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Published: July 11th 2012
Chicago, 574 miles
It's nice to know how far we've come.As we get closer to Chicago, the better marked Route 66 is. It also seems to have fewer preserved bits. We were able to follow most of the final alignment through Missouri with a few side trips on to earlier alignments. With the final alignment still in use, most of the rural alignmens have not been maintained. We even ran into a few closed roads where "Old Route 66" was being repaired.
Missouri uses a base 26 system for naming county roads. We drove on roads called A, AT, OO, KK, ZZ, CC, AH and crossed others making interesting combinations on the road signs. Most of the day was spent navigating from one town to the next, meandering back and forth over I-44. We saw some great old towns, nice back roads and a few bits of history. We passed through the hometown of the man whom the Hubble telescope is named after, as well as the original Steak 'n shake Restaurant.
Other memorable sights include the worlds largest Gift Shop and the worlds largest Rocking chair. We also think we saw he worlds largest bourbon tank.
We ate at the worlds largest Bass Pro Shop in a
Not in the Guide book
We sometimes run into problems using a guidebook written 10 years ago. restaurant called Hemmingway's. They had an aquarium in the restaurant and we spent a bit wandering the store looking at the animals (mostly fish) and the sporting goods. Michelle tried some fried catfish at lunch and decided she really likes it.
We also stopped for a snack a a Bar and BBQ joint in a town called Devil's Elbow. Michelle and Tony played darts while waiting for thier mozzarella sticks.
There was an indoor archery range at the same location as the worlds largest rocking chair. Michelle has been talking about archery since seeing Brave and the man at the range was nice enough to show her how to use a compound bow and she was able to shoot a few arrows.
We rolled into our campsite at eight o'clock after a very long day on the road. Tomorrow we'll be taking another day of rest (Six Flags here we come!) before heading into Springfeild , IL on Thursday. Friday should see us in Chicago and the end of Route 66.
Tony's Trailering Tip - If you want to make early departures easier, you can do 90% of the prep work the night before.
Michelle's
Buy a bagful!
The original Steak 'n Shake location in Springfield, MO Musings - Shooting arrows is FUN!
Anne's Annecdotes - Never underestimate the joy of a quick dinner.
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Jon C-H
non-member comment
FYI, Fun steak n shake it is, but sorry, it's not the original
Glad you had a good trip, we've done some of it. Sorry to inform you, however, the original Steak n Shake is not in Springfield but was in Illinois. (See www.steaknshake.com if you want more trivia.)