arlington missouri ghost town on old route 66

In downtown Joplin - yes, there is a downtown Joplin - I pick up the old road again and head west through Kansas. West of Rolla, I jump off I-44 to test the old highway, follow the 'historic' signs, miss a cutoff and nearly make Arkansas before recovering. Gift shops, junk emporiums and repair shops flash '66' on their billboards, but a frontage road is a frontage road.įrom time to time, the historic route does meander a bit. Scattered old motel signs, some with no motels, are reminders of what was (which wasn't always all that terrific). Through much of Missouri, though, the Mother Road is a Frontage Road. 'Mostly, I meet Germans.'Īdds Bruce Barnes: 'They think this is the only way to go.'

'I can just stand here and meet people from all over the world,' says Lorraine Barnes, who runs the place with husband Bruce. It's wonderful, and the '66' souvenirs in the gift shop are lots cheaper than Jesse's.

Right next door, on the other hand, is the Antique Toy Museum. Traffic slows a little at the exit for Six Flags St. It's green and hilly almost from the start. On the other hand, I love the Mississippi. If it weren't for Springfield (Lincoln sites, government buildings), gas stations, potty breaks and hunger, there would be no reason to stop at all. Still later but still in Illinois, Old Route 66 is just a frontage road for I-55, which is - let's face it - a flat, dull interstate highway connecting two great baseball cities. Just south of the cafe, the road expands (as it often did) to four lanes, but the former northbound lanes are closed - a ghost road. 1935 diner along its two-lane patch of old 66. Also run by its founding family, it continues to serve patrons in its c. The good news is down the road in Litchfield, where the history hasn't been gutted from the classic Ariston Cafe. 'We just felt like it needed a change,' says John Theilen, cafe supervisor. 'Some say, `It's so nice and clean,' ' says one longtime worker. Remodeled over the last year by the same family that started the business, it looks today like an oversize Wendy's decorated in fake nostalgia. A 1965 fire leveled the original place, but the new one still felt right - until now. Set on a piece of old 66 just off the interstate in McLean, the truck stop's been there since 1928. There is no particular reason to follow old 66 into Dwight or Pontiac, though along the way at O'Dell, there's the ruin of a 1930s gas station. The Prairie State Prison Trail, which for some reason isn't listed in our beloved state's tourist brochures, follows old 66 into Dwight (there's a correctional center there) and Pontiac (there, too). 'I hope you're not taking pictures.'įrom the iron gates, Stateville reminds me a little of the outside of Boston's Fenway Park, without the joy.

'I don't see why not,' she says, but you have to call ahead.

Arlington missouri ghost town on old route 66