Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 (Day 2 - St. Louis to Joplin)

Late last summer, Alan and I spent 22 nights on the road in a dedicated effort to travel Historic Route 66 from start to finish, Chicago to Santa Monica.  Eight states, three time zones and 2,448 miles.  In my last post, I mentioned that 2026 marked the Centennial anniversary for Historic Route 66.  Shortly after I published that post, I learned that the City Council in Chicago arbitrarily decided to change the start of Route 66 to Navy Pier.  The city is spinning the move as “a ceremonial tourism-minded gesture that ties directly into the Centennial calendar.”  Personally, I believe it was a timely move to direct tourist traffic away from the history of Route 66 and to an area of the city where visitors are more likely to spend their vacation dollars.  Am I being cynical?  Yes, indeed.  A new “Begin Route 66” sign will be posted at Navy Pier, and it’s scheduled to be dedicated on March 25^th.  The removal of the old sign represents one more tangible piece of history that will be lost along the Mother Road.

The very first scavenger hunt item on our list for Day 2 was the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge which crosses the Mississippi River and connects Illinois and Missouri.  The old bridge is just south of Interstate 270 which is known as the New Chain of Rocks Bridge.  The old bridge was named for the rocky shoals found at this location on the Mississippi.  The shoals made navigation for mariners difficult; had the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge been built in a straight line across the river, the bridge itself would have made traversing the shoals even more difficult.  So, the old bridge is not a straight span across the water - it has a highly unusual turn in it.  One source reported the turn as 22 degrees; the National Park Service reports the turn as 30 degrees.  The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge both fascinates and horrifies me, and I was determined to get a photo of it - even if we had to drive back and forth across I-270 to get a long-distance shot from the window of the car.

Back to Route 66! (Day #1 - Chicago to St. Louis)

Late last summer, Alan and I spent 22 nights on the road in a dedicated effort to travel Historic Route 66 from start to finish, Chicago to Santa Monica.  Eight states, three time zones and 2,448 miles.  Life got in the way of blogging during the past four months; in fact, I only managed to publish the initial overview of the trip (link HERE).   Now, I’m back to finish documenting the kicks we got on Route 66.  With Route 66 celebrating its Centennial this year, I can’t think of a better time to highlight this trip.  Come along with us as we work to complete our scavenger hunt for motels, gas stations, restaurants, theaters, neon signs and quirky attractions in the many towns and cities along Route 66.

Route 66 - Start to Finish! (Chicago to Santa Monica)

For those of you who were waiting patiently for the Route 66 Road Trip report, your wait is over.  Alan and I spent 22 nights on the road, leaving home at the end of August and returning in mid-September.  With 2,758 photos, I can assure you that there is still much to see along Historic Route 66.

Eight states, three time zones, 2,448 miles.  Traveling the entire length of Route 66 had been on our bucket list for years.  For a variety of reasons, this year was the perfect time to add this trip to our travel calendar.  Route 66 officially opened in 1926, and cities and towns from Chicago to Santa Monica will be celebrating “The Mother Road’s” Centennial next year.  While Alan and I would have liked to make the journey next year to take advantage of the many events being planned, we believed we might have less hoopla, but a more realistic experience traveling Historic Route 66 this year without the fanfare.  Honestly, though, anyone who is considering this trip should do it sooner rather than later, in my humble opinion.  As time goes on, we’re losing more and more pieces of this historic road – both literally and figuratively.  Some of the oldest sections of Route 66 are no longer accessible, and more businesses are succumbing to the curse of tourists being diverted by interstate highways and air travel.  That part is sad to see, but there are plenty of communities and businesses that devote time and resources to keeping Historic Route 66 not just alive, but vibrant.  Come along with us on this epic road trip . . .

The Disastrous Conclusion of our West Coast National Parks Trip (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents the FINAL installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Those of you who are long time readers may remember that, on our first day out on this West Coast National Parks trip, the transmission on our GMC Sierra failed, necessitating the purchase of a new 2017 truck over the phone with our local dealer and a quick trip back home to drop off the old truck (still under warranty!) and pick up the new one.  Luckily, we were just one day from home and this grand fiasco cost us only two days out of our five and a half week trip.  Well, go big or go home.  Why not bookend the trip with equally disastrous catastrophes to make it especially memorable?

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Underrated, But Not Underappreciated (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

When we left home in mid-July, I had no idea how quickly this 39 day trip would fly by.  Day #34 found us rolling into Medora, North Dakota, and we were due home at the end of the week.  Medora is home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the Cottonwood Campground within the park would be our home for the next two nights while we explored the park.  “I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.”  Roosevelt’s time in North Dakota impacted him greatly, and our time in the National Park named for him left a lasting impression on me, as well.

Opposite Ends of the Travel Spectrum - Seattle and North Cascades National Park (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

It wasn’t easy to pull up stakes from Salt Creek Recreation Area in Port Angeles, Washington.  Salt Creek had been base camp for our visit to Olympic National Park, and the spectacular views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca would be sorely missed.  But Day #31 of our West Coast National Parks trip was a gift waiting to be opened, and all three of us were eagerly anticipating the adventures ahead.

Olympic National Park - Guess What We Saw at Rialto Beach! (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Alan, Kyra and I were up and out early on Day #30 of our West Coast National Parks trip.  Our pace was grueling, but we were trying to see and do as much as possible in the five and a half weeks we had.  The main event of the day was a “hike” to the “Hole-in-the-Wall” at Rialto Beach, and our timing had to be perfect.  The best time to safely walk out to and back from the Hole-in-the-Wall was at low tide.  Not only would going at low tide allow us access to a large number of tide pools, it would also ensure that we could walk back rather than swim.  You don’t want to challenge the tides, people – you’ll never win.  As Geoffrey Chaucer said, “Time and tide wait for no man.”

Olympic National Park - Let the Exploration Begin! (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

After picking up the West Coast National Parks Trip series of posts again in mid-May, I realized that I had forgotten to include the “day number” in the last two posts.  Our last day on the Oregon coast plus the time we spent at Mount Rainier National Park and our arrival at Salt Creek Recreation Area in Port Angeles, Washington, covered Days 25, 26, 27 and 28.  The two days we spent at Olympic National Park (the first of which is documented in today’s post) were Days 29 and 30.  It was hard to believe that we had been on the road for a full month already.  They say time flies when you’re having fun.  Well, it really flies when you’re having fun AND trying to jam as much as possible into each and every day.

Mount Rainier National Park - A Wild Time Among the Wildflowers (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

“Think outside the box.”  This fairly common expression is probably familiar to most people.  It’s a concept that my very logical mind often has difficulty converting into anything useful.  But, when it comes to finding good campgrounds, my brain has figured out that it never hurts to think outside the box.  And that means . . .  power companies.  Back in 2021, when Alan and I spent an extended period of time in Idaho, we camped at two facilities run by Idaho Power.  (Our campsite at Woodhead Park in Hells Canyon remains one of my all-time favorites.)  In researching a good base camp for our visit to Mount Rainier National Park, I discovered that Tacoma Power in Washington operated four facilities with campgrounds – and one of them was less than 20 miles from Mount Rainier National Park.

Northwestern Oregon & Southwestern Washington (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Despite the fact that Alan, Kyra and I were excited to be moving on to Washington and the three National Parks we would be visiting in that state, our last day on the Oregon coast was bittersweet.  All three of us had fallen in love with the State Parks and State and National Recreation Sites in Oregon that allowed easy access to the beaches and waters of the Pacific Ocean.  Leaving all that beauty behind wasn’t something we were looking forward to.  But, new adventures awaited, and we made the best of our final day on the coast of Oregon.

Recap: National Parks Trips #1, #2 & #3

Most of the photos in this post are from previous stops along the way during our West Coast National Parks trip of 2017.  In trying to figure out exactly where I was in my documentation of the trip, I looked back at our itinerary and our photos.  It’s hard to believe how many intriguing places we visited as we worked our way west toward the coast.  It would seem appropriate to queue up Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” because it sure does feel like it!

I just checked, and it has been nearly 11 months since my last post documenting our 2017 West Coast National Parks trip.  (Yikes!  Time flies when you’re having fun.)  Alan and I first drafted our bucket list of National Parks more than 45 years ago when we were planning our honeymoon.  We spent a full month tent camping across the country to visit a number of iconic National Parks in the American West.  After the kids came along, we vowed to re-create that National Parks honeymoon trip with them and continue working our way through the list of National Parks we planned to visit.

No Regrets Checklist

The photos in this post are a collection of some of our favorite campsites.  A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it definitely brings to mind some extraordinary memories, too.

I’ve been posting about our 2024 trip to Alaska for about nine months, ending with my previous “Alaska by the Numb3rs” post in mid-February.  (I could have had a baby by now; thank heaven I didn’t.)  It’s transition time for me, and I have to think about where to go from here.