On past the ghost town of Powellville. And through the little town of Clementine. Past Springvale and Hooker. Through the famous Hooker cut. Doesn’t look as good this time of year, too dormant. When we were here a couple of years ago it was fall and it was beautiful. The leaves were just vibrant. We crossed the old steel thru-truss bridge over the Big Piney River and into Devils Elbow. It’s like stepping back in time here, not much has changed. Next was St Robert and the entrance to Ft Leonard Wood. Seems this junction has grown since we were last here. Through the town of Waynesville with its nice old buildings scattered here and there. Over the Roubidoux (love the way that rolls off the tongue) Creek and into Buckhorn. Missouri has quite a few stretches of very scenic countryside that are lots of fun to drive. Through the quiet town of Laquey. Past the site of Dadtown and into Gascozark. There are some great rock buildings here. The sun is setting now. We toss a coin whether to get off the Mother Road or get on the super slab. Route 66 wins. We follow it past Hazelgreen and Sleeper on into Lebanon. We decide it’s too dark to enjoy the road, and after a stop at the Munger Moss Motel to try out the new digital camera (which takes great night neon sign shots), we hit the Interstate. Can’t believe that we only got this far, especially after we got such an early start.
Next day was for errands mostly. Did have a 66 goal though and that was to find the old headquarter building for Campbell Express trucking. Have tried to find it the last two times we’ve been in Springfield, no luck. With the help of Rich Henry and Ford Bond we had success! Thank You! For anyone else that is having trouble finding it, here’s how. Take Hwy 65 S and get off at the Chestnut Expressway exit, go 1.1 miles to Patterson, go through the intersection and pull in the first driveway on your right. There is a building that is painted a pale blue, address is 2333, this is it. Aaron’s transmission owns the building now. Make sure to go up the stairs to the main entrance and look in the door, at the top of the stairs ole Snortin Norton is still on the wall. I just love that “Humpin to Please” camel. He’s been painted over on the outside of the building. I would’ve left him if I owned the building, just because he’s so cute.
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“Snortin Nortin” Old Cambell Express building. Springfield, Missouri |
The next day was beautiful, sunny and fairly warm. We flew back to Lebanon and the site of the burned down Satellite Café. The rocket is laying under the old service station awning. Sure would like to have that for my yard. Sad to see another place gone. We cruised over to the Munger Moss Motel with the hopes of meeting Ramona, who runs the motel. She was out of town so we headed over to Wrink’s Market. We’ve missed this place on previous trips, glad we didn’t this time. Wrink is a fun guy to talk to. You can tell he’s been around the block a few times, tons of stories. He told some guy that was in the store that it was his Corvette sitting out front; he needed to jazz up his life. After visiting a spell we went and checked out the town. Pretty busy for such a small place. Nice town.
Caption Reads: “Along Famous Route 66, SATELLITE CAFE”
4 Mi. East of Lebanon, Missouri
We headed for the country and out to Caffeyville. There is an antique mall here and we checked it out. They’ve got some great stuff in there. Even managed to buy a couple of trinkets. Then it was through Phillipsburg, Conway, Sampson, Niangua, and into the little town of Marshfield. School was just getting out so it was quite busy. Past Holman and into Strafford. The drive from Lebanon all the way into Springfield is a really nice country drive. There are the remains of lots of old businesses scattered about for exploring. Did most of the alignments through Springfield before rush hour started. We hid out in a restaurant and then went home. We will make camp in Carthage tomorrow.
We’re staying at the Big Red Barn RV Park and have instant phone service at our site. Yippee! We get to get on the Internet for a bit. Saturday was cold and we stayed indoors all day. Had to get printing Christmas letters and cards anyway, I’m late getting them out. Sunday was the perfect day for a cruise and just the way we love it. Sunny, fairly warm at about 50 degrees, no traffic and nice long stretches of road. Hopped on the freeway back to Springfield and caught the Mother Road on the west side of town. Missouri has some nice hilly stretches that are just great to follow. This particular stretch has lots of old rock building ruins that once were busy service stations, motels or grocery stores. Seems the basic structure can withstand the ravages of time fairly well. Two such buildings are in Piano, one an old Tydol station (occupied as a residence) and a building that used to be a furniture store and also a casket factory. I just love these two! Next town was Halltown, now known for its antique shops. Several old businesses here. Hard to believe there used to be five gas stations here. There are a couple of real nice bridges through this area also.
Next stop was Paris Springs. More great old buildings. They sure don’t make them like they used to. Another great steel thru-truss bridge that takes you into Spencer. A nice little place to explore. Then it was through Heatonville, Albatross, Phelps, Rescue and Plew. All little tiny places that are wide spots in the road now. Next was a place that has eluded me on previous trips, Log City and Stone City. Remains of the cabins that were once so busy are still here. Across the Street are what’s left of Forest Park Camp. The rock buildings are occupied, but very run down. Hard to believe that people can live like that. I guess it’s a matter of necessity. After some photos we headed on our way. Through Avilla where a station that we had stopped at two years ago is now closed. Noticed there was a new Route 66 cafe there, but it was closed.
