men on a map and click on each of them to get a description . Roadside Attractions Map – The Muffler Men
Each town along the had murals commemorating Route 66.
We really had fun checking out all this craziness today. As I’m finishing typing the blog, the Mets win the Wildcard series and advance to the National League Division Series. Let’s Go METS!
We’re headed to Little Rock, Arkansas tomorrow. Until then….
