Tulsa, OK to Home
The Hiraeth Series
Not being a fan of cities, it was nice to be able to set out of Tulsa, OK while it was still dark and the traffic was light. The drive across the Oklahoma countryside was quiet and still at this time of morning, just me and few of those whose jobs require an early start on the road.
A little over an hour into my drive, I passed through the town of Afton. Afton is just another small Midwest town that suffered with the interstate highway making their main street another slightly used secondary road.
Commerce, OK, a town of 2,300 people is another 20 miles along the mother road, but like its neighbor Afton, it has seen better days. Only its advantage of being a slightly larger town seems to have saved it from having the same level of decay as Afton.
I want to say that by this point on day four, I took fewer pictures of the Old 66 “ghosts” as I like to call them. Truth be told, I could have spend multiple days in every state just photographing lost dreams, but there is only so much to say when there is nothing left to say it about. Seeing dreams of yesterday turned over in the wake of progress is only a reminder that what we enjoy today will someday also meet the same fate. Progress, like time, stops for no one.
Around 8:45AM, I crossed the border into Kansas. In this case, not only did the interstate highway system bypass some little towns, in this corner the interstate bypassed Kansas. Old Route 66 still takes you through about 10 or 15 miles of Kansas; Interstate 44 takes you directly into Missouri.
Just after crossing the KS border, I passed through the little town of Baxter Springs. This is a town that has lived well off its partnership with the mother road. While small, Baxter Springs is cute and well kept, with several Route 66 shops to stop and look at. There were very nicely kept homes lining the street. I was curious as I often was along the way and I googled the median cost of a home in Baxter Springs and was amazed (in this current era) to find that it was still under $100,000 and the average home price was $116,000. I just am not sure what people here do for a living, so perhaps that is no more affordable than housing where I live that costs much more, but it does somehow ring to a simpler way of life.
Not long after passing the Rainbow Bridge just northeast of Baxter Springs, I slid across another border and was in Missouri. For quite a stretch in Missouri, Old 66 was a service road along the newer interstate. At one point I thought the app that kept me routed on 66 was leading me astray. The road it took me on has a large sign for a local park and seemed to be entering a parking area, but 66 actually rolled right out the other side and I had a beautiful drive along a small river for a short while. The rolling Missouri hillsides were charming and a few of the tree were still holding on to those last colored leaves that refuse to admit that winter is coming.
Shortly after crossing this last iron bridge, my Route 66 app lost connection and sent me astray. Not far, but it was frustrating. It was not the first glitch I had with this app on the trip and I was officially over it by now. My destination “goal” for this day was Springfield, IL. Springfield is the home a Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the U.S., and my childhood hero. I intended to see his home and then go see his tomb, two things I have never done and always have wanted. At Springfield, I intended to leave 66 on it’s last short leg to Chicago and cut over into Indiana to get home quicker the next day.
So you’ll note I said “intended” to see his home and grave. The day was gray, rainy, and cold. The glitch with the app, days of being away from home, sleeping in cheap motels and eating lousy food, overrode my goal. I just wanted to sleep in my own bed, next to my wife. When the time came to curve away toward Springfield, I jumped on the interstate and made my goal home. I knew it would make for a very long day of driving and would be close to 10PM when I got in, but it was worth it.
Despite horrible traffic and construction in the Chicago area, I persevered and got home when I thought I would.
This little trip on Route 66 was well worth the adventure. I want to do it again, with more time, and more completely. I want my wife with me. This is an experience to be shared. I will be better prepared with maps and points of interest than just “winging it.” It is the “mother road,” and sometime you just need your mom!
Thank you for following my adventure and reading my ramblings.
Keep rambling…
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