You Go Through St. Louie, Joplin, Missouri

When Mother Nature decides not to be the bitch she's been all winter and instead blesses us with a 70 degree day in February, you make the most of it and go on a little road trip.

To get a burger.

On Route 66.

My husband and I headed west out of town, along the 13 miles of Route 66 that goes through Kansas, then into Oklahoma

It wasn't as overcast as it looks; I
took this through the very dirty car window. 

We ate at Waylan's Ku-Ku Burger in Miami (pronounced My-AM-uhhh, in case you thought otherwise), Oklahoma, the last of a chain of 200 burger joints from the 1960s. Yes, pretty much everything is fried. Yes, it's terrible for you. Yes, it was delicious.

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

My husband's fully loaded double hamburger on
the left. My burger, plain, on the right. Don't judge me.

I really, REALLY wanted to try one of their shakes, but I was too full. Maybe next time....

On our way out of town, we saw this restaurant. Does anyone else see a contradiction of terms here?

Had to stop and get gas before we got out of Miami. Filling up at Phillips 66 on Route 66. Coincidence? I think not.

I'm not going to lie and tell you the road between Miami and Joplin is a beautiful stretch of Route 66. Because it isn't. There are some pretty dumpy little towns along the way. Commerce. Quapaw. Riverton. You also drive along the edge of the worst Superfund site in U.S. history, the Tar Creek Superfund site in Picher, Oklahoma (more on that at a later date). But it's still quaint. and so very American. Like the sign on the door of an antiques store in Baxter Springs, Kansas:

Next door to the antique store was Angels on the Route, a little deli with a sign out front that said "Best Frozen Custard on Route 66." 

Of course, we stopped. You think we wouldn't?

I was so engrossed in my peppermint frozen custard in a waffle cone that I didn't take any pictures. Silly me. The owner was full of information about the area, which prompted our next stop, just a little bit out of town (on the original Route 66 but now bypassed by a newer road, we never would have known about this had she not told us about it).

Spanning a small creek is a bridge, built in 1923, the only remaining James Barney Marsh-designed concrete arch "rainbow" bridge on Route 66. A newer bridge was built to replace it, but if you really, really want to drive over it (I did), you can turn off the main road and drive over it, one way only, and circle back to the highway.

Getting ready to cross the rainbow bridge.

I'm skeered of bridges.

See? Pretty.

Our last stop before home was in Galena, Kansas, to see the truck that inspired the character Tow Mater in the Disney movie "Cars."

The sun was in my eyes. Didn't
know until it was too late that
 I chopped off part of it. Dammit.

Thirty miles or so, each way. Avoided the turnpike to get to Miami. Burgers. Frozen custard. Mater. I'd say we got our kicks.