Our Route 66 Daily Journal: September 18, 2026

Today we entered Missouri and then walked to Illinois and back to Missouri before spending the day mostly in St. Louis.

We started our day only minutes from the Chain of Rocks Bridge in Illinois, but to park and walk across the bridge we had to take the long way around to the Missouri side.

After we walked to Illinois and back to the car, we drove to Gateway Arch National Park. As we have visited many times before, we just stopped in quickly for national park stamps (and ended up with the Mini Building Block set).

Before continuing back on Route 66, we walked over to the Old Courthouse for more national park stamps and spent some time going through the exhibits as we had not visited there before.

Back on Route 66, we stopped at Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard, which was refreshing with today being another very unseasonable hot and humid day (it was up to feeling like 112!).

After lunch, we headed over to the National Museum of Transportation. We spent over an hour exploring here, but due to the heat and humidity we did not linger and really see as much of it as we would have liked and only briefly checked out some of the outdoor exhibits. At least the Route 66 stuff was indoors.

Our last planned stop of the day was at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, where we got a brief tour of the home and grounds (tour was shorter than usual due to heat advisory) before enjoying the very well air conditioned musuem.

Originally, we planned to just do the I-44 Route 66 alignment to the KOA for the night, but ended up deciding to take the more scenic original 1926-1932 alignment. There really was not much to see on this alignment, but we did find a Route 66 Shield Monument in Kirkwood.

We also made a brief photo stop at the Big Chief Roadhouse in Wildwood, MO.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: September 17, 2026

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Today we did Route 66 between Girard and Granite City, IL.

We started the day with coffee at Iron Palm Coffee.

Next we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of the Highways.

We started our walk around Carlinville at the Historic Square.

From the square, we walked over to the Million Dollar Courthouse and Cannonball Jail.

On the way back to the square, we found the Lincoln Boulder, which marks where Lincoln gave a speech during his senatorial campaign.

Before leaving Carlinville, we got coffee on the square at Hawthorn Coffeehouse.

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On our way out of Carlinville, we discovered the Red Truck Garden.

As we headed to Girard, we found the Turkey Tracks in Route 66 pavement.

In Girard, we took pictures with the Illinois Route 66 Shield Monument and walked around the square.

We originally planned ice cream at Doc’s Just Off 66 Soda Fountain, but after looking at the menu we decided to have lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center.

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We got dessert at the Ariston Cafe, which is thought to be the oldest continuously operated cafe on Route 66.

Next stop was the Mother Jones Monument. It was pouring rain, so we just saw it and took some photos out the window.

It was still pouring when we got to Soulsby Service Station, but we waited it out for about 10 minutes and managed to still see it.

Dad very briefly managed photos of the Where the Three Roads Come Together Mural in Staunton, IL, before it started pouring again.

It was dry by the time we got to the Pink Elephant Antique Mall, so we could explore the variety of giants and things they have outside.

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In Hamel, we stopped at the Route 66 Monument and Wayside exhibit.

The West End Service Station in Edwardsville, IL was closed by the time we got there, but we still stopped for some photos.

Down the road a little, we stopped at the Edwardsville Route 66 Shiel Monument and also got a rubbing.

Next we visited the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, IL.

In Collinsville, we also found their Illinois Route 66 Shield Monument.

On the way to our next stop in Granite City, we discovered a Giant Fireman and Dalmatian nearby.

We got to the It’s Electric - Neon Sign Park just as the lights were coming on.

Nearby we found the Granite City Route 66 Shield Monument.

On our way to our next giant, I spotted a Giant Abe Lincoln and made Dad go around the block so we could get a photo.

Next we visited Rusty the Sledgehammer Muffler Man.

Our final stop today, was at O’Brien Tire and Auto Care to see their Giant Tire and Earl the Muffler Man.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: September 16, 2026

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Today was mostly spent in Springfield, IL, but we also had to go to Girard to try their Whirl-a-Whip today as it is closed tomorrow when we plan to really do that part of Route 66.

We got our first cup of coffee at Brezie’s Roasted Beans.

We then went to the nearby Mel-O-Cream for some donuts.

Next we headed to downtown Springfield to see some of the sites on the trail for the Springfield 1908 Race Riot NM. We also got the Historic Route 66 NPS stamp for it at the Lincoln Home NHS (had got the stamps for here earlier this year, but this one is new and we also discovered a new version of the Lincoln Home NHS for Historic Route 66).

 

We then walked in circles to find the Springfield Visitors Center. Similar to our experience in Springfield, MO, earlier this year, the Springfield, IL Visitor Center just moved locations and it is currently like their soft opening back at their normal location near the Old State Capitol.

Next we visited the Lincoln Depot.

We had planned to get another coffee on our way driving to our next stop, but instead grabbed one at Arrowroot Coffee Co while walking back to the car.

We then drove to see the Lauterbach Giant.

Our next planned stop was mini golf, but it was too hot and humid, so instead we went and got lunch at Maid-Rite, which is supposedly the first drive thru in America, but I thought that is what they said about Red's Hamburg in Springfield, MO, so who knows...

We then headed to Ace Sign Co Museum ahead of schedule by over an hour, which ended up working out good because we had the wrong info about their tour times. They only typically do tours at 10am, but they had a scheduled bus group arriving soon that they said we could join.

We had planned to do the Auburn Brick Road on the way back to Springfield, but as we headed to towards getting a Whirl-a-Whip we ended up on it when we were following the Historic Route 66 signs.

Before we got to Girard, we also stopped at The Sly Fox Bookstore in Virden, IL.

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At Whirl-a-Whip in Girard, IL, we got Whirlwinds (their name for Whirl-a-Whips). They are and they are not the same as the Whirl-a-Whip we are used to in Stanley, ND.

On our way back to the KOA, we stopped at the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge.

At the KOA, Dad and I ended the day with a 9-hole round of mini golf.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.