To begin this week's journal we want to announce that the
Photo Gallery section of this web site is up to date! We've
posted 72 pictures for the months of September, October and
November. To begin viewing the gallery,
click here!
What a terrific week this was following several days off of
school for Thanksgiving! The kids posted a lot of miles this
week, and they were able to turn in their mileage sheets
from the holiday time away from school. At the end of last
week the 4th graders were 15½ miles behind the 5th graders.
However, this week's mileage put the 4th graders 33 miles
ahead of the 5th graders! All of the students are nearly
30% done with this Route 66 journey.
Last week ended with both classes near the area of
Springfield, Missouri. Well, due to the mileage done by both
grades... all of the kids have now completed the state of
Missouri! Congratulations!! They were running and walking so
fast, and enjoying this week's snowfall so much, that they
probably didn't even notice the "Welcome to Kansas" sign.
Also, they probably didn't notice the "Welcome to Oklahoma"
sign that appeared only 13 miles after entering Kansas!
Yep... the kids were only in the state of Kansas for 13
miles, crossing through the southeast corner of the state.
That means that both grades have now completed Illinois,
Missouri, and Kansas. They're now passing through their 4th
state - Oklahoma!
The 5th grade class is in Miami. No, not Miami, Florida!
They're in
Miami, Oklahoma. The town of about 14,000
residents has the longest original main street stretch of
Route 66. Miami has a lot of Native American history and in
the summer many Native American Pow Wows are held. Miami
also has the Route 66 Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum, where
you can see some very old motorcycles. On July 2, 2007 Miami
was hit by a great flood that destroyed many shops and
homes, including the fire department. It was declared a
national disaster.
The 4th graders are in
Vinita, Oklahoma.
Vinita is the second oldest town in Oklahoma, established in
1871. About 7,000 people call Vinita their home. The small
town’s attractions range from Civil War battle sites to the
world’s largest McDonald's Restaurant. The huge McDonald's
is located on the Will Rogers Turnpike (I-44) near the
Vinita exit and is easily accessible from the City of
Vinita. This monstrous restaurant structure spans over a
four-lane highway and covers 29,135 square feet. This BIG
McDonalds truly serves BIG Macs! However, recently a newer
McDonald's Restaurant (and Playplace) was constructed in
Orlando, Florida, and many believe that to be the "largest"
McDonald's. The Orlando building was designed to look like a
large bag of fries.
We want to make sure that we tell you about a few of the
places that the kids ran and walked through on their way to
their current locations in Oklahoma. Before leaving
 Missouri
the classes ran through some very old mining towns with many
old tunnels still existing. They entered Kansas (which
required only 13 miles to complete) and that state was among
the first to have Route 66 properly paved in concrete. The
few towns in Kansas that they passed through - Galena,
Riverton, and Baxter Springs - are among the quietest you'll
ever find. These locations are where you can listen to
the crickets chirp without much other noise to distract you.
By the way, Kansas is the home of Dorothy from the wonderful
old 1939 movie The Wizard of OZ.
The kids passed through Baxter Springs where the local
residents tell a story about Jesse James robbing the local
back in 1876. However, historians say it didn't happen. The
famous robber certainly did rob banks and cause trouble, but
he was somewhere else other than Baxter Springs. As the
runners and walkers entered the state of Oklahoma, they were
entering a state that has truly worked hard to preserve its
part of Route 66. In fact, nearly all of old Route 66 has
been preserved and remains in daily use throughout eastern
Oklahoma. Since the interstate is a toll road in eastern
Oklahoma, most local and regional travel is done on the Free
Road - which is old Route 66. As the kids got further into
Oklahoma they passed through the town of Commerce, which is
the home of famous baseball legend Mickey Mantle who played
for the New York Yankees. They also
went passed the Buffalo Ranch near Afton, Oklahoma. This
ranch has a petting zoo, complete with buffalo, llamas and
yaks.
Although Missoula, Montana has had below freezing
temperatures and about 12 inches of snow in the past two
weeks, the kids are persevering and have completed nearly
one-third of this 2,278-mile journey. Thanks for stopping
in, and please
click here to send the kids a
note of encouragement!
Click Here To Read The Next
Journal Entry > >
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5th Grade (41 students): Added
99½ miles this week.
Their total
is 639½ miles. They have 1,638½ miles
left to go and are 28% done with the trek.
