Our stop for 2 nights at this Boondockers Welcome host allowed us a leisurely visit to Joplin.

Our friends across the fence were quite entertaining :)

We visited many places in and around Joplin and Carthage during our visit with our Boondockers Welcome hosts.  OOPS!  This picture was from Tulsa, OK, and I should have put it my last post but I like him well enough to leave him here :)

Here's a link for the picture below. 
www.fourstateshomepage.com/local-news/webb-city-news/hands-in-prayer-sculpture-a-world-record-holder/
In response to the "bad time for our country" in the 1960's J.E. Dawson built these hands in his back yard and transported them to their current location in Webb City, MO.  (I think it would be grand if someone did this for our current times.)

This is WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!...a self serve soft ice cream machine at our restaurant stop for the day :)

I found this restroom modification quite amusing.  I can only imagine the reason for the foot stirrups below the pan on the right :)

We visited this museum that contained quite a bit of Carthage's history.  Bonnie and Clyde lived here for a while.

Dennis Weaver's home town...

I have trouble playing a guitar with one neck...lol!

And....of course...several cool cars :)  Even a few older than me!

Remember the Stanley Steamer?  Neither do I :)

We are right next to the Keystone Dam and the Arkansas River.  As an COE park they sound an amazingly loud horn to warn boaters of an imminent discharge of water so they they can depart the area before it happens.  After several blasts of 15 seconds, or longer, out comes the water.  This can happen at any time of day or night.  Midnight to 5 am are not exactly welcome times, by us, for this to occur...but you get used to it (somewhat).  It sounds like a mix between a call from a huge whale and a French horn.  Ugggg!

A round barn in Arcadia, OK.

This is a first for me...to see an acoustic guitar in the shape of an US highway state sign :)
This and the rest of the pictures in this post are from a museum along Route 66, close to Sapulpa, OK..

​Remember these?

We stayed at the Lake El Reno RV Park for several nights.  Not a whole lot to do but we decided it would be better here than our next destination because of the weather.  We did walk about 4 miles around the lake.  We wanted to do a little golfing at the adjacent golf course but thought better of it considering the wind and the cold...maybe next time :)

Decisions, decisions, decisions... let's check the app :)

​We did what sightseeing we could in El Reno but not much there.  This diner was featured on several tv shows over the years and we went after a suggestion by the camp host.  The food was excellent!

Wen was a happy customer...

I didn't bother counting the pins on the map.  Many, many locations represented :)

Here is DD RV Park, a privately owned, no thrills, off the road park that we have stopped at before.  It's conveniently located for us on our trips through this area.  As a first come, first served park, we appreciate it and it is a relaxing overnight stop.

On the way here we stopped at museums and old Route 66 memorabilia.  Not all construction engineering seems to go through the scrutiny that we're accustomed to :)  Hopefully this water tower is not full!!

This museum was a very interesting stop.  I had no idea there were so many ways to string barbed wire together, and the history behind it and uses for it are quite the eyeopener.  If you find yourself bored on a rainy day, google barbed wire :)

On a pass through Erick, Ok, is a tribute to Roger Miller who grew up on a farm here growing corn and picking cotton.

So I had to include this photo :)  How many times have you passed a cotton field and wondered...is there as much cotton left on the bush as there was picked by the picker?  Here is a photo of times past where it seems like the pickers knew what they were doing!

It is scary to think I would ever visit the dentist who had this state of the art equipment!  A foot operated drill...YIKES!!!!

And this machine would make you glad you had naturally curly hair :)

Of  course Wendy had to go back and take this picture :)

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the Terry Stafford and Paul Fraser song from the '70s :)
We actually made by afternoon but Amarillo by morning just sounds better!  We waited on weather to blow through Tucumcari but the backside of the storm caught us in Amarillo.
Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

We even had a small drift mosey through the tailgate and dust a few items.

The next day's 76 degree temps removed all evidence of the previous day's snow!

Here's a link for a little history of The Big Texan restaurant.
​https://www.bigtexan.com/history-timeline/

We are smiling because we did not try to eat it.

On the way to Amarillo we passed the midpoint of  Route 66.

Below... we stopped at a truck stop / gift shop that was very veteran friendly and had some nice vintage cars.

A couple of T-Bird pictures for Veston :)

Another BoonDockers Welcome  in Tucumcari, NM.

Our stay here was supposed to be for 1 night but we ended up staying 3 because of severe winds.  48 with gusts to 63 mph was not fun.  We rock and rolled for the better part of the 3 days.  The owner thought he saw sparks at the power line so the electric company was notified and electricians were dispatched.  They didn't see any problems except the cable line was hanging low, not their responsibility.  All was fine and we we left the next morning for Amarillo.

We left Rio Rancho and visited Santa Fe on the way to the Tesuque Casino located there.  Although we did not get a picture of the campground we have a few taken in the city.

Live music at the town square was very nice.

The structure below is supposed to be the oldest house erected in the country circa 1646.

Description from Wikipedia:
The De Vargas Street House, often referred to as the Oldest House, is a historic building in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is often said to be one of the oldest buildings in United States. The original date of construction is unknown but the majority of the building is believed to date to the Spanish colonial period. One archaeological study also concluded that some sections of the walls are characteristic of Pueblo architecture and may be pre-Spanish in origin.

This is our first "BoonDockers Welcome" visit.  We met a couple in Quartzsite who fixed us up with a 1 year free membership.  This group is made up of people across the country who are avid campers and open their properties/homesteads to other campers.  Our hosts were out of town and we didn't meet them but were able to visit their property,

We awoke the next morning to some strange sounds.  I thought maybe birds were walking along the roof, and after further investigation we found out we were being invaded by...

The noises were from the firing up of the burners to inflate the balloons for takeoff :)

Here we are for 2 nights at USA RV Park.

We took the photos below on the way into Gallup.  There are quite a few old uranium mines in this part of the country.

I took this photo of Mr. Chenoweth just to show what 4 corners used to look like in 1953, the year I was born :)

We took these pictures last year at 4 corners.

We passed through Winslow, AZ again, to reach our 2 night stay in Gallup.  Another beautiful drive.

This tumbleweed was taller than the hood of our truck!  It came to a stop right in front of us, wiggled a little as if to say "hi" and promptly rolled into that car.  It was taller than the car!  As it was momentarily immobilized we dashed around it and headed on down to the road.  It was very windy that day and that weed was on a rampage :)  We evaded a nasty paint scratching that day...lol.

Next up was a quick overnighter at a Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff, AZ.  The drive was nice!

This particular CB had signs everywhere indicating no overnight camping and we were a little confused since Wendy called ahead and they said it was ok.  They have them posted and have legal permission, from the city, to remove the people taking advantage by staying many nights.  There were a few vehicles that looked undrivable.  It's the first time we've encountered this problem at a CB.

It was sad to see so many abandoned and defaced roadside relics from not that long ago.  What used to attract and entertain tourists during their journeys have been replaced by other interests.  Who knows how many business were shut down because of covid complications, or internet distractions, or the need for speed to get to the next destination.  Whatever the reason or reasons, I'm very thankful to have enjoyed them when they were alive with visitors.

This site used to have 2 arrows next to one another.

The original "Mother Road" winds along what is now regarded as Route 66, which winds along I40.

Finishing on the bright side, this attraction was still open.  It was featured at the end of the movie "Starman".  Naturally we had to stream the movie that night.

Here in Zuni Village RV Park, we stopped for 2 nights to visit Route 66 attractions in Kingman.  Good weather was very welcome...yay! 

We decided to stop in for a fountain drink :)

Those are donut holes plastered in butterscotch around the rim... YUMMMMM!  Of course we had to sample the lunch menu as we sat just outside the food pickup window and saw many, many delectable dishes come through.  We walked away with painfully stuffed bellies!

Naturally I just had to look inside this barrel.

WAIT FOR IT.............

Photo op :)

This could have been the Corvair we shipped to England when we lived there, back in the early 60's.  Dad needed a small car for the roads.

I figured the musicians among us might appreciate this one...

I never could figure what the next 2 pictures had to do with Route 66.

Till we meet again, get your kicks on Route 66 (I just had to throw that one in) :)