At this point in our trip we had planned to drive the old Santa Fe Loop, which is the section of Route 66 that was used between the years of 1926 and 1937 and it turned out to be an awesome drive.  After this period, Route 66 was constructed near the current interstate.

As we entered Tucumcari, New Mexico, we knew it was going to be one of those places where we wished we had more time so we could stay a day or two.  I’m looking forward to retracing our drive one day so we can plan accordingly based on the unexpected discoveries of this trip.

Following Route 66 while driving across the Texas panhandle was nothing to write home about.  No offense meant to any Texans out there, but whoa… there’s just nothing out there and it’s just how we saw it.  Until we found the infamous Cadillac Ranch.

Leaving Oklahoma City we easily picked up Route 66 and followed it for quite awhile.  We happened upon, of all places, the Fort at El Reno which is on the Chisholm Trail and then we found ourselves in Clinton, Oklahoma.  Both unexpected stops, but both were well-appreciated.

When we drove Route 66 in 2008 we had a basic game plan, but some of the most memorable times on our trip were the unplanned side trips and stops at places we didn’t realize would even fall into our path – such as finding the national memorial in Oklahoma City, or Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois.

While visiting Rocky Ridge Farm – home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband, Almanzo – we met two moms and their young daughters who were on their own special road trip; following the travels of the Ingalls family. When we told them we were following Route 66 and would be passing through a corner of Kansas, they eagerly encouraged us to take a side trip to Independence, KS to visit the Ingalls homestead.  And that’s just what we did.

On our way to Galena, Kansas we said good-bye to Missouri and crossed the state border into Kansas, I jotted a note in my little traveling spiral notebook that read, “Phew… Kansas!”

I’m not exactly sure when I became obsessed fascinated with the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but I’ve had a relationship (in my head) with her for as long as I can remember.

We left St. Louis about 2:30 in the afternoon heading southwest toward The Show Me State of Missouri.  We had a difficult time trying to pick up Route 66.  My pal, at the restored gas station, in Illinois was right when he said Illinois has the best signage.

St. Louis, MO.  Leaving Illinois in the late afternoon we arrived in St. Louis around 7:30 ish.  I was driving so I couldn’t look too closely, but I can still see the image in my mind. The arch in the distance and the Mississippi River, two more firsts for us and I remember thinking, “This is where it all started; the westward movement of those who came before us.”