By Thomas Best
Over the last several weeks, I have been sharing stories of my wife’s and my adventures along the famed highway, Route 66. Today, we will visit Kansas.
While most of the states which Route 66 crosses covers from 300 or 400 miles (with Texas just under 200 miles), Kansas is the shortest of them—and by long ways. Kansas has just from 16 to19 miles of the original Route 66 crossing the southeastern corner of the state. Furthermore, whereas in most states you can quickly transition from and adjacent Interstate, there is no nearby expressway in Kansas which you can jump onto as you travel from southwestern Missouri into northeastern Oklahoma. Kansas’s route is pure Route 66.
Upon entering Kansas, the first town you come to is Galena. Small in size and population and looking rather haggard as an old mining town would, Galena quickly comes to life if you love the animated feature film “Cars.” In fact, there are several sites here with direct connections to this family friendly film. First, you will joyfully encounter a series of displays featuring automobiles and trucks looking just like the cartoonish vehicles in the movie. Galena’s visitor center, housed in an old gas station, claims to have the exact vehicle upon which the truck “Tow Mater” was envisioned. The green garage, looking like the one in film, stands across the street. Across town, there vivid murals, interesting displays (such as the old outdoor jail which Pam and I tried out for a photograph), and even the painted boards with holes in which you can stick your head through for a photograph. Pam decided to look like Dorothy from the “Wizard of Oz.”
Heading for Baxter Springs, you will discover one of the few remaining concrete “rainbow” or “Marsh Arch” bridges spanning a creek. This was once known as the “Graffiti Bridge” for all the signatures that covered its surface. It is now cleaned and appearing as it once did. Once in Baxter Springs, the last town to visit in Kansas, there are more colorful murals advertising the town’s heritage and nostalgic commercial goods, and a pawn shop with an actual shotgun used by Bonnie and Clyde in one of their deadly crime sprees just outside of town. But the real highlight in town is another iconic gas station serving as their visitor center, where—if you are lucky enough—you can meet up with one of the most colorful characters on Route 66. This is “Crazy Legs” Dean Walker, whose personality and physical traits were made part of the “Cars” movie. You see, his unique physical trait is that he can stand with his feet completely turned around. Don’t ask me how does it, but he can! By the way, locals claim that the makers of the movie “Cars” got their inspiration for the town name—”Radiator Springs” from his community, “Baxter Springs.” Whether true or not, you must stop here to check out the town for yourself.
Well, that’s it for the “sunflower state” of Kansas. Next week, we are crossing the “Sooner State” of Oklahoma. Thank you for listening.
