Traveling the road down to Edwardsville today to run some errands (an American idiom that roughly translates as “I have so many different things to do that I can’t summarize them any less general way” as well as “I have a Discover Card to charge up”) IDOT was finally getting around to mowing along Route 66, a long overdue task that was delayed by the State’s lack of funding; all roadkill and turf management was suspended over the winter and spring months and only this week was money released to the Department of Transportation to resume the care. It’s good timing considering the Route 66 Association of Illinois Motor Tour is this weekend and it’ll be nice to have the road looking as good as can be for any out-of-staters that jump over to take part in the fun.
Swinging by the Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Rich Henry was hoping the tractors would make it by his place so that there would be room for the many cars he’ll have lined up at his landmark stop Saturday morning. There’s plenty of room on the grass lot to the south, but rain has inundated the area this spring; the average rainfall for Saint Louis in an entire year is just over 37 inches and they’ve already received over thirty. Not fun for farmers trying to get their corn in the ground, and not fun for motorists trying to park on a soggy, muddy grass field. You can barely even walk on it.
To the south of the Rabbit Ranch, where the southbound Staunton Bypass rejoins the Carlinville Alignment on their way to Hamel, I stopped to take some pictures of the junction. A white rental car pulled up by my ‘08 Malibu and I noticed an older couple studying a map of the Saint Louis area. As a convertible with Illinois Route 66 plates cruised by in the opposite direction I offered my assistance, but their kind British accents told me they were doing just fine. After running into a Swedish couple and some people from Florida last Friday, it’s great to see so many tourists hitting the Mother Road even with gas prices skyrocketing.