St. Louis to Oklahoma City

It's been too long since I've blogged, but I haven't had much time recently.

Check out the footage at the Chain of Rocks Bridge just north of St. Louis paralleling I-270.  This used to be the main bridge across the mighty Mississippi River for Rt. 66 travelers.  It has now been turned into a walking bridge and still retains some of its Rt. 66 heritage.
Just south in Collinsville IL, is one of the great sights of the old road, the Worlds Largest Cat-Sup bottle.
http://www.catsupbottle.com/
Great to look at, very hard to skate by.


We drove from St. Louis through Missouri on Rt. 66 for the most part.  It is unfortunate that parts of the old road have be closed off near the Missouri Rt. 66 State Park.  Of all the places you'd think would stay open, the road to the park would be one.
We checked out Meramec Caverns, an original Rt. 66 landmark and former hideout of Jesse James.
http://www.americascave.com/ 
Meramec Caverns was one of the first business to really make use of the Billboard and is also credited with creating that great American icon of the road...the Bumper Sticker. 
We also found an awesome "trading post" in Rolla and picked up some of that sweet Rt. 66 route-beer.  Check out Erin's Stickybit clip for a little more info.


We made our way to Stillwater OK to stay with some old friends.  Not exactly on Rt. 66 but part of the journey we wanted was visiting old friends and family.  They took us down to one of the most famous icons on Rt. 66, the Round Barn.  Built several decades before the Mother Road it was one of the reasons Rt. 66 travels though Oklahoma the way it does.
Just down the road a few hundred yards is one of the "newer" icons of Rt. 66.  Pops Soda Shop
http://www.pops66.com/38.0.html.
With over 500 different sodas and rootbeers, it's one of the must sees on the old highway.


Heading out toward Amarillo and the wide open Texas skies, we got caught in an unseasonable rain storm that flooded most of the Oklahoma City area.  Our car got up in the flood waters and is currently at the shop as we sit idly by waiting for news of the damage and what that means for the rest of the trip. 
Like they say "Bad experiences make for Good stories."

Sculpture

Just a little shot of the Sculpture.
This is what we will be placing along Rt. 66 over the next coming weeks.  The first one is going up tomorrow.  Will it be at the Giant Catsup bottle?  Or perhaps on the Chain of Rocks Bridge?  Perhaps it will find a home at the worlds greatest frozen custard stand, Ted Drews?

You guessed it.  We are in St. Louis and the adventure has begun.

NYC

We're in New York today.  I know it's not part of rt. 66 but I figured if we are going to take the great American Highway, we might as well start where most great American adventures do....Ellis Island.
This trip was supposed to be strictly about skating rt.66 but with the family it tow, it is turning out to be quite a good lesson on American History for our son.  Boston to New York to Philadelphia before we even hit Chicago and Rt.66. The concept of "Freedom of the Open Road" may be associated with rt.66 and the U.S. highway system, but its origins go back much farther in our history.