Homeward Bound

 Look at that! Home is close by! And tho we're exhausted, we're gonna try to power through so we can make it home by tomorrow morning.

 To me, the lights look like weird bug eyes.

 Nope... nope. Nada. Had to sleep. And luckily I have a camera and not Lora.

 Some of the magnets I bought during my trip. I really need a Texas.

And after traveling from Las Vegas, Nevada to Glouster, Ohio.... we are HOME!!

Devil's Elbow Bridge

 This is where we were heading... Devil's Elbow Bridge.

 Lots of folks had the right idea... canoes, innertubes and boats going down this beautiful river.

 And, of course, it rained. It rained hard and out of no where. Another state effected by the raincloud that was following me across country! There were 2 accidents along this stretch of highway - before St Louis.

 I see a smile in the trash can. I can't be the only one!

And then we made it to the last leg of our Route 66 journey - the Chain of Rocks Bridge that sits on the Mississippi River near St Louis, Mo. It was gorgeous!

 Me!!!

 Vintage pic of the bridge from the 1930's...

The Chain of Rocks Bridge as seen from the bridge that replaced it.

Notice the big storm cloud? Oh yes! After clear skies in St Louis, that damn storm cloud found me yet again! And... sigh... it rained. But AFTER we finished out tourist activities.

Hooker Cut !!

 This is the second time I stood in awe of the history of Route 66. The first was in New Mexico, especially upon seeing The Blue Swallow Hotel, and this is the second - Hooker Cut near Rollo Missouri. Only a few vehicles traveled it while we were there, and though it wasn't in horrible condition, it was obvious that it wasn't used that often. But it just looked amazing to Lora and I. We could imagine all the traffic crowded into those 4 lanes, and see for ourselves why people wrote songs about this beautiful area.

Below is my photo. I added a few vintage pics below.

  

 Here's a few more shots of Route 66 - today - and some vintage postcards showing it way back when.

And we kept on truckin!

 whoops! Wrong turn took us into Kansas... and this was right inside the state border.

 Needless to say, we left.

 After a nice hotel night in just inside Missouri, we're back on the road. Not too sure what's going on here... but it was HOT HOT HOT and I saw an empty truck up ahead. This fella might have been walking back for help and couldn't take the heat. Or he was drunk. Not too sure.

 The Candy Factory... every diabetics dream AND nightmare!

 And the rest stop were these little shelterhouses that looked like Route 66 little gas stations. SO CUTE!

 We traveled both Route 66 and the Highway. Here you can see Route 66 to the right. Some of it is gone... some travels alongside the highway, others criss-cross the new interstate.

I wanted this for my kitchen, but I couldn't fit the car soooo I left it.

The Blue Whale. 'Nuff said.

 So this is me and my great great Aunt Pauline the last time I was in Oklahoma. I've changed since then, and she's 90 now!

And then we head to the Blue Whale, which used to be a kids swimming area way back in the day but now it's just for fishing.

 She can't take me anywhere.

 I kept asking Lora if she wanted to be pee friends - but I was denied!