Day 53 -- Monday, June 22

This morning, I headed north to Springfield and west once again on Route 66. I got a late start today and so planned to travel only as far as Joplin, some 71 miles away. It's a nice stretch along here, passing a string of mostly defunct little towns: Albatross, Phelps, Rescue, Log City. There are a couple of segments of the old, old road along here if you know where to look (and I did) that make it quite easy to imagine what it must have been like to travel this territory in the '20s and '30s.

Periodically, I come across some interesting old structure that isn't mentioned in any of the books and guides through which I'm constantly browsing along the way and, often as not, I'll stop and chat with the owner of the establishment about its history. For example, I was rolling through Carthage rather in a daze. I had nothing special in my notes between here and Joplin but a cool old white stucco inn, the Boots Motel, caught my eye so I stopped.

The current owner inherited the motel not long ago; she and her husband are running the place on a temporary basis while they search for a buyer. She told me that the motel opened in 1939 and has operated continuously ever since. She also informed me that Clark Gable had once stayed here, in room #6. Wow, I thought, Clark Gable. Naturally, I was quite tempted to spend the night here but felt I must move on as I was, or so I thought, still quite a ways from Joplin. I had only gone a mile or so, though, when I decided to pull over and check again to see just how far I had to go. It was only 17 miles! I'd have no problem covering that much extra mileage tomorrow, so I turned around and headed back to the Boots to book room #6, pronto!

As night fell, the motel was lit with thin strips of red and green neon; it really looked great. I was quite excited to spend the night in the same room that once housed the then-King of Hollywood and I fervently hoped that it would inspire sweet dreams of Carole Lombard, but no such luck.



Continue on the American Odyssey.
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