Re-walking U.S. Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles, the things on the road are more beautiful than the highway

During our previous trip to the United States, we took a self-driving tour on Route 66, known as the "America's Mother Highway". Since we had already traveled eastward from California once before, this trip took The "reversed" way is from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles, California. Compared with the last time, the pace of this trip was very slow, but the harvest was more, especially the cultural and cultural sites along the way were visited in more detail. I found that this is the correct way to open the US Route 66.

At that time, I remember that we only did one exploration activity on the Paris Springs section of Route 66 in Missouri: to see a building. It was not a historical site or anything special. Important building facilities, to be precise, it is just a gas station with a bit of history. Some people say, what’s so cool about a gas station? Yes, what makes this gas station special is one person, and this person is a "little celebrity" that many tourists who drive on Route 66 visit.

Gary Turner is a name and an amiable old man. He is the owner of this gas station. It can be said that he is a legend on the Missouri section of Route 66. The old gas station (Gay Parita) run by Gary Sr. is located next to Route 66. The gas station is even much older than he himself is. Gary has lived here since his retirement. This place is just like an ordinary farmhouse, with flowers, trees and flowers planted in front of the house, and a few classic cars randomly placed among the trees and grass.

There are also several scarecrows in overalls dotted in front and back of the car, recreating the scene of Route 66 when it was prosperous. His daily job is to watch the tourists and passers-by on Route 66 in front of his door. This gas station was built in 1933, and today the gas price of 15 cents a gallon still hangs on the pump. The gas station shop still sells snacks, drinks and souvenirs. However, it is said that the kind-hearted Gary often gave away the drinks in the refrigerator to tourists who came to visit.

When we arrived, we found that the girls who were helping him with the shop were getting ready to get off work. Gary was very enthusiastic and insisted on buying us a drink. Seeing that we kept looking at his old car, Gary started to show us around his courtyard. In addition to several cars in the yard, there were two old cars in the garage, one of which seemed to be undergoing major repairs.

This is his friend's old car, ready for restoration. But he only came over to work for a few hours on weekends, so the progress was not fast. A scarecrow's leg is exposed from under a car in the yard. Who is he? "Dead. He died the day I retired and came here." Gary looked solemn.

Gary dug out several foreign magazines among a large pile of miscellaneous items, one of which was in Chinese. "Look, this is me." He pointed to a photo in the magazine, with several Chinese tourists taking a photo with him. "Almost ten years." He went on to talk about the rise and fall of this road. If I were not in such a hurry to find a place to live, I would really like to hear more of his stories. As he watched us get into the car, Gary kept saying, "The business in that store is so good, maybe there are no rooms left. Not far ahead, there is a motel, which is not bad..." He looked back at the old man. , I actually feel my eyes are a little wet. No wonder every tourist passing by Route 66 will mention Gary Turner. Wish him a long life!

Route 66 only traveled a short distance to Kansas. But the prototype of the buck-tooth trailer in "Cars" stopped just outside the small town of Galena. This old trailer full of joy was parked casually on the side of the road, and it was impossible for any passing guest to miss it.

The narrowest section of Route 66 is also in this state. There is not much asphalt left, and the dust rises suddenly where the car passes, so that we feel that we are going the wrong way. However, the fields on the roadside were full of orange-red flowers, and a local girl specially gave me a handful, saying that these beautiful flowers would make the journey safe. Starting from Chicago, we have traveled through several states. The weather started to get hotter too, so a sign for an ice cream shop appeared on the side of Route 66. I flashed the left turn signal and headed straight to the shop. Unfortunately, today is Sunday and the door is closed. There is an old police car from 1966 at the door, with the sales price and contact number on the window. In the United States, you can buy tanks if you want, let alone police cars.

In the blink of an eye, we drove through the short distance of Kansas and arrived in Oklahoma, entering the endless red land. The famous novel and movie "The Grapes of Wrath" is set in Ohio. The novel tells the story of bankrupt farmers in the middle of the United States who lost their land in the 1930s and were forced to leave their homes and move to the West to survive. All production tools and livestock were transformed into a dilapidated car. Carrying the hopes of the whole family, the old car drove on Route 66 toward California...

Not far from Oklahoma City, there is the small town of El Reno, the hometown of murals. Most of the murals in the city are by painter Chris Small, and the themes of the murals are various old cars on Route 66. Founded in 1889, the town is close to a railway station, on the edge of oil and gas fields, and has wind energy technology. In this state where wind and sand are raging, wind energy technology has obviously added important chips to the survival and development of the town.

The wind is getting stronger and stronger.

There is another section of gravel road, and wherever the car goes, it kicks up a trail of dust and pulls the back of the car, like a long yellow dragon. On both sides of the road are barren fields with decaying grass and a faint horizon in the distance. The sun was hanging high in the sky at this time, and the heat it radiated was suffocating.

A few Chicago artists came up with the idea of ??standing 10 old Cadillac cars upside down in the uncared-for wilderness of Texas, allowing them to be corroded by the wind and rain. No one expected that the absurdity of the year would now become an alternative scenery that the world is eager to see. Today, 10 cars at Cadillac Ranch were painted pink, and there was a balloon dancing wildly in the wind, with words on it indicating that it was a boy's birthday. Looking closer, the car body is covered with graffiti, mostly with names and origins. Inadvertently, two Chinese characters jumped into my eyes: "Lai Bei". It makes people's hearts beat. There is no need to leave a name in life, just "come and live". I also wanted to paint something, but I had already missed the small shop selling paint at the intersection in front of me. Even if I missed it, it was very happy to see other people's paint.