Day 6. Route 66 in Missouri, Springfield to the Kansas state line at Jasper.
I did some photography in Springfield in the morning. Very quiet. It had its moments; the Arabesque landmark Shrine Mosque theater was a site to behold. Wholly out of place and unexpected; it is quite a building. The Steak-n-Shake (1962) is a classic. The Gillioz Theater was opened in 1926.
My guide describes this last stretch as the essence of the Missouri Route 66 drive. Finally, the old road leaves the proximity of I-44 and heads into open and relatively unspoiled countryside with quiet and weather-beaten little country towns.
Lots of farms. Lots of Route 66 relics.
As I approached Jasper and the mining country there were some old factory towns. The area by Kansas is definitely not on an economic uptick (more on that in the Kansas and Oklahoma posts to come soon).
