Route 66 Day 9 Oct 17, 2019
Third night in Branson went well. Up early, got some breakfast and headed in the direction of Top of the Rock about 10 miles outside of Branson. There was supposed to be a cave here and a nature trail. It was really beautiful, but it was so manufactured that it kind of lost it for me. There was no hiking, you did the nature trail and caves on a golf cart. There was a bar in the cave. And the nature trail was landscaped professionally and felt like a botanical garden and golf course had a baby. It was beautiful. But it wasn't really what I was looking for and it was way to expensive for something I didn't want.
When I left Top of the Rock, I headed to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. It was the first one and it was supposed to be huge and had an aquarium. The aquarium was an additional $30 and I wasn't going to give them any more money after the Top of the Rock experience (also owned by Bass Pro Shops). They didn't have a piece of camping equipment I was looking for and did a quick lap around the building (its huge) and headed out. Finished up a handful of Springfield Route 66 list items and hit the road.
While exploring an old ghost town (all that remains is an old gas station converted into a house and the walls of an old casket shop that nature has began to take over), I met an old farmer who claimed to be the ghost of Plano (the ghost town). He was an 80 year old farmer that was out feeding his cows. 80 years old and still farming. We talked for about 20 minutes before his cows called him away from me and I loved our encounter.
Next up on the route, Gay Parita Sinclair Station. This is a replica gas station and a massive collection of antiques and Route 66 merchandise. There is a small gift shop. The owner is Gary and his wife and they took over the place when his wife's parents died. We talked for the best part of an hour. He gave me ice cream and postcards and I bought a few things in the gift shop. I hadn't purchased anything yet, but I assumed it was really only a matter of time. This was easily the most delightful stop I've had since I started my trip.
It was getting late after I said goodbye to Gary and I knocked out a few other list items close by and then started looking for someplace to sleep. There was a restaurant listed on my Route 66 guide that was close but off Route 66. It was airplane themed and was located in a small privately owned airport out in the middle of a bunch of cow fields. I like airplanes, so I decided to do a little dinner before I crashed for the night. Turns out, during the daylight, they offer airplane rides for $25. And that pretty much sealed my schedule for the morning.
When I left Top of the Rock, I headed to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. It was the first one and it was supposed to be huge and had an aquarium. The aquarium was an additional $30 and I wasn't going to give them any more money after the Top of the Rock experience (also owned by Bass Pro Shops). They didn't have a piece of camping equipment I was looking for and did a quick lap around the building (its huge) and headed out. Finished up a handful of Springfield Route 66 list items and hit the road.
While exploring an old ghost town (all that remains is an old gas station converted into a house and the walls of an old casket shop that nature has began to take over), I met an old farmer who claimed to be the ghost of Plano (the ghost town). He was an 80 year old farmer that was out feeding his cows. 80 years old and still farming. We talked for about 20 minutes before his cows called him away from me and I loved our encounter.
Next up on the route, Gay Parita Sinclair Station. This is a replica gas station and a massive collection of antiques and Route 66 merchandise. There is a small gift shop. The owner is Gary and his wife and they took over the place when his wife's parents died. We talked for the best part of an hour. He gave me ice cream and postcards and I bought a few things in the gift shop. I hadn't purchased anything yet, but I assumed it was really only a matter of time. This was easily the most delightful stop I've had since I started my trip.
It was getting late after I said goodbye to Gary and I knocked out a few other list items close by and then started looking for someplace to sleep. There was a restaurant listed on my Route 66 guide that was close but off Route 66. It was airplane themed and was located in a small privately owned airport out in the middle of a bunch of cow fields. I like airplanes, so I decided to do a little dinner before I crashed for the night. Turns out, during the daylight, they offer airplane rides for $25. And that pretty much sealed my schedule for the morning.
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