Day 12 - The Art of History
- Paul Mullan
- May 3, 2017
- 2 min read
We planned on leaving Carthage at 9am and almost made it, even allowing for an impromptu stop by the President of the Route 66 Association who joined our entourage for breakfast.
Red Oak II was the first stop, the brainchild of veteran artist and sculptor Lowell Davis where we found an entire town relocated and recreated as per the artists imagination... and a little of what the original Red Oak township really did look like apparently . Some of the statues looked remarkably real as well!
His relocated Red Oak township is quirky and unusual but then Lowell's artwork isn't that ordinary either. He welcomed us into his home, plied us with stories and sold plenty of books!
Through tiny Spencer and another Gas Station suspended in time amongst the woods.
Gary Turner was an icon on this route. His Sinclair Gas Station is probably one of the most famous and his death in 2015 left a void in any tour.
Fortunately his daughter Barbara and husband George have moved from interstate and taken up the mantle with equal gusto.
They laid on muffins and welcome hot coffee to ward off the cold snap.
Before jumping off the road at Springfield we stopped in at the Bass Pro Shop which is always a surprise for anyone who hasn't been.
This is the grand daddy of them all, the flagship store in the states.
All that was left was 45 miles down the i65 to the entertainment capital of USA.
There was shopping at the Tanger Outlets, the Auto and Farm Museum for some and the Titanic Expo Museum for others.
A late show at eight called SIX capped off our twelfth day on the mother road.
