A night at the drive-in...

(I'LL BE ADDING PICTURES TONIGHT)

Day 4 – Stanton, MO to Carthage, MO (approx. 210 miles)

Apparently the beds at the Meramec Caverns Motel are not made for people that are 6’ 4” tall. At first I thought Joe was joking, but even when he scooted his head all the way up to the headboard, his feet still hung off. He didn’t find it near as humorous as I did.

Joe sweet talked the woman at the front desk and traded her a bottle of wine that we just happened to have with us for one of their extra key chains that they use for the rooms. These are the old school diamond-shaped key chains that tell you to drop them in the nearest mailbox if found. Very cool! It took every ounce of willpower I had last year to not “accidentally” forget to turn mine in when I stayed there last year.

The thunderstorms cleared out by morning and it was just a little overcast when we woke up. We started the morning by taking a tour of Meramec Caverns. Our tour guide was either very new or very nervous or both. The poor kid kept forgetting what he was supposed to be talking about, but towards the end of the tour he seemed to get in the groove.

Our next stop was the Jesse James Wax Museum in Stanton. I had stopped here last year, but Joe wanted to check it out so we went through the exhibit. They claim that Jesse James didn’t die in the late 1800s but rather he lived to be over 100 years old and died in the early 1950s. The museum shows a video of their conspiracy theory and then you can walk through different exhibits. I must admit that I was a little disappointed to find out that they had repaired one of the wax figures because last year his thumb had fallen off and was just lying there in one of the scenes. (I guess you had to be there, but it struck me as funny.)

After our morning stops we were back on the road. With over 200 miles to travel today, we didn’t have much time for dilly-dallying.

We stopped at the Totem Pole Trading Post to fuel up and check out their souvenirs and antiques that they have for sale. This is the longest-running business on 66 in Missouri. We were excited to find a box full of $2 grab bags at the door. Joe and I both chose one, and I got some sort of beanie-baby-lemur-monkey-looking-thing. Whatever it was, its nose had been chewed on (I’m guessing by a child, not an animal) at some point in its existence. We named our new travel companion Jesse (after Jesse James, of course) and sat him on the dash. I’m quite fond of Jesse, but I must say though, I was a little jealous because Joe got a 2006 hillbilly calendar in his grab bag.

One place on my list of stops for today was John’s Modern Cabins. These cabins were used as lodging for travelers “back in the day” and something about them has always intrigued me from the first time I saw a picture of them in a book many years ago. I stopped here last year and was saddened by the condition of them. Most of them are just dilapidated remains with only a couple still remaining upright, but still, I had to stop again this year. As I had expected, their condition had worsened, and the owners of the property have now posted a “No Trespassing” sign to keep people like me away. I got as close as I could from the road to snap a few more pictures, but didn’t go tromping around in the woods like last year. Oh well…less of a chance of me bringing a wood tick along for the ride that way.

Our last stop before Carthage was in Paris Springs, MO. There are only a handful of buildings left in this former Route 66 town, but one of them is a replica of a gas station that Gary Turner has built in his front yard. I stopped here last year and chatted for quite awhile with Gary, and couldn’t resist stopping again. Gary purchased this property a few years ago and built a non-working gas station that resembles the one that used to stand in the same place many years ago. The original station burned down, but the stone service garage still stands. Gary is retired and simply sits in his “gas station” all day and waits for travelers to pass by so he can chat and show them his place. He keeps a refrigerator in his garage stocked with sodas and water for anyone who stops by. He says he has between 6 and 7,000 visitors each year pass through Paris Springs. Gary can chat for hours, but after an hour we had to hit the road to get to Carthage before dark.

We drove straight to Carthage and got parked at the Route 66 Drive-In with about 10 minutes to spare before the movies started. Years ago the drive-in was shut down and became a salvage yard until it was purchased and restored in 1998. This is one nice drive-in! The family that owns it obviously takes pride in this relic that they have restored. I would highly recommend stopping here if you are ever in the area. The grounds are well kept as is the structure itself. It was a double feature – X Men Wolverine and The Haunting in Connecticut. Joe was thrilled because this was the only way he would ever get me to see either one of these movies.

We finally got to our motel around 1 am. This was the only night that we didn’t have reservations already made for the night, and Gary Turner suggested we stop at the Best Budget Inn. The owners are strong Route 66 supporters, so we stopped there for the night. The room was only $46, and was immaculate, but very dated. Needless to say, there wasn’t any internet access there either.

kdl