Route 66 - The End of Illinois & Ms Barbeau

It was starting to feel like we had been in Illinois forever and to be honest, Youngest-daughter and I were both starting to get a little tired of still being in Illinois. Not tired of Route 66, but you could say we were looking forward to seeing Route 66 in a different state. So we got up before 7:00AM and put the Collinsville Fairfield Inn behind us. It was a decent hotel, reasonable price, clean, good beds, middle-of-the-road toilet paper and the A/C worked well enough to get our room to a chilly good sleeping temp so it gets a thumbs up from us.

The disappointing and misleadingly advertised
Mustang Corral.

Next on our list of sites was a place advertised as "The Mustang Corral, a large lot with about 200 Mustangs waiting for a second life." This was on Youngest-daughter's list of must stops since she loves horses. I had serious doubts as to exactly what this is, but we were going by it anyway since it is on the route. Sure enough, Youngest-daughter was thoroughly disappointed as it was just a big dirt parking area for old Ford Mustang cars. I'm not sure what it was all about as there was no building and nobody around trying to sell them or anything.  I have no idea why it is even listed in several Route 66 books, but I can tell you, there is no reason to stop here. Even though it was still relatively early in the morning, it was already hot and the dry conditions resulted in all of the cars being covered in a layer of dirt. We didn't help matters as we drove around on the dirt rows between the cars for a few minutes and quickly raised a huge cloud of dust. We carried a few pounds of The Mustang Corral away with us when we left with my truck covered in a layer of it. (I later learned there is a dirt road in back that leads to a Mustang parts "junkyard" that has been around as long as the cars. I didn't see it so I can't say for sure, but for my 2 cents worth, just because a place has been around for a long time doesn't mean it's a "must stop" place.)

Luna Cafe - the top floor was where the
"Fallen Doves" serviced their customers.

It soon became obvious that we were leaving behind the farms of rural southern Illinois and coming to the suburbs of St. Louis. Entering Mitchell, we stopped at the famous Luna Cafe (N38 45 42.1 W090 05 18.7), former hangout for shady characters, most notably, Al Capone. Built in 1924, it was once a fine-dining establishment, but after the the wealthy, law-abiding patrons had eaten and gone back home, the place became a high-class gambling den and hosted a bevy of "ladies of the night" in the upstairs rooms. The neon sign in front of the establishment featured a cherry in a glass and according to old stories, the cherry would be lit and shining bright red if the ladies were in and available for customers. The girls are gone and the place is much more subdued and worn now, a working-class establishment catering to the local folks and travelers of Route 66.

Chain of Rocks Bridge

Taking Illinois SR 157 through Edwardsville, we followed Route 66 through a rather confusing stretch of twists and turns until we came to the Chain of Rocks bridge. Built in 1929 and financed by tolls, it was designed to link Illinois with Missouri by going straight across the Mississippi River. 5,353 feet long (1.632 miles) and 24 feet wide, it is one of the most architecturally interesting bridges in the world due to poor planning.  Illinois and Missouri were both in a hurry to get the bridge completed so they started building it on both sides and planned to meet in the middle. However, when they got close, they found out there wasn't any bedrock in that section of the river to build a solid foundation. To get around this problem, they had to build and meet 200 yards up river. The 22-degree bend right there in the middle of the bridge proved to be a constant hazard for drivers.

Where Ms Barbeau breathed her last in the
movie  Escape from New York"

In 1967, the New Chain of Rocks Bridge carrying Interstate 270 opened just 2,000 feet from the old bridge  which closed in 1968. The bridge began to deteriorate and during the 1970s, Army demolition teams considered blowing it up for practice. In 1975, demolition was eminent, but fortunately, a bad market saved the old girl. The value of scrap steel plummeted, making demolition no longer profitable.  The Chain of Rocks Bridge then entered 20 years of uncertainty - too expensive to tear down, but too narrow and rusted to carry modern vehicles. There she sat, slowly falling apart until 1980 when film director John Carpenter used the gritty, rusting bridge as a site for his science fiction film, Escape from New York.  The bridge is where, near the end of the movie, Kurt Russell made his escape and poor Adrienne Barbeau's ample, jiggly bosom rose and fell for the last time with her cinematic dying breath.  Restored, painted and maintained, it is now the longest pedestrian bridge in the world and provides a great view of the Mississippi River for those who walk, jog, or bike across it.

The Mississippi River as seen from the
Chain of Rocks Bridge.



Walking back into Illinois after crossing into
Missouri on the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

The multi-talented Ms Barbeau before breathing
her last on the Chain of Rocks bridge.

Returning to BFT (Big Ford Truck) in the gravel parking lot of the bridge, it was a huge relief to start the air conditioner and just sit there feeling the cool air on our hot, sweaty bodies. The temp gauge said it was 97 and you could feel every one of those degrees. I don't know how high the humidity was, but the sweat was running down our faces, our shirts were clinging to us like a wet second skin and we each sucked down a big bottle of water.

We drove a couple of blocks to take the I-270 bridge across the river and there it was, the Missouri state sign. Finally, we were out of Illinois! We had made it to the Show Me state, land of the Ozarks and Jesse James. One state down, 7 more to go. Although we really just wanted to stay in the truck with the A/C blowing on us, there was no way we were going to come this far and not take a side trip in St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch. I'm glad we saw it, but it turned out to be a rather painful decision that would have repercussions for the rest of our trip.

Go to the first Route 66 entry here.

Or go to the first entry of each state:

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Route 66 - Cozy to Rabbit Ranch and Liquid Fire

After bidding the Lauterbach Giant adieu , we made our way over to the Cozy Drive Inn at 2935 S. Sixth Street in Springfield (N39 45 49.0 W089 38 54.6). In 1941, Ed Waldmire, Jr. saw a very unusual sandwich in Muskogee, Oklahoma called a "corn dog." It was a wiener baked in cornbread. The problem, as Ed saw it, was the length of time it took to cook. That fall, he told a college friend about it. His friend, whose father was in the bakery business, thought it was an interesting idea.

Five years later, while Ed was in the Air Force stationed in Amarillo, Texas, his friend sent him a letter saying he had figured out a cornbread mix that would stick to the wiener as it was being deep fried. He sent along some of the mix and Ed began to cook their version of the "corn dog" and sell them at the airfield's PX and the USO. They called their invention a "crusty cur" and it became a hit as people lined up and bought every "crusty cur" Ed could make.

After his tour of duty with the Air Force was over, Ed & his friend, Don Strand, the inventor of the mix, decided to open a stand to sell Crusty Curs in Lake Springfield. However, Ed's wife hated the name "Crusty Cur" so after much thinking and discussion, the name was changed to "Cozy Dogs." The Cozy Dogs were again a hit after the stand was opened in the spring of 1946 and gained widespread fame after Ed sold them at the Illinois State Fair that year. The Cozy Drive In was opened on Sixth Street along Route 66 in Springfield in 1949. The current building was constructed in 1996 right next door to the original structure and is managed by Ed's daughter-in-law and grandsons.

I would recommend a stop here, especially for Route 66 travelers, because it is a landmark on the route and the food is ok, but the atmosphere is better than the food. The Cozy Dog may have been the original and you can call me biased since I'm a Native Texan, but I much prefer a Fletcher's Corny Dog at the State Fair of Texas over a Cozy Dog.

"Hare it is!" - Down the road a bit in Staunton, about 250 miles from our starting point in Chicago, we came upon a really interesting site, Henry's Rabbit Ranch at 1107 Historic Route 66 (N39 00 15.1 W089 46 55.4). Route 66 travelers can't pass through Staunton without stopping here! Rich Henry & his wife Linda both grew up on Route 66 and both of their fathers have been inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame so to say they are pretty close to being experts on Route 66 is pretty safe. Henry's Rabbit Ranch is their contribution to The Mother Road.

The "old" vintage gas station at the
Rabbit Ranch

Almost 15 years ago, Rich and Linda drove to California on Old Route 66 and noticed the lack of visitor centers and souvenirs of the Mother Road. When he got back home to Staunton, he decided to do something about that and built his visitor center. The Ranch celebrates Route 66 and the people along the highway with a collection of highway and trucking memorabilia in and around a replica of a vintage gas station. You'll also find a large collection of Route 66 gift and collectible items as well.

As for the story behind the rabbits - years ago, Rich & Linda's daughter got a pair of rabbits as pets. She didn't think ahead though. Soon, the original male and female rabbit's son's and daughters were too much for her 1-bedroom apartment. Rich stepped in to help out and the next thing you know, the Rabbit Ranch became the newest attraction on Route 66!

Having fun riding a bunny. Note the headstones
on the left for the rabbits who have gone on
to greener pastures.

Youngest-daughter and I agree this was the most interesting and fun stop we had in Illinois. From old 18-wheeler trailers to vintage cars, neon signs and large rabbits to climb on, we spent more fun time exploring, wandering around and taking pictures here than any of the other sites in the state. Even the hand-lettered melancholy stories painted on the little headstones of departed rabbits were interesting. You would never know the old "gas station" is only a little over 10 years old as it appears to have been here since the 1940's. Well done, Rich and Linda, well done.

Old gas pump at the
Rabbit Ranch

Buried car ranch in honor of the Cadillac
Ranch on Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas.




A number of old Campbell's Trucking's "Humpin
to Please"  trailers with "Snorton Norton" the
camel at  the Rabbit Ranch.



Old neon signs at Henry's Rabbit Ranch

Speaking of neon signs, did you know that a neon sign can be seen at a distance 10 times that of a conventional sign? That makes the neon sign a natural fit for the roadside business owner and is why they were so prolific along Route 66.  The word "neon" comes from the word "neos," which means "the new gas" and was given to the very labor-intensive process of hand-bending glass tubes into designs. The colors are the result of the type of gas inside the tubes: blue - argon with a little mercury, white - carbon dioxide, gold - helium, red - neon gas. Other colors are created by placing various phosphor coatings inside the tube. The signs were invented by Georges Claude in 1902 and the first neon signs in America were sold by his company to a Los Angeles Packard dealership. Two signs with the word "PACKARD" were erected. Each sign cost $12,000, equivalent to about $127,000 today. They were called "liquid fire" and people from miles around would stop and stare at what would eventually become an integral part of the story of Route 66.

 

When you see a sign like this, you gotta stop!

By the time we left the Rabbit Ranch, it was getting dark quickly so we called it a day by heading over to Collinsville where the GPS said we would find a Fairfield Inn to rest our tired, but happy heads for the night. On the way there, we found one of those sites the adventurous road trip warrior will occasionally find; a site so unique and out of the ordinary that you just have to stop. We found the world's largest catsup bottle! At 170 feet tall, this water tower was built in 1949 for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant - bottlers of Brooks old original rich and tangy catsup. Slated to be torn down in 1995, the "bottle" was saved and restored to its original condition by an organization called the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group. Now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it is visited by tourists from all over. Well, they say it is anyway. There was nobody there when we were, but hey, that just made it better for us! And I certainly wish the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group well. A name like that just brings a smile to your face!

 

Youngest-daughter holding the world's largest
catsup bottle above her head! 



Go to the first Route 66 entry here.

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Along Route 66 - Here There Be Giants!

(continued from previous post)

As we were leaving Oak Ridge Cemetery, a car stopped beside me and a nice gentleman got out and introduced himself as Jim. His wife Betty stayed in the car, but rolled down the window, smiled and waved. Jim and Betty, an older retired couple from Missouri were, like me, checking off a bucket list item with a Route 66 pilgrimage. They had started in Chicago and planned to make it to Oklahoma City where they would then decide if they could continue going west or if they needed to go back home, rest for a while and tackle the 2nd half of the journey in the fall. Turns out he had parked next to my truck at the Sirup Store in Funk's Grove and noticed my metal Texas hitch cover. By chance, they kept coming up on us as they were stopping to see sites along the road just as we would be leaving. They knew for sure that it was us because of the Texas hitch cover. After a few pleasant minutes of conversation, he asked me if I knew where the "giant Lincoln" was? Hmmm. I remember reading about it in one of my Route 66 books, but I couldn't recall exactly where it is located. Now that he mentioned it and we had seen a couple of other "giant muffler" guys, we had to see it! Jim and I didn't discuss it for very long though because it was so dang hot standing in the middle of that blacktop road! We shook hands, said good luck finding Giant Abe, we'd keep an eye out for each other and have a safe trip!

Rail Splitter or Axe Murderer?

Firing up the mi-fi (mobile Internet connection - it's a wonderful thing!), I soon found directions to Giant Abe and we headed off toward his location at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. We got turned around a bit and wandered around for a while, but then spotted an Olive Garden and decided to eat lunch. Olive Garden was the usual Olive Garden, good, familiar, but nothing to rave about. After getting back on the road, we talked about the next giant dude on our list of "must see em's," the Lauterbach Giant. It took us a while to find the fair grounds, driving around lost for a while until we finally came across a street that was in the directions we had found on the Internet. After driving a couple of miles in the wrong direction (yes, I am very directionally challenged, a particularly vexing problem for a road  warrior), we got turned the right way and about an hour after leaving Olive Garden, we found the Abe we were looking for.

Located at N 39° 49.884 W 089° 38.382, the entrance to the fairgrounds, "The Rail Splitter" as he is affectionately known by most of the local residents (the rest of them supposedly call him "The Axe Murderer"), is made of fiberglass and was erected in 1968. He stands 30 feet tall and is one of the few depictions of a clean-shaven Abe Lincoln. We looked, but sadly, didn't spot Jim and Betty. We kept an eye out for the them during the rest of our trip, but never saw them again. Hope they found Abe, completed their journey and arrived back home safe and sound.

Needing to get back on Route 66 to see the Lauterbach Giant, I plugged in the address of the Lauderbach Tire and Auto Service. After following GPS directions for a couple of miles, Youngest-daughter and I remarked at almost the same time, "Hey, this looks familiar." Sure enough, we were backtracking and several miles later we found ourselves at the Olive Garden where we had eaten lunch. "Turn left" said sexy-voiced Lorena (with a voice like hers, my GPS couldn't be named anything but Lorena!). And right there in plain sight, not 1/2 a block on the left after we turned was the Lauterbach Giant. We had been just 200 yards from him as we ate!



Lauterbach Giant
N39 45 51.7 W089 40 47.0

One of the last 3 remaining original "Muffler Men" in Illinois, he started out holding a giant tire, but became more patriotic a few years ago and now holds an American flag.

Tragedy struck in March, 2006 when a tornado ripped through this section of Springfield and decapitated this gentle giant. Most folks thought he was a goner for sure, but his head was found intact a few hundred feet away and the Lauterbach auto business he stands in front of found a company which does fiberglass repair. He was soon reunited with his head and he still stands today, proudly holding the flag as it waves in the breeze.

Go to the first Route 66 entry here.

Or go to the first entry of each state:

Illinois   Missouri   Kansas   Oklahoma   Texas   New Mexico   Arizona   California