Route 66 (Part 2) Springfield, IL to St. Louis

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”
Abraham Lincoln

After a full day of driving on the original Route 66, I may need a new suspension system in my car. I’m going to be on the road for nearly two months, and I have a large Thule case on my roof cross bars. I had to tighten the cross bars and the clamps the third day of this trip because of all the potholes and constant rattling. Once Hwy 40 was put in, portions of the original 66 were nearly abandoned. I avoided the pothole where they pulled Timmy out of back in the late 70s. Or was that a well? Regardless, there was a guy sitting on his porch watching the cars ricochet out of it – only if they had enough speed.

This is the Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, but I felt like I was welcome one minute and trespassing the next. I didn’t stick around long. The theme song from the X-Files was echoing in my head the moment I landed here.

The Soulsby Shell Service Station was built in 1926, the year Route 66 opened! Well done! She held out until 1993 when it permanently closed.

This is the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge. Look out, Vermont. This one is gorgeous. Built in 1880 using the Burr Arch wooden truss design with triangle-shaped supports. She’s 110 feet long. The babbling brook really makes you have to pee after your second coffee of the morning. Brutal, but beautiful stop.

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site is really cool. His home was built in 1839. He lived here from 1844-1861.

This is the Old State Capitol Plaza. Two cool things happened here, sort of. Lincoln’s law office was here (far left) and this was the departure point for the ill-fated Donner Party in April 1846.

The Old State Capitol is where Lincoln’s body lay in state after his assassination in 1865. It’s also where he delivered his “House Divided” speech that drove his career and inspired other leaders to debate the moral issue of slavery.

Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb State Historic Site. Located in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

This is the second-most popular cemetery in the United States after Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

After he was assassinated, his body was stored in a temporary tomb, but eventually interred here in 1874. His three youngest sons and Mrs. Lincoln are also buried here.

The obelisk is 117-feet tall.