Guns a Blazin'

Hello Everyone,

In my last blog, I introduced you to a must-stop-spot, The Route 66 Museum and Route 66 Hall of Fame.

Before leaving Pontiac I wanted to find at least a couple of geocaches. There are about a dozen Non-Route Related geocaches, so when I picked Big Bull (GC5F81E, placed by Boo 2) it was because it had 11 favorite points. When you get to ground-zero, you’ll see how it got it’s name. Not a difficult find, you just need to be warry of muggles.

The other geocache I picked was just outside of Pontiac, RT 66: IL- Old District 6 (GC12T8G, placed by Boo 2, 30 favorite points). It’s an old Police station. Doesn’t sound all that interesting, but it does have one characteristic about it. From above, it has the shape of a pistol. Here is what http://illinoisroute66.org  had to say about this spot.

“Built in 1941, the old Illinois State Police District 6 headquarters was inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. The unique building was constructed in the shape of a pistol, and served as the base for state troopers who patrolled roads from Dwight to McLean. It was vacated in 2004 when a new state police headquarters was built nearby.”

I knew this information before coming to this place. I follow Roamin Rich on Facebook and he posted a video regarding the old station. He took his drone and flew over so we can all see how it’s shaped. His video is down below.

The find itself isn’t much of challenge, but I had to do some fake picture taking due to the fact that there was a city worker cutting the grass. I didn’t was to expose the cache just in case he didn’t know what Geocaching is and perhaps disposing it.

Further down Route 66 is a geocache at another historical spot, The Poor Farm (GC1AYJA, placed by Boo 2, 11 favorite points). I had a hard time finding this cache and ended up logging in a Did-Not-Find. Looking back, if I would have read the hint, I think I would have found it. Here is what the description on the geocaching webpage says,

“Years and Years ago counties had provided a place for people to live when they had fallen on bad times and were unable to pay their debts. These places were call The Poor Farm, Livingston Manor was such a place. Many people lived out the rest of their lives at the poor farm. Upon their death, if no relatives claimed their body for burial, the county buried the people in the Poor Farm Cemetery. Over the years this place was more or less forgotten. The small cemetery was nothing more than a weed patch in the middle of a corn field behind Livingston Manor. Few people even new of it's existence. Several years ago a group of volunteers from the historical society organized a clean up and restoration of the burial plot. Because of these peoples efforts the cemetery has become a tranquil and beautiful place in honor of those poor soul who lie in peaceful eternal rest there. Take time to look around and read the names and dates on the stone memorial.”

When you enter the cemetery you’ll see a monument with the names and dates of the people buried here. Instead of headstones, there are little stone markers no bigger then a tissue box.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you like it, I am asking you to share this blog on your favorite social media. 

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I had the time of my life on Route 66. I have a feeling you’ll love it too. But don’t take my word for it...Go Experience It For Yourself.

Rich

Route 66 Hall of Fame

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for any delays. I have been working on a video blog for a special place you should defiantly visit when you drive through Pontiac, Illinois; The Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum.

After I found the geocache by the Old Log Cabin on the north side of Pontiac, I went to look for another one called, RT66: IL-RT 4 Bridge (GC1BFQ0, hidden by COACHMAN12, 3 favorite points). I looked for a long time and came up empty. The geocacher before me didn’t find it either, so I don’t feel so bad. 

My next stop was the Museum. My first of many museums I’ll see on my trip. What I really enjoyed here was it hosts the Route 66 Hall of Fame. There are many mentions of the people that helped make Route 66 great. The only regret was that I didn’t spend more time reading up on these people and places. 

I got the following from http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14537 that talks just some of what you'll find at the museum.

“A good place to indulge in Route 66's resurrection is the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, the first big Mother Road aggregate attraction heading west out of Chicago. Opened in 2004, its exhibits fill a couple of bays in Pontiac's old firehouse (the rest of the building houses a military museum, the old city jail, and antique shops). Size-wise it seems appropriate for a museum devoted to one road in one state. Only 301 of the highway's 2448 miles are in Illinois.

"People will come in and they'll read everything. Everything. They'll be here for hours," said museum guide Rose Geralds. Route 66 diehards include nostalgia buffs, people too young to have been alive when the road existed, and international tourists who are as thrilled to be driving Route 66 as they would be riding the Chisholm Trail. One entry in the museum's guest book is from an Iraqi visitor from Falluja: "Thanks for liberating me."

Many of the museum's exhibits recall vanished Illinois Route 66 businesses, such as the booths from the world's first Steak and Shake, which closed in the 1990s. A sign next to them says that Chester Henry, a member of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and a man of foresight, took the booths "and saved them for the future museum." According to Rose, the booths have been so popular with sitting visitors that the museum has had to repair the upholstery.

The Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates Route 66 fandom as well as the road. A lithograph on one wall is by "postmark artist" Ken Turmel, who visited every post office on Route 66 and had them stamp his hand-drawn Route 66 map (Ken printed 2,448 copies to sell in 1997, and according to his website he has around 500 left). Outside, on the museum's wall, is the world's largest mural of a Route 66 sign. In front of it is a small roadway of original Route 66 pavement bricks, saved by the town and re-laid here. Visitors are encouraged to park their vehicles on this hallowed ground and snap souvenir photos. "Cars, motorcycles, a covered wagon, a guy on stilts..." said Ellie Alexander, Pontiac's tourism director, listing the various conveyances that have posed.

The museum's most treasured items are the VW hippie van and "School Bus Road Yacht" of the late Bob Waldmire, who was the Johnny Appleseed of Route 66's revival (Bob ran the Hackberry General Store and his family runs the Cozy Dog Drive In, both Route 66 icons). For decades Bob drove the highway, drew whimsical sketches of what he saw, and sowed seeds of nostalgia that eventually blossomed into places like the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum. According to one story, Bob's personal stash of pot was kept in two boxes slung under the VW van -- still visible in the museum -- and he'd warn off curious police by telling them the boxes were nests for his snakes.

"He was a hippie," Rose acknowledged. "But he was a very nice man."

For Route 66 pilgrims, a walk through the Waldmire Road Yacht is a highlight not only of the museum, but of their entire Mother Road odyssey. They can touch Bob's rocking chair made of branches, examine his rock collection, thumb through his Jethro Tull vinyl records, admire his hand-built sauna and toilet. It's the free-spirited cloister of a loveable hobo, and many visitors probably wish that they could pack up and spend their days rambling the Mother Road just like Bob.”

I hope you allow yourself some time to spend at the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum. My next time going through Pontiac will have a longer pause here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I invite you to share this blog on your favorite social media. 

Also, feel free to friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, @richhavlik.

I had the time of my life on the Mother Road. I think you will too. But don’t take my word for it, go experience for yourself.

Rich