<– Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion | Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains –>

Hanging out with a local in Dodge City. It seems I wore the right shirt today.

Day 35: We spent Saturday driving north from Clinton, Oklahoma, to Garden City, Kansas. Unbeknownst to us most of the day, we were roughly following (from Clinton to Dodge City) an old cow drive trail called the Great Western Cattle Trail. Our route:

On Saturday, we drove from Clinton, Oklahoma, to Garden City, Kansas.

Western Cattle Trail (and the other major trails):

We began the morning with one last Route 66 task: visit the Clinton Route 66 Museum. The outside of the building was cleverly done as a vintage-looking Route 66 motel:
Inside the lobby, we found signs, a car, gas pumps, and other items.

To enter the museum portion, it costs $7. Once paid, visitors enter through a set of doors. Among the sights that greet visitors is this large map showing Route 66, along with some early history of road as it relates to Oklahoma. The museum claims that Oklahoma has more original road than any other state. That certainly seemed like a legitimate claim given the length of the road within Oklahoma..

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<– Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 | Day 35 – Saturday June 2nd: Following the Western Cattle Trail –>

This Route 66 sign was just installed in El Reno a month ago.

Day 34: On Friday we drove from Clarmore, Oklahoma, to Clinton, Oklahoma.

On Friday we drove from Claremore, Oklahoma, to Clinton, Oklahoma. Multiple times we hopped on Route 66, but it proved elusive at times as well.

We started out Friday hunting down the Will Rogers statue in downtown Claremore. It didn’t take long to find it. Having read two biographies about Will, one thing I learned is that he was an early day blogger, always traveling with a laptop typewriter and writing when he had a spare moment. I can relate. So, I thought I’d show him how we do a selfie. He was a natural.

In fact, between our glasses and the hardware in our laps, you can barely tell us apart … (Hint: I’m the one with the ball cap). I could tell right away he liked me. After all, he never met a man he didn’t like, or so he said once.

Thanks to Derek Redmond for sneaking up behind me and taking the photo of me.

Our next stop was the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, which is also in Claremore. On our way, we passed this mural. Below I show two of the three panes (the third has been hidden by a tree).

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<– Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas | Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion –>

This section of Route 66 between Miami and Afton, Oklahoma, is the last surviving section from 1922, though this probably is better put: the last surviving easily accessible section. It’s 9ft wide and bordered by cement curbs (though the curbs are even with the road.

Day 33: On Thursday we drove from Ellisville, Missouri, to Claremont, Oklahoma.

Our drive from Ellisville, Missouri, to Claremore, Oklahoma, part of which we did on Route 66.

Late Wednesday night, we repacked our jeep, as Ann and Jim had done a deal for some sewing items. A big thanks to Jim and Tracy helping my wife forget all about our day-1 trials (and for dinner).  Thanks also to Jim for the tour around west St. Louis and along the world’s longest strip mall. Whether it’s true or not, I can attest it is long. I was also impressed with the variety of local restaurants and grocery stores. For example, Lion’s Choice, which I test on Thursday afternoon, served a much higher level of roast beef on a hoagie bun. Even better, they offer a gluten free bun with roasted turkey, perfect for my celiac and beef-protein sensitive wife. We hope to return to St. Louis and explore that city in the future.

On Thursday morning, we continue our journey west, following Jim out to Craig “Mr. TheFcConnection“‘s place. It turns out his home is the kind of place that would make Daniel Boone happy, deep in the country. First, it was out a country highway, then we ventured down a long gravel road. Next, we had to cross the kind of cement bridge that might make a city dweller nervous.

Finally, we had to climb a long, steep driveway that only jeepers could love. It was at the top of said driveway that Craig had prepared a welcome of his own for us.

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<– Day 31 – Tues. May 29th: Nous aurons toujours Paris | Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 –>

Jim’s showing Ann the finer points of using the emboidering functions on this sewing machine we bought from him. He’s renaissance man of many talents!

Day 32: On Wednesday, we drove from Paris, Illinois, to Ellisville, Missouri.

We pulled out of the Ogle’s lovely Country Bed and Breakfast by following some picturesque back roads. This one was particularly pretty.

Our first stop of the day was the little town of Casey. To get there, we traveled down I-70. Normally, we’d have likely bypassed a town like Casey unless it offered something unusual. The residents of Casey understood this, so in December of 2011, to help draw in some traffic, the world’s largest Wind Chimes were installed near the town’s center.

As word about the chimes leaked, travelers began venturing off I-70 to investigate them. Realizing the potential of having big things, more items began to appear in Casey. According to one woman I met, the influx of visitors ramped up quickly, bringing in unexpected cash and visibility.

Now, the town has multiple “largest” items, along with some other goofy items. Participating businesses offer a checklist for visitors so they can be sure not to miss them. The town’s website touts its “Big Things in a Small Town“.

Signs direct visitors:

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<– Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain | Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas –>

David, Russ and Ann in front of Russ’ “Alaska Or Rust Shrine”. Russ lives in Paris, Illinois. The Post title is a French translation of the famous line from Casablanca, “We’ll always have Paris.”

Day 31: On Tuesday we drove from Charleston, West Virginia, to Paris Illinois.

On Tuesday May 29th, we drove from Charleston, West Virginia, to Paris Illinois.

On Tuesday, we started from Charleston early, as we had a long drive to Paris. Our first stop of the day was Huntington, West Virginia, for gas. It turns out the city is considered by some to be an epicenter for opioid addiction. We saw this firsthand.

In Huntington, we randomly chose a Speedy Mini-Mart just off the freeway. As I gassed up the jeep, Ann went inside for a bathroom break. Of the 10 people I saw either milling about outside at the edge of the station’s property or having parked and walked inside, 6 looked addicted to something (funky skin color, haunting eyes … something wasn’t right). Inside the Mini-Mart, The conversation between a customer and the cashier included the difficulties of coming down too fast. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

A couple hours later, we headed into the heart of Louisville from the east, then turned north to cross the river into Indiana. This sent our nav system into a panic, partly because, according to our nav, we were not longer on a bridge. Instead, we were driving on the river itself. The nav system restarted navigation several times trying to make sense of the situation. It took a couple miles before everything righted itself.

Sometime later, while still heading north, we spotted a sign for Goat Milk Stuff. The billboards looked intriguing enough to learn more, so we took a short detour.

There are two buildings, one for goat-based health and beauty products, and the other for goat-milk related products and sweets.

The place wasn’t packed with foods, but what was there tasted good. As goat cheese goes, it wasn’t very “goaty”. Instead, the cheese was smooth and tasty. The store offered free samples. We left with garlic goat cheese.

Bob Christy, this is for Mindy, for you 🙂

With our goat needs satisfied, we left for Paris Machine, a business started in 1944 by Russ Lawton’s grandfather. Russ, along with Cowboy, accompanied us on the trip to Alaska last year with Charlene, the yellow Jeepster.

To make sure Ann and I didn’t miss his shop, Russ put out a couple beacons near the entrance.

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