Day 12 - Joplin MO to St. Louis MO (Updated 6/16)

Turtles have been relevant in our travels.  On the second day, we stopped by the Visitors Center at the Joshua Tree Park where we listened to a presentation from one of the Park Rangers on the turtles in the park.   She cautioned against picking them up to move them as their reaction would be to void all fluids from their bodies causing dehydration.

As we were driving, we were listening to an audible recording of The Grapes of Wrath which included references to Route 66 as the Joad family traveled along Route 66 during part of their journey west to California. The turtle is a symbol of longevity, endurance, persistence, and the continuation of life (sometimes against incredible odds).

We encountered this creature as we left the hotel this morning.  Remembering the rangers caution, the turtle remained untouched and made his/her way to the other side of the road. (Why did the turtle cross the road?...)



 This is the view on one of the main roads in Joplin at 9:30AM on Saturday May 26th. Where is everyone?  Maybe they're sleeping in due to the Memorial Day holiday.

Joplin was devastated by a tornado in 2011. It killed 158 people and injured hundreds of others. During the recovery the butterfly became a symbol of the hopeful spirit and transformation of the town and inspired the following mural.

While we were looking at the butterfly mural, Ginny noticed a butterfly fluttering around us. It set down at our feet. A nice surprise.  

Joplin, as with many other towns on Rt 66, has many other murals throughout the downtown area



A subsection of the mural above
 

There is even a mural park. With a replica of the record "Get your kicks on Route 66". This is also were we exchanged our car for a nicer ride.

Our car needed to be washed and we found a unique car wash. You pay at a drive-up window. Everything else is handled by automation:  alignment in the bay; how far up to drive and when to stop to be properly setup on the conveyor; “Car in neutral, foot off the brake”, when to drive away.  No people involved.  And the car was nicely cleaned.

Inside the Joplin Museum Complex is a section for the Joplin Sports Hall of Fame containing plaques for a few well known professional baseball players.


 

Also, a beautiful antique fire engine.
Then, it was on to Springfield MO, the self proclaimed birthplace of Route 66
The main street through town had an abundance of cafes. We stopped at the Civil Kitchen  where we saw sweet potato brulee on the menu, tried it and loved it.


Leaving Joplin we saw the unique Missouri way of identifying the local roads:  no numbers, just letters.

There are many old (but structurally sound ) bridges along Rt 66. The Route 66 sign appears everyone on the roadway. And the scenery along the ride continues to be beautiful.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2 - May 16 - Started Eastbound Travel on Route 66 ** UPDATED 6/3 **

Image
Left early to avoid the LA traffic.  It was not early enough.  The traffic is all that it's reported to be and more. It took well close to 2 hours to travel the 30 miles from our hotel to the Santa Monica Pier. Spend some time there, on the pier and on a beach walk that runs south to Venice Beach. On the pier, we met a couple from Sweden who were starting their eastbound journey, but ultimately going through Louisiana to Florida. The expect it to take 3 weeks.  We also met a young man from Parma Italy. He graduated from NJIT. He lives and works in Italy, but is in the US for 5 months traveling the country. Photos. The end of Route 66 but our beginning   The pier from the end by the water A gift shop/memorial at the end of the pier         Ginny had to put her feet in the Pacific      Bob on the walk between Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach   Video of Musician on the pier.   ...
Read more

Day 1 - Arrival in LA.

Image
Day 1 - May 15 - Flight landed at LAX at 12:10 PM local time. The journey will start tomorrow. Spent the day negotiating LA traffic traveling to Orange, CA to visit with Ginny's sister Loretta in her new home. Also, keeping in touch with the folks back in the Poughkeepsie area to hear how things were after the violent storm in the afternoon.  Massive   power outages, downed trees, school closings, etc.  We made the right choice by departing today, instead of  Wednesday. We did hear Tuesday evening from friends and our next door neighbor that all was OK. We met Ginny's sister Loretta at her new home in Orange, CA. Here's a look at a typical unit: After catching up, we went to dinner at one of Loretta's favorite place, and ours as well: Rosine's (As we neglected to get pictures, here's a mock up): John Deflumeri, here's what we're driving:                  ...
Read more