Road Trip Day 6 - Tuesday, 30th April, 2019.

Much time was lost today avoiding turtles and tornadoes. It was a warm, sunny morning and the turtles obviously enjoyed basking on the asphalt. As I saw none actually squished, I can only assume that when hit by a car (which seems inevitable) they simply spin round and round as in the Disney cartoon - Snow White, I think. there were two in the road together when I rescued this one - the other "scuttled" into the ditch. He wouldn't put his head out for a photo but it was red and yellow.  Unlike Emma's Horsefield tortoise, Sheldon, the underside of this one's shell beneath the head lowers like a drawbridge when he sticks his head out. This is why it is called a Box turtle, as it closes up like a box. Apparently, although it spends its life mainly on land, the Box turtle is a turtle because it has slightly webbed feet and a flatter shell - distinguishing characteristics between turtles and tortoises. If my identification is correct, of course.
The carnage on the roads here is appalling - although maybe a measure of the abundance of, in particular, possums and armadillos.  I have not yet seen a live specimen of either. No wonder there are so many vultures, both Black and Turkey. If you want a UK equivalent, think Red Kite on the M40 at High Wycombe. Whilst on the subject of nature, the dogwoods are in full bloom, as are the irises in people's gardens. These photos were taken in Richland, between Waynesville and Lebanon, and outside Carthage, which is a little further on.

Lebanon has the Munger Moss Hotel, a going concern, and Wrink's Market.

Missouri is something of a swing-state (* see Carthage, later) currently Republican. It was heartening to see that not everyone is an ardent Trump supporter.
This was at Conway, between Lebanon and Strafford.

 The weather, having started sunny and warm, was now beginning to look less cheerful with rain clouds moving in, as can be seen in this picture of the bridge at Miller. Carthage is a small town with a MASSIVE courthouse. Either they have a lot of criminals in the area or it is another relic of better days. These former glory days were evident from the wreck of the Star Lanes, although it was difficult to tell if they were closed, or merely dilapidated. Carthage is famous for an early Civil War battle, in which it appears that Missouri was undecided on which way to jump. Drawn to the North by trade links, but owning slaves further South, the Governor, Claiborne Jackson, who had taken a Unionist stance during his election run, switched sides and refused to respond to Lincoln's call to arms. Instead, he took control of the Missouri State Militia, intending to take the arsenal in St Louis. The Battle was considered a Confederate victory, and it rallied Missourians to the Southern cause, ultimately deciding Missouri's fate.

By the time I reached the Kansas border, it was starting to rain and the light was poor.  66 runs across the top North-East part of Kansas for 13 miles. The state is completely bypassed by the Interstate.  And just in case you were in any doubt as to where you were -


Galena is the first town, so called for the extensive lead mining that was the major industry in the area.  It is now a wasteland of abandoned railway tracks and industrial buildings surrounded by very sick looking fields and suspiciously artificial hills. However, there are some splendid trains.


This is also the home of "CARS on the route", a restored gas station. One of the cars pictured was the inspiration for 'Mater in the film "Cars", apparently.  No idea which.  Downtown Galena proclaims its Route 66 credentials with a colourful mural. It also has this beautiful building, sadly being overtaken by vines.

The weather adds to the feeling of desolation. It was only 5 pm but quite dark.

Soldiering on, I crossed the Rainbow Bridge at Riverton in driving rain, to reach Baxter Springs.

The route goes behind a MacDonald's and feeling hungry, I thought I would stop. Driving into the parking lot, all the staff seemed to be outside, waving frantically.  So I wound down the window and politely enquired what was happening.  They were under lock-down for a tornado warning and unable to serve customers.  However, I could wait inside. Which I did, as it seemed prudent. The cook very kindly made up my order while we waited out the storm. 

The all clear given some half-an-hour later, and orders now being taken thick and fast in case the locals starved to death, I set off again in slightly brighter weather - and entered Oklahoma just outside Quapaw.

It was now just after 6pm. And all hell was about to be let loose. By Miami, 19 miles further on, it was raining torrentially, but traffic was still moving.  Then the wind sprang up, suddenly and without warning. Garbage cans started to slide across the frontages just like in the disaster movies. The wireless started blaring tornado warnings. All the lights in Miami went out. Not good. Remembering "Twister" and "The Wizard of Oz", I pulled the car into the lee of a brick building, next to another and sat there. As suddenly as it had come, the wind stopped. It was still raining, but not as heavily, so I ventured forth. 

Route 66 runs at a distance from I44 at his point, catching up with it at Narcissa.  Here, it goes under the Interstate. On the bridge above, I could see hundreds of trucks stretching down the Eastbound lane, stopped with lights flashing. At Afton, the rain was so heavy I could barely see to drive. With more thoughts of "Twister", I joined another car parked under a bridge.

It was now over an hour since I had entered OK and I had gone bout 30 miles. I was in the middle of virtually nowhere - there is a reason those Motels are derelict.  The only thing to do was to drive the 15 miles to Vinita where there was an interchange with I44 and the chance of a motel. As soon as the rain eased a little, I set off again. Now the problem was flooding.  Great sheets of water lay on the roads, almost invisible in the poor light. Even if I avoided them, the trucks coming the other way didn't bother  - it was like the Watersplash at Busch Gardens. Ruby, however, is quite high up, and even hitting the water hard did not deter her. Wet and bedraggled we limped into Vinita at about 8 pm.  Apparently we were lucky. The tornado didn't touch down - it just "stayed up there".