The restored gas station in the photo is in Dwight, IL. It is one of
several that have been restored along Route 66 in Illinois.
Stopped at the "Lady of the Highway" statue in Raymond. This was
installed by a Catholic Youth Group in 1962 on Frances Marten's farm
on Rt. 66. He and his wife maintained the property, and his offsprings
continue today. The statue is visible from I-55 as well.
Later we stopped at Funk's Grove Maple Sirup farm (spelling in
intentional). Great sirup (syrup).
Needless to say, our side excursions put us further south that
intended. We are camping in a park in Carlock, IL. Yes, Carlock. Guess
it was some guy's name.
Tomorrow hoping to get to Joliet, then downtown to Chicago.
I'll post some other pics when I get online again in the morning with
a new code from the KOA here in Granite City, IL.
We're going to head towards Chicago in the morning after we bike over
to the old Chain of Rocks Bridge from the RV park. The bridge was the
original way across the Mississippi River, later replaced by I-270.
Probably going into Chicago on Thursday.
The beautiful dogwood trees are very common around these parts. There
are both white and pink varieties. This whole area is very pretty, but
the shoreline seems to be mostly private ownership. Not a lot of
public access. There is about 1200 miles of shoreline since the lake
has many "finger" inlets lining it. The lake itself is serpentine
shaped.
Left WalMart in Chandler, OK this morning. Stay in their parking lot
was okay, but it seems the locals have a lot of pickups with modified
mufflers, so of course they had to use them during the evening to
entertain us.
Stayed on Historic 66 all day to visit the little towns. Went through
Kansas for about 15 miles in the south east corner of the state
(Baxter Springs, Riverton and Galena). Then through Joplin, MO. We're
now east of Joplin at a campground. Tomorrow we go to Lebanon, MO,
then north to the Lake of the Ozarks to visit some friends for a few
days. Probably back on the Sunday.
Gas! Filled up back in Needles, CA, for $2.48 per gallon. Filled up
today in OK for $1.78 per gallon. What gives? Keeps getting cheaper as
we drive along.
Back to the Blue Whale. It was built right before they closed Route
66, and had fallen into disrepair. Some folks fixed it up a while
back, but it has not come back as a tourist destination. The dogs went
in for a swim and came out covered with mud. It is stocked with some
fish ( perch, bass and catfish).
Saw the largest cross in the Western Hemishere in Groom, TX this
morning. Pictures of it have appreared on the Internet many times.
I'll put a photo on after this posting (can only do one pic at a time
on the iPhone).
Coming in towards OK City the temperature was 93 degrees. We're
heading towards Tulsa in the morning.
The stretch between Oklahoma City and Tulsa is supposed to be the best
representation of Route 66.
Picture is of the Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo. Celebrates Route 66
in a very symbolic way. Visited Tucumcari, NM on the way.
This evening will be entertainment by the Osmond Brothers.
We're on a bus heading back to Albuquerque right now. Probably be
naptime when we get back.
Rita Coolidge performed tonight. Still looking and sounding great for
a 63 year old woman.
After the performance, there was seven ballons that lit up the sky
with their enormity. Fantastic scene. Would be fun to come back for
the ballon races and watch 700 to 800 of them.
Tomorrow is the "Sky City" tour to the west.
After we entered NM, Susanne read some of the Rally literature. Seems
we had to check in before 5pm. We arrived at 5:30 pm, so we are not
checked in, but dry camping in a vacant lot at the site. Will check in
tomorrow morning and finish the procedure.
Neil Sadaka is suppose to be performing tonight in a nearby tent, so
will see if we can get in. We will be here at the Rally until Tuesday
morning.
