Day Four - Springfield to Bethany, Oklahoma

We are quickly learning that the colorful people we meet along Route 66 can keep you entertained for quite some time. One of our first stops this morning was in Paris Springs, Missouri and while we hadn't planned on spending an hour and a half we found the owner of the Gay Parita Sinclair Station so entertaining we just couldn't leave. His name is Gary Turner and he is full of great information and constantly asked if we wanted coffee? doughnuts? a sodie pop? He was hilarious and had to show us around the whole place. He is listed in our EZ66 book as a great place to stop and he insisted on signing our book and getting our names on his Christmas card list.

Gary told us about this stretch of Route 66 near his station. It's one of the only stretches of the original pavement that has never been resurfaced. It's hard to believe it's over eighty years old and in such great shape still. It seemed more like a side walk and I wondered how two vehicles could pass each other on it. Just past this area we crossed over a 1923 "pony" bridge.

For those of you who saw the movie "Cars" you should recognize this truck. This is the inspiration for Tow Mater in the movie and sits out front of a restored gas station in Galena, Kansas. Super nice folks here too. Renee, one of the four owners told us all about how the Pixar people came to town and spotted the truck. Dean Walker, a man who works there and is an ambassador for the Kansas Route 66 Association was also a wealth of information (read, talked our ears off for another 45 minutes). They have a little cafe and Mom and I stayed for lunch. While we were there a young couple from England stopped in to look around. They are traveling the Route eastbound.

Catoosa, Oklahoma is home to one of the most iconic structures on the Route. The Blue Whale is a former swimming hole built in the 70's but was renovated as a park and closed to swimming in the late 80's. There used to be a diving board on the tail and water slides out each side by the head. The builder Hugh Davis built it for his wife as an anniversary present.

We've seen lots of old gas stations on the trip but so far this is my favorite. I think this one is in Bristow, Oklahoma but I've been lax on my note taking so I can't be sure.

Another well known landmark on the Route is the Round Barn built in 1898 in Arcadia, Oklahoma. We arrived too late and it was closed but it's not too far off I-35 so on my next trip to Kansas City I'll stop and take a look inside. It's rented out for dances, weddings and other events.

We covered a lot of miles today but still about 100 miles short of where we'd hoped to be by now. We drove until the sun went down and stayed in Bethany, Oklahoma for the night.