Day 4: Rolla, MO to Springfield, MO

A shorter drive today between the cities of Rolla and Springfield in Missouri.

Totem Pole Trading Post in
Rolla, MO

As we exited Rolla this morning, we passed by the amazing gas station, store and huge sign of the Totem Pole Trading Post. Same as yesterday, the road quickly started zigzagging through the Missouri landscape through the forest and up and down the hills. While there are certain parts that literally several feet away from the interstate, other parts make you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and with most cars taking the interstate, you actually do feel like the only person on the road.

Old stretch of 4-lane Route 66

Around Hooker Cut, we came to a 4-stretch lane of Route 66, the first stretch on the route in Missouri, built in 1941-45 for wartime traffic to the nearby Fort Leonard Wood. It was pretty amazing to see the narrow 2-lane road open up to an obvious time-dated 4-lane stretch. 

1923 bridge near
Devils Elbow, MO

Devils Elbow, MO

Shortly thereafter, we passed through Devils Elbow, a tiny town near the Big Piney River. It got its name because of a bend in the river that caused logjams. The town does still contain in service the old 1923 bridge over the river. A bit further right outside of town, we had a great overlook of the landscape with the railway down below crossing the river.

Railroad crossing the Big Piney River near Devils Elbow, MO

1923 Bridge near Hazelgreen, MO

Near Hazelgreen, we crossed another amazing looking 1923 bridge over the Gasconade river. Since there was access down to the river, we walked down to the Gasconade river to take a look at the bridge from below. The bridge was right near the interstate so we had a view of the 1923 bridge versus two bridges making up the 4-lane interstate. The river was pretty clear, we saw several fish and even some turtles swimming in it. In 2008, this river flooded to about halfway up the trusses of the bridge - hard to imagine.

Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, MO

Through Lebanon, we encountered several old motels along the way, most all of them still in business.

Holiday Theater in Springfield, MO -
the sign is all that is left

As we got into Springfield this afternoon, we saw a couple of signs from the Mother Road from back in the day. The Rest Haven Court at the entrance of the city is still housing visitors. Unfortunately, close by, the Holiday Theater is not. The sign is all that is left behind two lanes for an entrance and exit and a large overgrown open field.

Rest Haven Court in Springfield, MO

We drove in to see what is still left of it and as we made our way down the entrance, we could see several small entrances into the field next to us, indicating the way cars must have driven in to watch the large screen. What was sad to see is the amount of large trash (mattresses and furniture) that people had left behind. Even while we were there, a van stopped to dump some garbage.

So we ended the day on a little sad note to see this going on but I am enjoying the road in the hilly landscape of Missouri very much.

Miles driven today: 124
Time driven today: 4hrs 0min

Total miles driven: 586
Total time driven: 20hrs 5min