A reminder about photographs: Some photographs appear as thumbnails, all other photographs appear within the text as hyperlinks, so be sure to check them out!
A reminder about photographs: Some photographs appear as
thumbnails, all other photographs appear within the text as hyperlinks, so be sure to
check them out!
After visiting the Chain of Rocks Bridge, the next thing to do was to decide what to do
about getting to St. Louis. There were so many options and at the time, it seemed so
confusing. Naturally, in retrospect here at home, it's not! Amber definitely wanted
to see the Gateway Arch, so bypassing downtown was out of the question. Both Bob Moore and
Tom Snyder advised against crossing the McKinley Bridge. I was confused by Bob
Moore's recommendation to take "By-Pass 66 and drop down to 366." How did
he want you to cross the Mississippi? And I know 366 was Watson Road, but what
current road is now "By-Pass 66?" He clearly recommended against taking the
McKinley Bridge to Highway 67, then taking the city route (which he says would drive you
crazy). Being confused, combined with being annoyed with myself for being confused,
I started to follow the most common suggestion to use I-270, and bypass St. Louis and
double back to Chippewa (Route 66 on the west side of St. Louis). At one point, I
followed 367 south, which would have led into St. Louis and I probably could have followed
the city route...but I decided not to do this, and instead went back to the I-270
bypass. Unfortunately, I really started to realize that you would not see the
Gateway Arch if you did that and it's a long way around and to go back!!! Thank
goodness I had the AAA map, which contains a reasonable St. Louis city map. So, I
turned back east on I-270, exited to Natural Bridge Road (Exit 25), and followed it into
St. Louis. I found my way past Bob
Moore's description of a 1933 map
alignment: "Natural Bridge Road, left on Vandeventer Road, cross town on
Kingshighway Blvd and onto Chippewa." Since I was heading east,
Vandeventer was on my right. I didn't want to cross over to Chippewa without seeing the
Arch, but at least I was getting there, anyway! I made my way to the Gateway Arch
(by sight). We parked there for a little bit, and Amber took some video of the arch, while
I took some photos.
Upon leaving the Gateway Arch, I followed Tucker (12th Street) to Gravois, and onto
Chippewa. 
And it was just in time,
because that meant we were almost at Ted Drewes Frozen 
Custard!! Yummmm! Amber and
I each had a large concrete - I had chocolate and Amber had strawberry). I also
bought a Ted Drewes magnet. Suzanne Fitzgerald Wallis said in the Journey Down
Route 66 video that "there's only one Ted Drewes, and it's the best."
She's right, and while I know that's the way it should be, what do you do when you are
from the northeast and you MUST have their fabulous frozen custard again? I'll just
have to wait until next time, and hope that time comes soon!
Continuing out of St. Louis on Chippewa (SR 366) as it becomes Watson Road, I
anticipated our next site, that of the former Coral Court, which was a tourist/motor
court. Its streamlined moderne design, with its curves and glass blocks and art deco
lettering were so beautiful, it's little wonder why people now look at it with such
fondness, at least from an architectural viewpoint. There is simply no
comparison to the spectacular Coral Court. Sadly, the Coral Court was demolished
in 1995, despite fervent preservation efforts. An excellent book has been
published about the Coral Court, Tales
From the Coral Court: Photos & Stories from a Lost Route 66 Landmark by Shellee Graham (Photographer), Anna
Ross (Editor).
Here are some links to photos of the Coral Court:
From the National Route 66
Federation website
Interesting Ideas
We later purchased the Coral Court book at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma.
The beauty of the Coral Court fascinates so many people. Unfortunately, in its
later years, it acquired a seedy reputation. I have not had a chance to read the
book yet, I gleaned it quickly before I decided to pack it away for the first round of
souvenir shipments home. I am looking forward to reading it thoroughly, I am sure
it's the book to have for a history of the Coral Court. Just before we
left, I found an online essay about the Coral Court, including its demolition. If I
hadn't found that site, I would have still thought it would be there - it was something I
was really looking forward to seeing, so it was disappointing to learn this. Though
it won't be the same, I am sure reading Ms. Graham's book will make up a little bit
for being unable to see the Coral Court, by imparting some interesting stories and photos.
The next interesting site was that of Times Beach. I followed the vague directions in Bob Moore's book, which only consisted of "the Lewis Road exit will take you to Times Beach." We had to follow I-44 at this point, so we exited at Lewis Road. Bob Moore's book has an history of this town, created as an advertising promotion by the St. Louis Star-Times. I remember other websites detailing trips to the former Times Beach site, as well as road closures. I came upon Route 66 State Park, did a quick turnaround, baffled! I knew there were no signs or indications on any maps that Times Beach had ever existed, but Bob Moore's book didn't list this park either. Later, in the hotel, I read the HERE IT IS map, which is just a year more current than Bob Moore's book. I found that Route 66 State Park was built last year at the site of the former Times Beach, Missouri (obviously free of all toxic contamination!).
At this time, we continued on from the park, following Bob Moore's book, I-44 to Exit 264 to Eureka. Route 66 is North Outer Road here, but it's not marked that way at the Intersection, so watch out for 5th Street, as it is also called. You could hope, as I did, that you again encounter a knowledgeable gas station attendant to help you! We went only a couple of miles at this point, since there were a great deal of choices for lodging here and it was just after 6:00 PM. I didn't want to have a repeat of the previous evening's nightmare, so we decided to stay in Eureka, even though my tentative schedule indicated spending the night in Rolla. Being that we exceeded our planned mileage from Springfield to Hamel, I would have expected to make Rolla by this evening, but the whole "St. Louis bypass on I-270" fiasco really tied us up and cost us time. Not that time should be an issue, since the whole point of a Route 66 trip is NOT to "make time" on the Interstate (AKA monotonous superslab). 12 days was enough time to reasonably make the trip, while allowing enough time to poke around and see attractions, so we weren't really rushed. Unfortunately, I still had to adhere to some sort of organized schedule. I would not recommend less than 12 days to drive if you want to see the sites, caverns, museums, etc.
So back to our evening in Eureka. We got ourselves situated at the motel, the Super 8 on Route 66. Also a few buildings up was a cute place too, the Red Carpet Inn. We headed over there because they had a miniature golf course, which was also available to the public, not only motel guests. Amber and I had fun playing a round of miniature golf there (she won, thanks to the tutelage received from her Uncle George). However, I did make a few good shots in the game, here is a picture of me after one of them! (I'm standing that way because I just said "Yessss!" LOL) This is a photo of an old sign for a soft drink called Squirt, which was at the mini golf course.
We had dinner at a place next to the Super 8 called Lion's Choice, which was a roast beef fast food place. I would have preferred a sit down meal at a nearby restaurant, but since we played miniature golf first, Amber and I were tired and wanted to go back to the room.
The next day we did a brief double back to Route 66 State Park (Times
Beach) and I took a photo of the sign. The previous evening, after checking into our
hotel, we had driven Route 66 in Eureka (North Outer Road) past Six Flags St. Louis.
So, after we left Times Beach, we decided to take the Interstate, exiting at Six Flags,
and continue from there.
We headed to Pacific, past the remains of the Beacon
Motel, as well the Red Cedar Inn (also at
right). We also went by the Sunset Motel
and the Gardenway Motel.
I saw a little turtle crossing the road in front of us, and over the
opposite lane. Isn't this such a cute little guy? Amber was happy the turtle
made it across before an oncoming vehicle! Since I was not worried about making
time, I turned around and pulled over so she could see it (the things I do)...she was all
excited seeing this turtle!
We wanted another good breakfast, and I chose the Route 66 Diner, 409 E.
Osage (Route 66), Pacific. It was a neat place, with a black, white and red
Coca-Cola theme. The breakfast was excellent, and so was the coffee! The
service was also wonderful, and so friendly! Another perfect choice.
We went through St. Clair, and then on to Stanton.
As we crossed over to the south Frontage Road in Stanton, I saw the Jesse James Museum and
Antique Toy Museum, side by side. I also wanted to go to Meramec Caverns, and I knew
we wouldn't have enough time to do all three, so I decided on only the Toy Museum, which I
knew would interest me more than the Jesse James Museum. For more on this wonderful place,
including many photos (digital video screen captures), please go to this page: Antique Toy Museum
After the Toy Museum, we went to Meramec Caverns. On the short drive, we passed the
Riverside Reptile Ranch, which Amber wanted to visit, so I said we could go after Meramec
Caverns.
Meramec Caverns has some unique things compared to what I remember from other caverns I've
visited. They 
used to hold
dances in the "ballroom," that was pretty neat! They have a
"Honeymoon Room" from the show People Are Funny, where a couple was
supposed to stay on their honeymoon for a week (yecch!). They were awarded a
vacation in Hawaii afterward to make up for that! Also, one of Meramec's main
selling points is the fact that Jesse and Frank James hid out in the caverns after some
sort of heist. Click here for more on Meramec Caverns
As promised, after Meramec Caverns, I took Amber to the Riverside Reptile Ranch. Click on the link for more on this, er...interesting place, but only if snakes, alligators, lizards, huge cockroaches and so on don't give you the creeps! They do give me the creeps, I couldn't stand all those creatures!
Shortly afterward, we encountered another Muffler Man, this one at Lumberjack Products in Sullivan.
Some interesting old shops
here, with original signage (I find these ordinary things fascinating). For example,
I haven't seen a Radio Shack sign like this in a
while. There is also an interesting mural Welcome
to Cuba, and the Route 66 Cafe. Also, the
Wagon Wheel Motel is located in Cuba, at left.
We went by all the grape stands between Cuba and St. James, past Route 66 Motors and General Store, and
continued onto Rolla. After Rolla, we followed the Bob Moore book, using the South
Frontage Road to Arlington, where it dead-ends. We then came back up and onto the
North Frontage Road, also dead-ended alignment, where we came upon Vernelle's Motel, and
another anticipated site, "John's Modern Cabins."
 | Sign, John's Modern Cabins |
| Cabins |
| Close up of a cabin |
| A picture of me by a cabin |
We also saw this old abandoned filling station. Here is a closeup of the gas pumps.
We were doing fine following Bob Moore's book, through Waynesville, where I saw this
neat store called Super Way Mallow's Market.
Again, I found this interesting, simply because I haven't seen S & H Green Stamps in years! I showed these
photos to my mother and grandmother, and what memories they got started on...remembering
all the items they bought with Green Stamps and so on. That's what Route 66 is
like...it IS the past and the present at the same time.
As we continued, I did what was listed in the Bob Moore book: "Follow
Business Loop 44 through town, Hwy 17 South, out of town." Then, at the
next mile marker in the book (21.3), it says, "Junction of 17 and 'AB'."
But that does not specify whether to take AB or 17! 17 was the continuation of the
road curved to the left, and AB went right (straight), but clearly seemed like a turnoff.
I wish I had pulled out the HERE IT IS map, which clearly said to follow AB to the
right. Naturally, I followed 17 south, to the left. After who knows how many
miles, with the desolation increasing, I finally pulled out the AAA Missouri map and was
appalled to see how far south 17 was...I wasn't too far in, thank goodness. I was
able to get to MO 32 and follow that north into Lebanon, about 25 miles. The only
problem was that we were very low on gas, it was getting a little late (well, around 6:00
PM or so), and we were out in the middle of nowhere. I hoped the gas would hang in
there until Lebanon, but I was really unsure. Amazingly, just as the gas tank
reading dropped below 1/8, we came upon a gas station out here!!! The credit card
receipt I have says Myers Place, 29185 HWY 32, Lebanon, MO. The old pumps were self
service, but a friendly older man came out and asked if it was OK if he pumped it, even
though it was self service. He said he asks all the female customers, because he
likes to do that for them (he lets the men pump their own gas), in spite of his daughter's
protestations that he shouldn't do so. While I always pump my own gas at home and am
certainly capable of doing so, being from the northeast, I was certainly not about to turn
down such friendly hospitable service. I didn't find it offensive, for a change, to
have real, kind service! He explained that the station was a gift for (I believe)
his son & daughter-in-law, but that didn't work out, so he runs it now. Very
nice fellow!
We made it into Lebanon by 6:45 PM, and continued on with Bob Moore's directions at the point where Route CC is just to the southside of I-44 in Lebanon. I decided to continue on to Springfield, another 50 miles. The reason being that I expected to be in Rolla the previous night, and I didn't want to be only slightly past Rolla today!
We finally ended up in Springfield at 9:00, following Bob Moore's book. Amber wanted to go to a chain motel, but I wanted to stay at an independent. As we approached the Rest Haven Court, I thought it was a classic motel! It was well kept and clean, with very friendly service. As I was taking this photo, one of the owners came out to give me a postcard of the motel! A nice convenience was the assigned parking places, and the owner made sure that my parking place was available, kindly asking the person parked there to move. Amber liked it, our room was large and comfortable, and had a good cable TV system (tops on her list).
I woke early the next day, eager to catch up to my tentative schedule, which I did. I guess I really wanted my tentative schedule to be less tentative, and more exact! We continued through Springfield, following Kearney, which Bob Moore indicates is a 1936 bypass. There was some confusion as Kearney headed into US 160 and to the Chestnut Expressway. Ultimately, I figured it out (yet again), and we continued on our way.
We followed Bob Moore's
directions and had no problem during this portion, spotting all indicated landmarks (old
truss 
bridges, tourist cabins and
other deteriorated buildings). I was excited to get to Carthage, where I knew we
would find the Route 66 Drive-In (though at this point I also referred to the HERE IT IS
map). Michael Wallis' book (and most others) show it abandoned, but I found a
website for the Drive-In (see the references and links page),
which has been restored! Nice to see such things!
We continued on, using both HERE IT IS and Bob Moore's book, following 71 to
Carterville, Webb City. It was interesting to encounter 66 marked as a state road,
which we used to enter Galena, Kansas.
This page was last updated on Saturday, June 04, 2005
