This week was not a high mileage week for the kids as they
were involved in P.E. activities that did not contribute
much distance to the trek. The 4th and 5th grade students
are still involved in the
FitnessGram
test (a national test to measure the fitness level of
children).
Mr. Staso
has been trying to get back to the school to run and walk
with the kids, but his work schedule has not made that
possible for the past couple of weeks. He is hoping to spend
some time with the kids next week.
Currently, the 5th grade is in the area of
Lincoln, Illinois.
The town of Lincoln is home to "The Railsplitter" - which is
recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the
world's
largest covered wagon. The wagon weighs 5
tons and measures 40 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 24 feet
tall. Abe Lincoln is seated in the front of the wagon and is
reading a book. He weighs 350 pounds and measures 12 feet
tall. The wagon arrived in Springfield in January 2007, and
caused traffic delays for hours as curious travelers stopped
to take pictures and ask questions. The 4th graders are
ahead of the 5th graders by 22½ miles. They're currently
near
Springfield, Illinois
- the place of the historic
Cozy Dog Drive Inn,
where the "hot dog on a stick" was introduced in 1946.
There is growing interest in Illinois to restore many
portions of old Route 66 that have been neglected over the
years. Some repaving projects are underway, and businesses
 along
the route are making efforts to promote the historic Route
66 as a vacation drive. It's important to keep in mind that
you cannot drive, run, walk or bike all of the old Route 66 as it was originally established back in 1926.
There are several portions of old Route 66 that were
abandoned over time and traffic began using interstate
roads. That's the case in areas of Illinois, where the kids
are virtually trekking now. In fact, in Springfield (where the 4th graders are) there are only pieces
of the old Route 66. For example, one alignment of old Route 66
runs under Lake Springfield! Sometimes when the water is
low, you can see the old roadbed.
We're still waiting for some parents to turn in the signed
media forms so that we can post pictures of the kids on this
web site. We cannot do so until we have all of the signed
forms returned to the school. We hope that this will be
completed soon!
We really appreciate your interest in how the kids are doing
on this virtual trek. Please stop by soon to see their
progress, and to learn more about Route 66!
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5th Grade (41 students): They
did 24½ miles this week.
Their total
is 169 miles.
