Event Coverage Road to Rumble! D/FW to RRR on Rt. 66 Road Trip!

On the east side of town is this old restored gas station that is now the home of the 4 Women on the Route.









This wrecker was acually the inspiration for the character Tow Mater from the movies Cars & Cars 2. While touring Route 66, the Pixar crew made note of the wrecker and a character was born.

 

Continuing east on the 1926-1940s alignment through Galena brought motorist over this bridge. Built in 1923 before Route 66 was commissioned, this bridge was the site of a conflict with the miners union where someone was killed.







It was right after inspecting the bridge that my troubles began! With plans of snapping a few pictures at the Kansas/Missouri state line, I never made it that far. Not a mile from the bridge, the wagon died. Having replaced a clogged fuel filter in Miami, and again not thirty minutes ago in Galena, it acted like a flogged filter again. It wasn't getting gas to the carb. With no tools to break it down to see if it was a glogged screen at the carb, it was time to call a wrecker. But, being one to always have a positive outlook on the situtation, it did allow me the opportunity to view a sunset on an old section of Route 66!



It wasn't long before the flatbed arrived. Rescued!

 

Ok, here's the situtation. My wagon died, leaving me stranded on the side of Route 66 out in the middle of nowhere and the closest town with any services is Joplin, MO., a town still reeling from a devasting tornado. I'm in the cab of a flatbed wrecker being driven to Joplin. Due to all of the rescue workers and displaced residents, I'd heard that vacant motel rooms are scarce. I'll have to take my chances. A Budget Inn signs shines up ahead. As we pull in, the wrecker driver warns me that this probably isn't someplace that I'd want to stay but that there is an auto parts store just a couple blocks up the street. Since I'm by myself and don't have Anne with me on this trip, I'll play the alpha male role and make the best with what I have. I'm in luck. They have one room left. Marvin, my wrecker driver and his helper, David, unload the wagon in front of my door. It's now eleven at night. But, since I haven't eaten since Vinita, OK., before I unpack I decide to walk down to a McDonald's that I saw down the street. Hate to break my plans of not eating at any chains while on my trip but I don't have much choice. I walk the four blocks to McDonald's to find the lobby closes at eleven. Only the drive through, with six or so cars in line, is open. Hell, I'm not going to be that goofball standing in line amongst all the cars in a drive thru! I opt to walk across the street to a Walgreen's and grab something microwaveable to take back to the motel. At least it'll be a hot meal. When I get back to the motel, I open the door to my retreat.



I go to clean up and the towel rod falls to the floor!



And who chose to put a blue tub in a pink tiled bathroom?!



Hell, my car wash towels are in better shape than theirs. But there is a fridge and a microwave in the room. So, I'm good there. I go to heat my frozen White Castle burgers and find that the timer is broken on the microwave. The only way to use the microwave is to plug it in to make it come on and unplug it to turn it off. I get creative and use the stopwatch app on my iPhone to time heating up the burgers by unplugging the microwave when it was time.
Later, while eating and catching up this thread, I see a cockroach on the wall. I kill it and then notice a spot on the wall and the remans of another cockroach kill from a previous guest. Hey, I'm the alpha male. I can deal with this, I tell myself. I won't walk on the carpet barefooted. I decide it would be best to sleep in the clothes I had on as they'd probably be cleaner than the sheets. Oh, and the bright side to all of this? Well, the answer to that one I'll have to sleep on! That's how I ended day two of my trip to the Road Rocket Rumble!

 

WOW!!!!!!!!

What a fantastic collection of photo's, looks you you guys had a great time!!!

Pete-

 

Alone, car broke down, never made the show, roach motel ......... Great time ?!?

The pics are really cool, I like cruisin the back roads looking at once was. Good luck at the parts store and hope you get back home OK.

 

You're a positive minded guy! Life won't ever beat you down. Best of luck to you.

 

Dammit boy........Good Luck has not been with you...

 

turning into a roadtrip you won't soon forget

 

Keep me posted on your return trip plans. Well try to meet up for some lunch in Joplin

 

At this rate, Larry may still be there for the HAMB drags.

 

If that's the case, you won't have a ride!

 

Ah, what a beatiful day to start off Day 3 of the trip. But, before I walked down to the auto parts store to get what I thought that I needed to fix the wagon, I thought I'd try to start it just to see what happened. When I did it started right up! Damnit! Now it's back to a guessing game as to what was the problem. The one good thing is that I wouldn't have to walk to the part store now!
While at Auto Zone, while piddling with the wagon, someone drove up and started asking about the wagon. He introduce himself as Mitch. During the discussion, I relayed the issues that I was having just to get this far. Mitch offered that if I had anymore problems while here in Joplin then to give him a call. I didn't know that I'd be taking him up on his offer later.
After leaving Auto Zone, I hooked up with Barbara, an old classmate that I hadn't seen in the forty years since high school graduation. I'm the ugly one on the left.



After a three lunch and visit, I asked Barbara if she could show me where the tornado distruction area was. She allowed me to follow her to the where it touched down. As we drove down Range Line Road, she went on straight and I turned onto a side street with the intent of turning back around to take a few pictures before getting back on the Route and heading for Carthage. When I turned onto the side street, the wagon died again. Time to call Mitch!



While waiting for Mitch to show up with a trailer, I was needing to use the restroom pretty bad. Right across from where the wagon died was a skating rink but it was closed. Luckily, a couple of gentlemen showed up and unlocked the building and allowed me to use the facilities. Except the electricity to the building was off due to the storm. You know how pitch black it was using that restroom. And take a quess as to who hadn't yet downloaded the flashlight app for his iPhone? Yep, this guy! And, guess what? There's something to be said for paper towels in a restroom when the electricity is off that feeds the hand dryer!
The skating rink building looked ok from the front but told a different story from inside.



Within the hour Mitch showed up with a trailer. But by then the wagon started back up so it made it easier to load up on the trailer.



Once we were at Mitch's shop, we nosed the wagon in the shop and let it idle for a little. Before long we determined that the electric fuel pump was getting hot and quit. So a trip was made back to Auto Zone and a new one was on in no time.



Before leaving I had to take a picture of Mitch's pickup. It makes for a nice little driver.

 

After leaving Mitch's place, I made a beeline for the tornado area again just to snap a few pictures for this thread. These pictures don't even touch the total devastation! It first one is obviously of a fast food restaurant with a playground out front. Keep in mind that the tornado had touched down a month before I visited. Clean up has been taking place.

 

After leaving Joplin, I headed for Webb City, MO. on Route 66. This lead me through downtown Webb City where I spotted this old movie theater.



I liked the glass block ticket booth.



Entering Carthage, MO. from the west brings one right by the 66 Drive In theater.





This trip marks my fourth trip to Carthage on Route 66 but I've never seen this old sign for Wilder's Restaurant in Joplin before. It's right across the road from the drive in theater. I looks like it might have been grown up for awhile and just recently uncovered as to why I missed it before.



By the time I got into Carthage it was getting a little too dark for any more pictures. I checked in to the Guest House Motel. Though not a retro motel associated with early Route 66, it was at least clean and still allowed me to spend a night on the Route! And it had clean sheets!

 

The morning of Day 4 of the trip started out on a good note. While the wagon still wasn't running right, it seemed no worse than before. I told myselt that if I could make St. Louis by nightfall that making the Rumble would still be possible.
One of the first things that I hit in Carthage was the landmark Boots Motel. It was originally built in the Streamline Modern style with the gabled roof added later, covering up the original flat roof.



The fate of the Boots is uncertain. There was an auction just the day before. As I understand it, the bank took it back over. There is still a chance that a wrecking ball might be it's next guest.



I did a little trespassing and invited myself into an unlocked room to snap a few shots. The motel was last used as cheap apartments which explains the left over junk in the rooms now.







Detail of the art deco closet doorknob.



Rumor has it that Clark Gable stayed in room 6 before while on a cross country trip but on a stay at the Boots about ten years ago, the owner told me that he knew for a fact that it was room 12. he allowed Anne & I to stay in that room.



This rack of sign letters still lays on the floor.



This credit union building used to be the Boots Cafe. You can see that it too was built in the Streamline Modern style.

 

After leaving the Boots Motel, I went back the way I came into town the night before to snap some shots of a couple of things where it was too dark to shoot the night before. One of them was this old dealship.







Just west of the old dealership is what is known as the "Whoopi Bridge". It aquired it's name due to the pitch of the hump and how fast you drive over it. It's simular to a rollercoaster.



The Whoopi Bridge crosses over a railroad.



Click on the picture to get the feel of what it's like to drive over the Whoopi Bridge. This is going west on the Route.



Click on the picture to get a feel of driving over it headed east into town and past the old DeSoto/Plymouth dealership.

 

Leaving town back on the Route took me past this tire store with their unique sign.





Good thing it's up there where it's too high to reach!





I discovered anothe alignment just east of Carthage that I wasn't aware of and that is one that took early motorist across a bridge that has now been removed. The remains of the old road now come to a halt where the bridge once stood.





On this old alignment stands the Red Rock Apartments. Aparently someone saw a need for services for motorist a year after the Route was commissioned as this old motel was built in 1927 as White's Court and once featured a gas station and cafe.





Like other old motels, it now is being used as apartments. This old motel is a classic example of the evolution of motel design. Notice that there were once individual cottages. Later, the cottages were joined to allow for garages between the two. Then it became more feasible to enclose the garages to accommodate more guest. It's all seen right here.

 

Can I ask a dumb question please.... Is there still a lot of drive in picture theatre's still operating across the USA.??? And you have a similar fondness for old buildings and specially bridges like I do. Thanks again for your trouble of posting,I'm enjoying your trip.

 

It was at this point that I decided that the car was running too rough to ignore it. I made a call to Ryno who had offered earlier to help diagnos the problem. I'm not going to bore you here again with the details but for a full report, look for a previous "Update" on this thread.

 

Go to www.cinematreasures.com for a good site that gives both movie theaters and drive in theaters in any location. Hope that helps.

 

After leaving Ryno's shop, I got back on the Route only this time I hightailed it back to Carthage as I'd already covered this portion of the Route the day before. Only this time I was allowed a shot of this old gas station that is now being used as the Route 66 Center.

 

I think I jus had fiddy beres.......

Are we ther yet??????? I gotta pee.......

 

You'll have to forgive Pete, he doesn't read- he just looks at pretty pictures.

 

Couldn't you have said something while we were in town?! Now you'll just have to hold it until I can find someplace to pull over. (Sound familiar?)

 

The post office in Avilla, MO. doesn't sit directly on the Route but it caught my eye. Looks to possibly be an old bank building.



Built in 1872, this building once housed the Heatonville Post Office. In 1936 it became a gas station & garage known as the D. L. Morris garage.





Off on the older alignment sits Spencer, MO. This row of buildings has recently been restored reflecting the interest in Route 66 and it's history.



Ah, to see these prices again!



The old concrete Route 66 shoots on past Spencer.





Remember these screen guards?



About a city block east of "downtown" Spencer sits the Johnson Creek bridge.

 

I spent some time in this place! The Gay Parita station & garage is owned by Gary Turner. Gary is quite a character. The station itself is a replica of how Gary remembers stations back in the day looked.











The garage was built in 1946 of native stone.



This is where I found Gary himself. He and a friend were replacing a belt on a lawn mower.



Also inside the old garage.



A mock scene of someone working on their car . . . . . . . . .



. . . . . . . . with a little help!



This is just one of the old gas trucks that Gary had sitting around.





This being the other one.





Gary's daughter helps show the place to visitors.



Then there's this old cigarette machine sitting inside the station.

 

Continueing east of the Route toward Springfield brought me to Halltown, MO. Here is where I found the Whitehall Mercantile building. Built in 1900, it is the oldest building in town. It originally was a grocery store & general store with the IOOF lodge upstairs. It's now an antique store.



This is the lady that runs it.



I had to go upstairs where more items were on display.



Check out this turn-of-the-century handrail!



This collection of crates now occupy where IOOF meeting were once held.



One can almost hear the bootsteps from a century ago on these old wooden floors.



Sorry to bore you with more old oil cans!

 

Couldn't find any toilet paper... uh... never mind.... I don't have to go anymore.

Do you have some plastic seat covers?

 

All that remains in the Plano, MO. community on Route 66 is this old casket manufacturing building, now refered to as Bois D'Arc Castle.





Almost as a tease, these old pumps and sign were placed out in the pasture by someone as yard art but they don't mark the site of any former station.



Further east is what was once the Greystone Heights Cabins. Built in 1935, they featured running water and showers at a $1.25 - $1.75 a night. By 1939, it had grown to eight cabins, a Conoco gas station, and a cafe. They were in business until the early sixties. R & S Floral warehouse now occupies the place.





Another screen guard.



This old building used to house Rainy's Tow Service. I couldn't find any info as to when it was built. The cinder block garages were added later.

 

Awesome thread! Sorry to hear about the death of the 351.