Lincoln is the next town you come to. Stopped at the Tropics restaurant and also the Redwood Motel. Had to take photos here. I have postcards of both of these and like to compare for then and now. The sun is starting to set and we will have to do the ghost bridge at a later time. On to Broadwell to take photos of the Pig-Hip restaurant even though it is closed. We were going to see if we could talk to Ernie but he wasn’t home. Didn’t realize that there is a nice old motel next door, the Pioneer. The sun is getting low in the sky and we end up cruising through Elkhart and Williamsville. The old road doesn’t actually go through these towns so don’t feel that we have missed much. Will check again when it is daylight. Sorry to say that this is where we bailed and got back on the super slab. Back in Springfield we did another no-no and ate at the Red Lobster. What can I say? I was craving fish that was not fried. A great way to celebrate the birthday of the Mother Road.

Sunday we were supposed to go back to Broadwell and meet up with Lynn and Jeff to meet Ernie but Earl is sick with something other than a cold. Don’t want to expose Ernie so we stay home. Made him go to the doctor on Monday. Turns out he has a little pneumonia in his right lung. Sure glad I got the shot. He’s got drugs now so will get better quick. Tuesday I went out to do some shopping. Done with Christmas. Yippee! Tomorrow we will drive to Litchfield and meet up with Bob Harmon.

We headed south out of Springfield on the Interstate until we crossed Lake Springfield and then got off to follow the road at the first exit. We passed through Glenarm, Divernon and Farmersville. We laughed when we passed by Art’s Motel and Restaurant. We know this as the motel from hell. Someone we know stayed there and had many friends for company who had many legs. Not only did the company sleep on the floor but also the ceiling. The restaurant was packed. We wondered if the visitors were over there too. Next were Waggoner and the Our Lady of the Highways shrine. We have heard that a local Boy Scout troop may take over the responsibility of caring for this. Think that’s great. We got our blessing and continued on to Litchfield. We went to the Ariston for lunch and met Bob Harmon. We had a most enjoyable visit. Bob is a great guy. He’s an Episcopal priest and is spreading the gospel of Route 66. He gave us a couple of Egroup banners and some cards to pass out during our travels.

After leaving the Ariston we followed IL 16 over to Gillespie to follow the 1926 to 1930 alignment back to Springfield. East Gillespie is a nice small community. This is a great drive, lots of curves and hills. Follows the contours of the earth like all of the original Mother Road did. Next town was Carlinville. They have a great old town square here, all paved in brick. The court house here is huge. Between here and Nilwood is a great 16 foot wide section of drivable road. Nilwood is a quiet little community. There is a neat old school here. Another fun, curvy section and then into Girard. Nice park here. Next stop was Virden where there is a great colorful mural advertising all the businesses here. Then through Thayer. The sun is starting to set and we are hoping to get to our next stop before it does. Auburn and an original brick section. Last time we were here there were quite a few dump trucks running on this section. We figured that it wouldn’t last too much longer if they are allowed to continue. They have been laying down new gravel on a road that cuts off of this section and there is gravel spilled on the beautiful brick. As we suspected the road is starting to deteriorate. There are lots of missing bricks. Sad. It’s still a great section to drive on though. Back to base camp.

We laid low for a day and then did a hidden bridge day. We have a whopping 33 degrees today and tomorrow, with the wind chill it is COLD! Jumped on the Interstate and headed for Lincoln in search of the ghost bridge. This bridge is just south of town. There is a great brick section that begins the journey. The Mother Road passes between two cemeteries. There is a locked gate where you must park and then walk down to the bridge, about a quarter of a mile. You can see curbing sticking up from under all the fallen leaves. We finally reach our destination. We notice piles of brick here and there and wonder if it used to be paved in brick across the bridge. The bridge is no longer there, only the piers and abutments remain. We talked to someone who recalled the bridge and were told that yes, it used to be brick. Used to be a beautiful bridge. When the replacement bridge was built for the newer alignment they actually changed the course of the Salt Creek. We also went to the south side to check it out from that side. It’s not accessible from this side. You can see the old pavement and more bricks just torn up and thrown to the side. Then they have brought in junk pavement and concrete and piled it to prevent access. Sad.

Pilings and abutments of “Ghost Bridge” Old 66 alignment - Lincoln, Illinois

Trail to the “Ghost Bridge” Lincoln, Illinois

Our next stop was the Pig Hip restaurant in Broadwell where we were fortunate enough to catch up with Ernie and Fran Edwards who used to run the restaurant. Business got so good that they couldn’t keep up with it and they retired. Said they just got too old to do it any more. Ernie is full of stories and Fran just looks on admiringly. She’s probably heard these stories a million times. We spent a couple of very enjoyable hours there. We had Ernie autograph our book and he signed it the “old coot” and Fran. We’re really glad that we got to meet him.

Next stop was just south of Springfield on the old alignment (1926 -30) and the Graham bridge over Lick Creek. We’ve missed this on previous trips. Another great bridge. Only accessible from the north side. Lots of graffiti here so the kids must use it for a hang out. The bridge is still in pretty good shape. There is evidence that this one was also paved in brick at one time, you can see the bricks under the pavement that now covers it. Very picturesque area. As we leave we notice a house that is sitting quietly on the old alignment and we wonder if they know they are living on Route 66. Part of me wants to go up to the door and knock and tell them. We go back to town and grab some great, as usual Cozy Dogs. Mmmmm! Corn dogs for the uninformed.

The next day finds us heading north on the Interstate again to Dwight. This is where we had left off earlier and need to finish our trip. We started with lunch at Feddersen’s Pizza Garage. What a cool place! Lots of petrol memorabilia. The pizza was delicious! Quite a few older store fronts across the street. We get our first snow flurries of the season on the way. Then it was on to Odell and the beautiful Standard/Sinclair Gas Station. This has been restored and looks great. Kudos to the preservation committee from the IL Route 66 Association for this and also for the Meramec Caverns advertisement barn just down the road. Both are wonderful icons of the Mother Road.

Odell, Illinois Old barn advertisement near Cayuga, Illinois Restored by the Illinois Rt 66 Association