August 19th, 2018.
Day 2.
I was up early. I had many miles I wanted to travel today.
Having gained an hour of time, my body responded to 6:00 a.m. even though it was actually 5:00 a.m. local.
I set about the business of loading the bike up and the sun came up just as I completed, with the promise of a gorgeous morning.
I reached for my camera quickly and immortalized the sunrise of this day. It was 68’F (20’C). The morning felt wonderfully fresh.
I anticipated a great morning ride.
I walked round to the back of the bike, and kicking the rear tire, I reassured myself that the tire still held air.
Reaching for and utilizing my tire pressure gauge, it confirmed that it held the correct pressure.
Skipping breakfast, I resumed my journey.
Around 8:00a.m. I began to feel the pangs of hunger and thirst.
I pulled into the first shell station that presented itself right beside the highway.
The bike drank Premium Unleaded fuel, I had a bottle of Apple Juice.
Feeling around in my stash of food, I grabbed some Beef Jerky and a Banana and made breakfast of it all.
I made a quick phone call to return 2 missed calls to my wife let her know that I was okay and already underway for the day.
So continuing my journey, I now headed towards the fast-approaching state line to cross into Missouri.
The Gateway Arch was to be the official beginning of this my Route 66 Trip, direction west - just as it was the beginning for The Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804.
With the acquisition of the lands west of the Mississippi River from the French in 1803, known as the Louisiana Purchase, President Jefferson commissioned this expedition to explore, document and take inventory of what lay out there. Actually it was because they had no idea whatsoever of what they had bought from the French.
More importantly, they wanted to find a route across the country via the river to the Pacific Ocean, for trade opportunities with the Eastern side of the globe.
For me, as it had been and was for the pioneers who came to this new world, it is where journeys of the westward expansion of this country all began/originated - and is how St. Louis, The Arch in particular has been given the name “The Gateway To The West”.
Just after midday I found myself at the Arch. It was easy to find, although I went through a gritty, graffiti-coated neighborhood which I could not get out of fast enough for my liking.
But the Arch was as impressive as I had read about in earlier years.
I had been through St. Louis multiple times, but never to the Arch proper. This was as proper as it could get for me.
Forget about about riding the elevators up to the top! It’s not my thing!
So I milled around for a while and took some photos, made phone calls to my daughters to share the moment with them and continued my journey.
I had many miles and specific places to visit today before making it to my final destination in Oklahoma City, where I would spend a couple of days with relatives and friends I had not seen since the early nineties. I was looking forward to that too.
So the ST continued to lay down the miles towards the next destination of Cuba, MO a.k.a. Mural City. A very fitting name, indeed.
With the resurgence of interest in Cuba, MO in relation to Rt. 66, the local government here commissioned a dozen murals to be painted around the city as part of its beautification program, specifically portraying aspects of its life during the Rt. 66 hey days.
Local businesses then followed suit with murals of their own as well, leading to the plethora of murals that now adorn the place and subsequently now turning it into a must-visit “destination” for Rt. 66 history buffs and visitors.
I rode around appreciating the great artwork that adorns the buildings, musing myself in the historical scenes depicted in many of them.
I made a beeline for my next stop/visit along the way. Farming, MO.
I pulled into the lonely convenience store along the road, also adorned with a beautiful Mural, to take a small break from the heat of the day - and to see what at one time, was the largest rocking chair in the world, now the 2nd, which sat in one corner of the yard of the property.
Years ago this was one of those items that was made specifically to get the attention of travelers going by, enticing them to stop and patronize the establishment.
……………….. and what a big rocking chair it was!
Clouds were beginning to gather in the sky and I was certain that rain would follow soon.
I decided not to mull around for too long.
Suiting up, I was underway before I could say “ST1300”!
The GPS unit indicated that my next destination was Miami, OK.
I was in search of the last remaining 9-foot (3-meter) original, paved section of Old Rt. 66 in existence. To me, this was as authentic an experience of the road as I felt it could be, so during my route planning phase for this trip, I had identified it as a “must-see”/“must-experience” point of interest.
This section of the road, about 15 miles long, running from Afton, OK to Miami, OK was completed around 1922 and is/was known as The Ribbon Road. Just wide enough to accommodate a Model T Ford of the era, it was taken out of service in 1937.
As I approached Springfield, MO the rain “let loose”! I pulled over to the shoulder of the highway as quickly as I could. Although my pillion riders did not complain, I had to shelter them from the rain which eased up close to an hour afterward.
Forging on, the rain started up again as I approached Joliet,MO but eased up right at the state line into Oklahoma.
At Exit #1 the GPS guided me off the highway towards Miami, OK along Highway 166/US 400 - billed as a Scenic Historic By-way.
All the while, storm clouds continued to rapidly gather with a certainty of some even more serious rain. Day started to turn into night under the thick heavy clouds and cast an eerie look over the plains I was traversing.
Pulling up on the shoulder of the road, I quickly reached for my camera and fired off a couple of shots.
Thinking I needed help, a gentleman in his Cadillac sedan pulled up behind me offering help and possible shelter from the rain in his cottage a little ways up the road, informing me that there was a tornado associated with the approaching storm which was blowing in from west to east.
Thanking him for his kindness, I politely declined his hospitality.
In about a mile and a half along this road, I would be turning westward and was confident that I would duck/avoid the pending storm.
He offered again.
I declined again, with gratitude and we went our separate ways.
So I raced along, hoping to begin heading westward before encountering the storm.
In a matter of minutes I crossed another state line which took me into the town of Baxter Springs, KS.
I was right in the corner where the states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri meet.
It was a light drizzle as the wind picked up and I pulled into a Subway sandwich shop parking lot to replace the now shredded plastic bags I had used as a pseudo-raincoat for my pillion riders.
As I began the task of covering them with replacement bags, the wind picked up and now I was fighting to secure the bags over them.
The small raindrops turned into big rain drops.
I continued to struggle to secure the bags from one side of the bike to the other. I needed to have the arms of an octopus to accomplish this.
The wind intensity increased.
I was fighting a losing battle.
Apparently, one of the Subway employees observed me struggling at my task and rushed out with a couple of commercial-size plastics bags to offer.
I barely got the bags over them and secured ……………………
………………….. and then it let loose!
I had truly forgotten the severity of these Great Plains Storms in the years past. (We lived in Oklahoma City for 5 years before moving to Texas).
I definitely was not going anywhere in this weather till this storm was over.
I pushed the bike right up to the storefront and dashed indoors to escape the now-raging storm.
It was a couple of minutes before 5 in the afternoon.
Good time to take a break off the road and out of this inclement weather and a good chance to have an early dinner.
I still had many miles to go and a couple of stops along the way.
So I settled down after ordering a 12-inch “sub” made up of Salami, Roast Beef, Jalapeños, Onions, Spinach and Ranch Dressing, thanked the girl again for the plastic bags and used my dinnertime to make phone calls.
Frequent claps of thunder and strikes of lightning shook the building as the storm raged on.
They were getting stronger and stronger.
Another clap of thunder …………….. and I lost phone service as I spoke to my wife, describing the storm to her and reminding her of storms we had ridden out together in the past.
The street in front of the store, was easily 6 inches (15 cm) or more under water.
The storm raged for an hour and as quickly as it started, it ended!
Within minutes, the water over the street/roadway drained away and the sun began to peek through what clouds were left in the sky.
I felt it safe enough to travel, so I suited up, thanked and wished everyone well and resumed my journey towards Miami, OK.
The highway took me right through Quapaw, OK - the dividing line between the east and west of this country.
I could definitively say that I was exactly halfway between the east and west coasts of the country!
Within half an hour I had made my way into Miami, OK and with good late-afternoon sunshine now, I rode around the town and visited the very popular Coleman Theater.
In its heyday, it was said to be the best entertainment center between Dallas and Kansas City for Rt. 66 travelers. It helped to spawn and promote a lot of Vaudeville acts, Jazz Groups for music and Movies.
Because it was so wildly popular and offered so much to its patrons, it is now listed on the National List of Historical Places and has been architecturally restored to reflect and show its glory that was.
Wasting no time, I cut through the city and began winding my way in search of my next destination, the last-remaining 9-foot section of Old Route 66, after which I turned towards Oklahoma City along Highway 69 and Interstate 40 westbound.
The road took me through open land with expansive views and soon at sunset, was rewarded with crisp rays of sunlight streaking from behind tufts of remaining clouds in the sky.
Sure enough, I did not pass up the opportunity for a photo.
The road continued through many small towns that were almost non-existent. The dilapidated, deserted streets, broken-down and deserted vehicles, closed store-front businesses and overgrown surrounding vegetation, portrayed despair and life that was or used to be. The thoughts could not be avoided.
Around 9:30 p.m. I chose to stop for fuel. I would be riding late into the night and besides, I needed to clean the visor on my helmet! My visibility was seriously impeded by the layers of insects and bugs. Riding with the visor in the up position was definitely not an option!
I rode well into the night, arriving at James and Marys’ right at 11:30 p.m. James had stayed up to wait for me. It was good to see him again after all these years.
It had been too long!
I’d re-union with Mary in the a.m.
And so with 704 miles (1126 km) ridden for the day and 17 hours “on the road”, this day was ready for my history book!
It had been a great ride and I got to visit and see the places and things I had wished and planned to.
I felt privileged.
August 20th, 2018.
Day 3.
Today was spent catching up with old friends and family.
It was good quality time spent with visits lasting well into the night.
It had been 35 yrs since we had all been together. Great time reminiscing!
The plan was to resume the journey tomorrow, across the Texas “pan-handle”, towards my expected destination of Las Vegas, NM.