Route 66, Day 21 by Bryan Patterson July 1, 2015 -
KOA Joplin had been fine, not one of the best but adequate and because
of the scorpion in the sleeping bag we had missed Kansas. So we were
determined to get Kansas under our belt. So we back tracked into
Oklahoma and made our way North to the Kansas border. It was a very
short ride through Kansas, only 18 miles and we did this pretty
quickly, but did ride over a single span bridge that was the original
and a really beautiful setting.
So back into Missouri and headed towards Springfield, THROUGH Carthage,
Avilas, Plew, Phelps, Spencer, Haltown and Plano, all small towns still
surviving, and some actually seeming the thrive. At Haltwon we picked
up the original Route 66 with some terrific buildings and old gas
stations, especially at Gay Parita where there was a wonderfully
restored gas station with old cars, police cars and other such items.
From here we had a good ride into Springfield and another KOA, which in
fact was an oasis with many trees for shade. Tent up and Mark made a
terrific dinner and finally into our sleeping bags with no scorpions!!
We are headed towards St Louis and hoping to make it by the 30th, so we
were now rising early to get a good start and ride in the early morning
sun.
