Deep 66ed.

Film at Eleven.

Eureka, Missouri – Chasing an unknown nostalgia past parted-out cars, Art Deco motels and an old drive-in theatre, we attempted to trace some of historic Route 66 through Missouri this morning.

It was an unanticipated detour, but part of the fun.

Having not planned it, however, we ended up heading west, held up behind a pod of bicycles who appeared to know far better where they were headed. Just not quickly.

Today, the route consists of several broken stretches of the old highway, making the coloured lines on our not-to-scale map as useful as a scattered pile of Pick Up Sticks. Chasing ghosts can be like that.

We had spent our time in Tulsa visiting the Center of the Universe, admiring the Art Deco architecture, stopping in on the Golden Driller – the fifth-tallest statue in the United States – and enjoying some extremely good food and beer at Prairie Artisan Ales. Somehow, we turned down the opportunity to stay for a beer and music festival put on by Hanson. Mmmhops, anybody?

Instead, we are homeward bound. You could tell the delirium of being on the road this long was hitting us when, as day’s end approached, we saw signs advertising the Uranus Fudge Factory.

The small complex alongside Route 66 – inexplicably composed of a tattoo studio, general store, gun shop and burlesque hall – is reminiscent of a much smaller, yet equally irreverent Wall Drug in South Dakota. “Uranus is expanding. Please excuse the mess,” read the sign on the door.

These utterly random encounters are the moments for which road trips are made.

Vitals:

• Time: 7.5 hours
• Distance: 649.8 kms
• Weather: Sunny and warm
• States/Province: Oklahoma, Missouri
• Wildlife: None

Sooner or Later.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not...Oh, wait, yes we are."

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Rugged Kansas hills form the strong jawline of the farming community. Leaning barns with crooked slats, meanwhile, appear to grin with mouths of jagged teeth.

The journey was far greener, and hilly, than I had expected.

It was a peaceful day cruising along a single-lane road into an endless sky flecked with fluffy white clouds that tapered into infinity. Flipped-up reflectors lined the centre of the dark asphalt like Post-it Notes. Knocked loose, many lay scattered across the road as though a gambler had flipped a giant table full of shiny cards.

Juiced-up pickup trucks spat gravel at a middle-of-nowhere gas station, pulling out of the parking lot with a shudder. I couldn’t compete with a young lad’s belt buckle, which was large enough to serve a Thanksgiving turkey.

Heading toward Oklahoma, tall iron gates marked the entrance to vast farms spotted with cows. Scattered between, small oil derricks nodded rhythmically like rusted hobby horses, pulling liquid gold from the earth.

Typical ranch dressing.

Vitals:

• Distance: 611.3 kms
• Time: 6.5 hours
• Weather: Sunny and warm
• States: Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma
• Wildlife: None