Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm back on the Mother Road.

Last year, I drove Route 66 through the entire state of Illinois, and a crazy idea popped into my head.

[ Laughs ] What if I kept going?

What if I continue on exploring this highway of dreams, long considered to be an icon of American culture?

And so I began again, using the road to discover our country's small treasures, hidden towns, and not too distant past, connecting with those who have carried the Route 66 torch for so long to a newer generation ready to inform the next 100 years.

I'm traveling from St. Louis, Missouri, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, on this leg of Route 66.

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world, and I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and Samantha Brown's "Places to Love."

Sailing to more than 600 destinations around the globe, from Europe to Asia and Alaska to the South Pacific, Oceania Cruises offers gourmet dining and curated travel experiences aboard boutique hotel style ships that carry no more than 1,250 guests.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world.

Your way.

-Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel to the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

-Alright, I am kicking off this leg of my Route 66 odyssey here in St. Louis, Missouri.

Is it "Missoura"?

"Missouree"?

Oh, no.

I don't know.

I'm gonna say "Missouree."

Um [Chuckles] Really excited.

I'm gonna be experiencing three great states on this leg -- Missouri, Kansas, as well as Oklahoma.

And look at the arch!

Oh, my gosh!

It's amazing!

Wow!

First time seeing it.

But first thing's first, something to sweeten the trip.

Hello.

-Hi, there.

How are you?

-Very, very good.

I think I'm going to have graham cracker.

-That sounds delicious.

-And a concrete?

-Would you like anything in it?

Just graham or -- -Do you have malt?

-I do.

-Oh.

Like two scoops?

-Absolutely.

-Okay.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard has been a Route 66 institution for decades.

-And there's your large concrete.

Thank you very much.

-A concrete is an ice cream shake so thick, it can be served upside down.

-A lot of people have used the word concrete, but, you know, we started it in 1959.

-So, this is frozen custard, and that is different from ice cream.

-It is a little different.

Frozen custard is a rich vanilla ice cream.

-Mm-hmm.

-But to be frozen custard, it has to have at least a 10% butterfat content and a certain percentage of eggs.

-I'm gonna have 10% butterfat after eating this.

-You certainly will.

[ Both laugh ] That's exactly right.

-How long has Ted Drewes been here in St. Louis?

-Well, since 1929, actually.

We just celebrated our 95th year.

-Wow!

You are coming fast on 100.

-We are.

-And you're almost as old as the road itself, then?

-Well, the road itself -- -Not you personally.

-Oh, okay.

Thank you.

[ Both laugh ] -I have been traveling along Route 66, and the one name that is mentioned time and time again, especially for the people who are new shop owners along Route 66, is your name, that you are absolutely credited single-handedly with the resurgence of Route 66.

-I'm Michael Wallis.

I've written about a lot of subjects in my life -- biographies, histories, about American Culture, but 66 and that old Route 66 book keeps calling me back.

My book came out in 1990, and it surprised everybody, including myself.

That sparked Pixar years later to do "Cars" 1.

When that came out, business on stretches of the road went up 30%, because it turned on a whole new generation of kids and others and people from France, Scandinavia, China.

The road stays alive today because of all the foreign travel.

-When we're painting... -Yeah?

Yeah.

-...it's amazing how many people will travel Route 66.

-Well, where are they from?

-Germany, England.

What was another big -- -France, Italy.

-Yeah.

Just in one day of working on a mural, I can have six different countries stop and visit with me.

I am Shelly Steiger, and I'm a mural artist here in Cuba, Missouri.

1999, 2000 is when we actually did the first mural.

And they thought, "How cool.

Let's do 12 murals, and then we'll have a calendar."

The idea was to be the Mural City.

-So it was a plan right from the beginning.

-It was a plan.

It was a plan.

-So, what was the focus of the very first mural?

-It was "the history of Cuba," has to -- All of the murals have to have something to do with the history of Cuba.

The organization that kind of is in charge of the murals, they a lot of times will have a subject matter that they want to cover, and so they will put a call out to artists and -- -So you're not the only artists that do the murals.

-Oh, no.

No.

-Okay.

So, we're in front of the Amelia Earhart mural.

-Uh-huh.

-What does Amelia Earhart have to do with Cuba?

-During her cross-continental flight, she had engine trouble and had to land in a field in Cuba.

-[ Laughs ] -So it's -- -We'll take it.

We'll take it.

-We'll take it.

Yep.

-And you painted it?

-We painted it, yes.

-The two of you together?

Wow.

-Became friends before we started doing murals, but this really, yeah, really bonded us.

-We drive through these cities, and we think time has stood still.

And yet they are really at the forefront of a lot of historical moments that we would never know driving through.

And yet, your murals really tell us that story.

Even though it's Route 66 and it's such a brand, it's such a name, it changes all the time.

-It's a work in progress.

You know, Americans... We're always on the move.

We always have been.

It's very liberating I think, to all of us.

-After leaving Cuba, I'm following Route 66 through the Ozarks.

This is Devil's Elbow Bridge, an icon of the Mother Road.

Ozark lumberjacks cursed the logjams caused by this bend in the river, what they coined a devil of an elbow.

And now... [ Laughter ] ...for something completely inappropriate.

-Welcome to Uranus!

-This is already exceeding my expectations, just so you know.

-Great.

Would you like to get your fudge nice and tight in a box or loose in a bag?

-[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh.

[ Laughter ] [ Ding! ]

How many people do you see a day here, do you think?

-Oh, gosh.

Thousands.

The billboards bring a lot of people in.

They stop for the joke, and then they realize that the best fudge really does come from Uranus, so... [ Laughter ] -All homemade?

-Homemade.

We have 18 different flavors of regular fudge, and then we have six reduced sugar flavors, as well.

-What's your top flavor?

-Oh, chocolate's our number one, of course... -Sure.

-...followed by peanut butter chocolate.

-Oh.

Oh, yeah.

So, I'd like you to pack it tight.

-Okay.

-So, a pound.

-Of?

-Of the chocolate peanut butter.

-There she goes.

-Yep.

Yep.

-She picked the number two in Uranus.

-It's a classic.

[ Laughter ] -The total damage in Uranus today is going to be $5.56.

-It feels so dirty.

[ Ding ding ding! ]

What I think is so endearing about Route 66 is that even though it is this road of optimism, like you said, people looking out west towards a better life, it's a road that really represents the underdog.

The road itself is an underdog.

And yet five interstate highways still could not -- -Parallel.

-Parallel highways still could not... -No.

-...diminish or distinguish the Mother Road.

-No.

It caused the death of a lot of places, but not all of them.

-Mm-hmm.

-And in this renaissance period, which we started in 1990, it just keeps going and going and going.

So you have, a lot of new things are resurrected, are repurposed sites, and then people always like to make sidebar trips off the road.

-My next stop in Missouri is the town of Springfield, one of 67 Springfields in the United States, and I've already been through one of them in Illinois.

But this one has its own major claim to fame to Route 66 history.

-This is a map of Route 66 running from Los Angeles to Chicago.

-It's a visual representation of all the major attractions that are or have been on Route 66.

John, I love how the "physicalness" of this timeline actually curves like Route 66.

It's not a straight line like the highway.

-Just goes all the way through, from the very beginnings of the highway, all the way up to when it was closed in 1985.

-The History Museum on the Square offers a bit of clarity in what can be a baffling road trip of what was and what still is.

The city of Springfield, Missouri, has the great honor of being the official birthplace of Route 66, and they've got the birth certificate to prove it -- a telegram from the group planning the route that was sent to Washington, D.C., from, yes, Springfield, Missouri.

-So this is the telegram asking for the number 66.

The original of this is in the National Archives, and this is a copy that just pretty well says it all in just a few very succinct sentences.

-"Regarding Chicago Los Angeles Road, if California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Illinois will accept 66 instead of 60, we are inclined to agree to this change.

We prefer 66 to 62."

-And the rest, as they say, is history.

-Wow.

I mean, I don't think Nat King Cole singing "Get Your Kicks on Route 62" would have ever worked.

-There he is right there.

[ Both laugh ] -After 59 years, the iconic road was replaced by the interstate highway system.

Five highways built over the next three decades replaced it.

And the towns that no longer had an on or off ramp suffered greatly.

When you were writing the book "Route 66," was that your mission, to save the Mother Road?

Did you see it at a time where you thought, "Wait a minute.

We can't lose this"?

-The short answer is yes, because at that time, 1985, the last of the shields went down.

-Shields are those big signs.

-So the road was de-certified.

But I knew that more importantly, the people were still out along the road.

-What I've really enjoyed about my travels through Route 66 is understanding American history in a way I was never taught in school and what I didn't learn.

And it's fascinating.

It's not always pretty.

It's not always optimistic, and that's one of the missions of this museum.

-Many people are amazed.

Many people don't realize Missouri was even in the Civil War.

But actually -- -I'm gonna raise my hand on that one, Steve.

-I'm Steve Cottrell.

I'm a retired teacher.

I wrote a book on the Battle of Carthage, and I'm a Civil War nut.

-So, this painting was painted in 1990, and it depicts the Battle of Carthage.

-It portrays just a small portion of the battle as it passed through the town late in the day.

Missourians fighting Missourians.

Most of the Yanks were from the St. Louis area.

They were mainly German American immigrants.

The other side was the state militia of Missouri, the Missouri State Guard.

This is before -- It was so early in the war, it's before the blue versus gray color code.

And at this early stage of the war, people are wearing funky uniforms.

Early in the war, if you could raise a regiment of 1,000 men or so, you could also design your own uniform if you wanted to.

-Oh, no.

-Whoever thought of that had never been in the military.

-Wow.

-You've got to learn the rough, bad stuff along with the nice, pretty stuff to know the whole story.

Otherwise, it's like reading half a book or watching half a movie.

You don't know the whole story.

The main message is we don't want to do it again.

If you -- People who study this war seriously, they know that.

It was a horrendous time, and that's how we teach it, just exactly how it was.

-Alright, so we are leaving Missouri, heading into Kansas, which has 13.2 miles of Route 66.

It's really small, but I'm sure it's gonna be good.

We're gonna make this count.

But I'm really excited because I have never been to the state of Kansas.

So this is all new to me.

Very excited about this.

Kansas, here I come.

And my first stop in Kansas -- okay, my only stop -- is the town of Galena.

Do you own this icon of Route 66?

-Yeah, I own this.

It found me in 2018.

I actually wanted something on Route 66.

And I pulled in out here to get some pictures, and there was a "for sale by owner" sign in the window.

-Ahh.

-Yeah, that's kind of what I heard, like harps playing.

I mean, it got dark.

This beam of light kind of shone down.

It's like Ahh I'm Aaron Perry.

I am the curator of Gearhead Curios.

Technically I'm the owner, but I like to call myself the curator, because a curator takes care of something that belongs to other people.

And I like to think that this little Texaco station belongs to all the travelers that are running Route 66.

-You just wanted to make it sort of an ode to road trippers, people who love being in cars and -- -Yeah, it's a time capsule.

It's a time trip.

When you're on Route 66, the shop owners, they're your memory makers, your storytellers, and they offer you an escape from reality.

The ceiling is covered with license plates that have been gifted by travelers.

The dedications that are up there to lost loved ones, to cars, to road trips from all over the world.

And that just gives you goose bumps to think about.

And then, my restroom, the most photographed restroom, I believe, on Route 66.

-Wow.

Was not expecting this.

-This was literally outside, and this was a forest.

So I removed trees.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I got a pink mid-century toilet.

-Love the pink.

-Because who doesn't like a pink mid-century?

-Exactly.

-I tried to get color matching tiles, but you get what you get, you don't throw a fit, as they say, right?

Behind you, my toilet paper is held up with a "C" clamp and wrenches.

-Oh, that's cool.

My divider is Model A Ford hood sides, so 1930 Ford hood sides.

And then, this powder coated funnel is the urinal.

These are to eliminate the guesswork for the guys.

And then if you make flushing fun, we have that.

It opens a water valve, goes through a Texaco oil can, and sprays into the funnel.

-I love it.

-But we offer something special with this.

-Okay.

-Right here... -Uh-huh.

-...we offer... -Oh, no.

-...individual Shewees so the ladies can hit the funnel.

And then one traveler says, if I hit the funnel, I want everyone to know.

So you honk the horn.

Everyone out there knows what you just did.

We will applaud you and cheer you on.

And then when you come out, we get your picture holding the hubcap.

-So ladies... -Ladies.

-...with our apparatus... -Yes.

-...can put on another apparatus... -Yes.

-...that allows us to pee standing up into the funnel.

-And have all the joy and excitement of hitting the funnel.

And as far as I know, I'm the only one that offers ladies the option to stand and use the urinal.

-I tell you, you are a catch.

-I am!

[ Both laugh ] [ Horn honks ] -We're not in Kansas anymore.

Of course, when you think of Oklahoma, you think of...whale watching.

This is the famous blue whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma.

Originally built in 1972 as a part of a private playground for the designer's grandchildren, it's now a city park and one of the most recognizable attractions along the entire Route 66.

It's a perfect spot to stretch your legs, use the facilities -- which are not in the whale -- and take some pictures.

But now I'm back in the car and heading to a city I've never been to, and it's about time.

Tulsa.

I've heard so many great things about what's considered to be the coolest city in Oklahoma, and to prove it, my first stop in the morning is Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios.

-I'm Mary Beth Babcock, and I am a very passionate business owner that loves to support local artists on Route 66.

I've been in retail for a long time, and at one point I said, what do you want?

And I said, I want to do retail, but something small.

And 30 minutes later, this gas station, 1950s gas station, got posted on Facebook.

I said, oh, my gosh, a souvenir shop in a gas station on Route 66.

I couldn't have dreamt up a more perfect scenario.

And then I said, I need a character.

So of course, a space cowboy, right?

Buck is the cowboy.

Atom, A-T-O-M, space.

Mash it together, you've got a space cowboy.

-I love it.

So, what is a cosmic curio?

-I said, let's put the word curio in, and that way, you can sell a little bit of everything.

You're not limited on what you what you sell, but a souvenir shop.

And with Buck Atom being a space cowboy, you know, we pull in the cosmic.

So it just helps us kind of go, you know, have fun.

-Right.

There are no limitations.

It's space.

-It's infinite.

[ Both laugh ] -And the -- You have a Muffler Man out there.

-Yes.

-And that is a Route 66 icon, right?

That goes back how far, do you know?

-Yes.

They were originally made in the '60s.

And so there was the famous Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois.

And so we found a guy that has made a mold from one and can make custom Muffler Men now.

-So there are new Muffler Men coming into the Route 66 atmosphere.

-Exactly.

Exactly.

Carrying on those beautiful stories from the past.

-There are definitely those beautiful, "thank goodness we have them," old-time Route 66'ers.

They remember it when.

-Yes.

-And they've worked so hard to preserve it and also to influence that next generation to say, "Here, don't let this go."

And you're that next generation.

-Oh, I can't believe you just said that.

For you to say that, I get the chills.

I feel like I am here to help people smile.

It's a dream that I can -- I can live my life and do something really fun.

[ Camera shutter clicks ] -Okay, here's a traveler's tip for Route 66.

Get a map.

Get many, many, many maps in a great booklet, because it really -- It doesn't exist.

It was decommissioned in 1985, and so your phone GPS isn't going to help you at all.

It's been chopped up, Route 66.

Sometimes it follows a highway really plain and simple.

Other times it cuts into like more rural environments, and you're like, where the heck am I?

So get a map.

Get all of them.

-The book was really intended to be a love letter for the highway and those people, again, without pulling punches, without overly romanticizing it, telling -- It has to be the complete story.

-Mm-hmm.

-It has to be black, white, shades of gray, the good, bad, the ugly, because sometimes the Mother Road could be an abusive mother, and people need to know that.

-I'm now in the Tulsa neighborhood of Greenwood, home to one of the most significant events in the city's history, the Tulsa massacre, believed to be the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.

On May 31, 1921, in 18 terrible hours, more than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and an estimated 300 black lives were lost.

-The best thing that can happen is for that to be exposed, because the most antiseptic thing is sunlight.

-Best things that could happen to Oklahoma.

And it wasn't always the case.

Some things were not talked about.

-In 1985, Route 66 was federally de-certified.

Two years later, in '87, Arizona established the first historic association dedicated to Route 66 preservation.

And by 1989, when we showed up, all eight states had their own association to help let people know the road is still here, and it is still important to travel.

I'm Rhys Martin, and I'm the president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

-Rhys has personally traveled all 2,300 miles of Route 66.

-And in Oklahoma, we're lucky that today we have more drivable miles of Route 66 than any other state.

But Tulsa calls itself the capital of Route 66 for a very good reason.

-And this square really depicts that reason.

We've got a man driving a Model T Ford and a horse -- two horses and a wagon.

-So this sculpture is called "East Meets West," and it really symbolizes the coming of the automobile and kind of the old world, the oil field workers coming in.

Tulsa was the oil capital of the world.

Today it's the capital of Route 66.

And Cyrus Avery, the driver behind the car here, is known as the father of Route 66 because of his integral role in getting the highway established in the first place that connected Chicago all the way out to Los Angeles.

-And he was instrumental in having that bridge right there built.

-That's right.

So this is now Cyrus Avery Memorial Bridge.

But back in the day, it was just the 11th Street Bridge.

That's how you crossed the Arkansas River.

-Okay.

-And so he used that knowledge to help guide the road down through Missouri and Oklahoma, because if you draw a line on a map between Chicago and Los Angeles, it didn't go anywhere near Oklahoma.

-It's so true.

It could have been more of a straight shot, right?

But it just sort of dips.

-Yeah.

And because of his influence and because of, you know, just who he was as a person and his passion for good roads, Route 66 comes right through Tulsa, his adopted hometown, and we have this great plaza here dedicated to him.

When you take Route 66, it's still Main Street in a lot of these towns.

You get to meet people that, it's their life's work to have this small business or this gift shop or this restaurant.

You meet people from all over the world that are also choosing to experience America through the lens of Route 66.

So no trip is ever the same, and it's just a really wonderful way to explore this country.

-Route 66 is a state of mind, where the past, the present, the what ifs, and the what could be's actually come together.

And you pull off on 66, and your mind can wander, and you can time travel and escape reality.

-If you're coming through Cuba on Route 66, please stop and say hi to me if I'm out painting.

I'd love to hear your story, and I'd love to tell you our story.

-There's so many things special about Route 66.

It's meeting all the people along the route.

People traveling, the other business owners, they all have their own, you know, their own passion, their own love for their little strip.

You never know what you might find.

-I've experienced so much on Route 66, and yet I feel like I'm just getting started.

So next, I'll be continuing on through the rest of Oklahoma, to Texas, and beyond.

-And always remember, the last thing I'll tell you is life truly begins at the off ramp.

-And that's why Route 66 is a road that takes us to so many places to love.

For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and Samantha Brown's "Places to Love."

Sailing to more than 600 destinations around the globe, from Europe to Asia and Alaska to the South Pacific, Oceania Cruises offers gourmet dining and curated travel experiences aboard boutique, hotel style ships that carry no more than 1,250 guests.

Oceania Cruises.

Your World.

Your Way.

-Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel to the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.