While in Springfield for the Route 66 Centennial Kick Off, we took a detour from Route 66 to play some mini golf. Getaway Golf has a travel theme with a United States course and an International course. We played the United States course first.
Hole 1 - Gateway Arch
The course features a variety of landmarks in the United States including the Gateway Arch, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Mount Rushmore.
Hole 1 - Gateway Arch
Near each landmark, there is a sign with a little bit of information about it.
Over the course of several days while exploring Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, we did the Springfield 66: Sculpture Series Route digital passport to find all 16 of the statues. Once you check into enough of the statues, you can redeem for one of three pins. We ended up getting all the pins by the end of our visit.
Weathered But Not Forgotten
Into the Sunset
Preserving the Passion
Night Riders of the Mother Road
The Frisco
The Frisco
Wings of Route 66
The Buzz of the Mother Road
The Cardinal Spirit
Intersecting Journeys
Hope the High Road
Quiet Currents & City Lights
Quiet Currents & City Lights
Rerouted: From Mother Road to Motherboard
Welcome to Springfield
Game On, Springfield
Pasture Raised on the Mother Road
Pasture Raised on the Mother Road
Springfield 66: Sculpture Series Route pins
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
In honor of Route 66's Centennial and the United State's 250th, Springfield, Missouri, added some rumble strips on the edge of Saint Louis St a little bit past the Queen's Gate 66 sculpture.
If you drive it at a steady 30 MPH, it plays "America the Beautiful." It took Dad a few tries to stay on it for almost the whole part as the last part is not lined up straight with the rest.
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
The Route 66 Centennial Traveling Exhibit has a Missouri and New Mexico version on display in their respective states at various locations this year. We saw it while it was on display at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield.
The exhibit features info about Route 66 including sites to see and its history in Missouri.
The exhibit also gave us a chance to see inside the Gillioz Theatre, which is also celebrating its centennial this year. A few days later we saw Disney Pixar's Cars here.
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
The Route 66 Birthplace Plaza is one of the new things added to Springfield, Missouri for the Route 66 Centennial. The plaza is located where the Colonial Hotel once stood, which was where the telegram proposing the route be named 66 was sent. There is a plaque on the keys sculpture about the birth of Route 66.
The Plaza features "The Ghost of the Colonial Hotel" sculpture to represent the hotel that once stood at this location.
On the ground there is a mosaic map of Route 66.
The building behind the plaza has a mural.
The building across the street on Park Central E has a plaque that also commemorates the telegram that gave Route 66 its name. John T. Woodruff has an office on the 7th floor of the building. He was involved in selecting 66 as the name along with Cyrus Avery and was also the first president of the U.S. Highway 66 Association.
Across the street on Jefferson Ave is a Route 66 shield sculpture.
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
Queen's Gate 66 is a new sculpture in Springfield, Missouri, that was dedicated as part of the Route 66 Centennial Kick Off weekend. We first saw it on April 28 when we were staying at the nearby Best Western Rail Haven. At the time it was not quite completed, so we made sure to visit again after it was dedicated a few days later.
While there were still some finishing touches to be done when we first saw it, it was already lit up, so we got an idea of how it looks at night.
When we visited it after it was finished, we were able to walk up to it and through it.
Under the middle of the sculpture are murals with some about on Springfield, Missouri, as the Birthplace of Route 66 and featuring some of the various landmarks of Route 66. One side focuses on Missouri and the other side features some highlights of the other states Route 66 goes through.
See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.
