What a fabulous day! I will admit that the first picture was taken the day before, but as it ties in with Route 66, I decided to include it here. Giant alert! Lauterbach Muffler Man
Several years ago, Chuck and I did a covered bridge self-tour in Oregon, and we were super excited to see the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge!
The wood work is just amazing!
Just seeing this sends a wave of relaxation through my body. I take a deep breath and can practically smell the green/earthy smell of the creek.
Scenes like this make me with I had a full day to just sit by the creek and breathe in the peace of the scenery.
On to the museum in Litchfield...
Winter wheat ready for the harvest...
There are so many things to experience along Route 66 that we knew we would have to narrow our focus a bit. We both lvoe visiting old service stations - both those that have been fully restored and those that are buried beneath overgrown vegetation. Soulsby's did not disappoint, and we enjoyed walking around, immersing ourselves in the experience.
Chuck loves checking out the different styles of gas pumps - and seeing what the prices were.
This on has seen better days, but it has character.
This is just too cool :)
Yet another style...
This place definitely has class.
Henry's Rabbit Ranch was a MUST STOP on this trip.
The big rabbit was quarantined but was amenable to posing for a picture.
Henry's is an homage to both the Jack Rabbit Trading Post and Cadillac Ranch.
The greeter was on post...
We had a great time talking with Rich about his experiences at the Rabbit Ranch and the bunnies he has owned and fostered over the years.
Ready to tackle the Chain of Rocks Bridge. The day was already getting warm. We put our hats on right after this picture.
The walk started off through the trees on the Illinois side. The trees on both sides absorbed all hint of breeze, and the heat continued to build as we walked. Even though it was beautiful, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into.
When we emerged from the trees, the breeze made its presence known. After a while we could see that bend in the bridge. We had originally planned to walk to the bend, but with that goal so close, we decided to push on to the far bank. We didn't know when we might have the opportunity again, and we could not let this slip past.
This was a fun surprise! Of course we had to stop for selfies :)
Still working on my selfie stick prowess.
Getting to the far side, we saw this sign, encouraging us that it wasn't so far back to our car as we thought.
A few scenes from the way back across...
OK...imagine this place as a bed and breakfast. You meet your host on the riverbank, are ferried across, and then picked up the next morning. It's not really a BnB, but that would be pretty cool...as long as the river didn't rise substantially overnight.
The bend from the other direction...you can see the trees we will be walking through on the other side.
Almost there! Since we didn't include plans to visit the Arch this time, I wanted to make sure I at least got a picture.
Getting close to the state line...
And we are there!
We have visited St. Louis several times and visited many iconic spots, so on this trip we planned only one stop - Ted Drewes, where we met up with a good friend to enjoy a couple of concretes. I was so excited to see Kaite that I forgot to take pictures of our custard. Trust me - it was delicious!
The day got away from us, and we did not make all of the stops we had planned. But we got checked into our KOA in time to meet another good friend, Gina, for a fabulous dinner at Boot Heel BBQ and Diner. We had never experienced a pork steak, and it was amazing! I understand they also serve a fabulous fried chicken, but they had sold out for the day.
Then we headed to our KOA Kamping Kabin for the night, broke out some cold beverages, and sat out watching fireflies. Another great day on the Route!
Very cool! Looks like you guys are enjoying yourselves. Have fun!
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