Route 66

Join Host Meredith Hoenes for Part 2 as she guides visitors down Route 66 in Missouri from Lebanon to Joplin. Discover a drive-in theater, where Bonnie and Clyde hid out, some great eats, and a ghost town that came to life.

On March 4, 1928, the Bunion Derby, an 84-day footrace along the 3,422 mile length of the new Route 66 began.  

See the sights. Taste the food. Discover why Route 66 is an icon for America’s wanderlust. Come along with our adventurer as she crosses our state on the Mother Road in a candy-apple red 1966 Ford Mustang. She discovers an Old Stagecoach Stop Museum, an Osage monument, a giant rocking chair perfect for selfies, and a unique bridge.

Make a drive to this special bridge with Christmas lights one of your holiday traditions. It’s on Route 66 and framed by ancient bluffs that are natural wonders in Missouri.

“We don’t really see ourselves as Black and White. We’re just a family on the road.” Discover their experiences as they travel the famed Mother Road.

On November 14, 1926 the paving of Route 66 between Springfield and Joplin was completed. For several years, getting between the two cities in southwest Missouri had been unusually complicated, as there was no direct route available.

On this date in history, Red Chaney, the Springfield entrepreneur who invented the drive-through window, dies. For 38 years he operated Red’s Giant Hamburg on Route 66.

Missouri Life Magazine’s Big BAM (Bicycle Across Missouri) will ride across Route 66 in June. The upcoming annual six-day recreational ride across our state will be hosted by the following towns: Joplin, Willard, Lebanon, Waynesville, Rolla, Cuba, and Eureka.  

On this date in Missouri history, celebrations are held for the final section of Route 66 to be paved in Missouri. It was a big party in downtown Rolla, as an estimated 8,000 people turned out to commemorate the completion of Route 66 across Missouri.