summer school 2026

A New Beginning for Route 66

If you’re familiar with Route 66, you know that it went through some realignments over the years to make it a more efficient route and to address safety concerns (some of those old mountain roads are downright terrifying!), which is why it doesn’t bother me that to celebrate the centennial, they did this:

Yes, they gave old Route 66 a new beginning by moving the “official” start to Chicago’s Navy Pier, which means the Mother Road now runs “pier to pier,” from where it begins in Chicago to the end at the Santa Monica pier in California. I actually think this was a really cool thing they did to honor the centennial and tie the two ends of Route 66 together, and Navy Pier is a really special location to honor a historic road.

Sometimes a fresh start is just what you need!

What We’re Reading (and Watching)–Route 66

This year’s summer school is all about the 100th anniversary of Route 66! This is the first time that we’ve had a unit built more around field trips than anything else, but I do still have a short list of books, documentaries, and a few bonus fun activities, too:

  • The Best Hits on Route 66: Essential Stops on the Mother Road
  • Route 66: A Tribute to An American Icon
  • Driving the Green Book
  • Route 66 Road Trip Activity Book
  • Illinois Route 66 Passport (a fun freebie we picked up along the way)
  • Henry Reed’s Journey (not technically a story about Route 66 specifically, but it captures the spirit of the Great American Road Trip!)
  • The Route 66 Cookbook
  • Rand McNally Official Route 66 Centennial Map
  • Modern Marvels: “Route 66”
  • Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri
  • Cars (a just-for-fun selection that actually captures the spirt of 66 better than any documentary I’ve ever seen!)
  • Lego Speed Champions Lightning McQueen

I’m not going to lie…I think this is one of the best summer schools I’ve put together, and I’m thrilled that the Route 66 Centennial lined up with it so well!

West End Service Station

Vintage service stations are an iconic part of Route 66 history, and there’s a repurposed one in Edwardsville, IL!

This building began its life in 1927, just a year after Route 66 got rolling, and served travelers on the Mother Road until 1964. It then became a different kind of “filling station”…it operated as a dental office! But in 2023 it was restored to its former glory, and reopened with a small museum inside:

We even got to flip through magazines that are 100 years old!

It’s a very cool place!

I’m always glad to see a historic location find a way to share the past with new generations!

Chickadee Thursday

Chickadee has a great time at the Pokémon Fossil Museum at the Field Museum in Chicago!

And we stopped at Navy Pier (the new starting point for Route 66) for ice cream!

Tasty Tuesday–Dining Down the Mother Road (At Home)–Part Four

Our next Route 66 dinner featured “New Mexican Posole” like they serve at the Silver Moon.Cafe in Santa Rosa, NM, according to the recipe in The Route 66 Cookbook. This was a new experience for us…we’ve never tried hominy before. It was super delicious, and we’ll definitely be making it again!

For dessert I made a “Strawberry Whipped Cheesecake” like they make at the historic Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, IL. It’s a no-bake cheesecake with a shortbread-style crust, a lovely fluffy cheesecake layer, and strawberries on top…I really enjoyed it!

We love breakfast-for-dinner, so our next Route 66 dinner was “Grilled Thick French Toast” like they serve at Chicago’s own Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant and Bakery…it was pretty similar to my regular recipe, but with even more vanilla, which I love!

I still have quite a few Route 66 recipes left to make this summer…stay tuned!

Jensen Point

Right next to the old Red Cedar Inn is another Route 66 Roadside Attraction…Jensen Point:

I was told the there were 99 steps on a winding path up to the overlook…honestly, it didn’t feel like that many, but I didn’t bother to count them.

The views of the railroad, Meramec River, and surrounding hills was outstanding!

This location, named after the first president of the Henry Shaw Gardenway Association, not to mention manager of what is now the Missouri Botanical Garden, Lars Peter Jensen, is another spot I didn’t plan to visit (or was even aware of), but I’m glad made its way into our itinerary!

Red Cedar Inn

One of the fun things about our Route 66 Summer is going where the road takes us. The old Red Cedar Inn in Pacific, MO, wasn’t originally on my list of places to see, but when we visited the Route 66 State Park Visitor’s Center, the woman working there told us about this spot just a few miles down the road. In keeping with the spirt of traveling Route 66 to have a great time, we decided to check it out.

I was thrilled to see the old sign lit up in the small museum that occupies most of the building:

It no longer operates as a restaurant, but they do still have the original bar top…I bet it has a lot of interesting stories it could tell!

Pacific is actually a pretty cool little train town…we ended up driving through most of it on 66. I’m really glad we had a chance for an unplanned side quest!

Chickadee Thursday

At the Route 66 State Park in Eureka, MO:

And tracking down Muffler Men in Granite City, IL:

Route 66 State Park and Visitors’ Center

One of the three big field trips I planned for this year’s summer school was a trip west to the Route 66 State Park in Eureka, MO.

The Visitor’s Center is the old Bridgehead Inn, which was an original Route 66 roadhouse from 1935:

It’s a fairly unassuming building, but they have a surprisingly large collection of Route 66 memorabilia in the the museum inside:

The original name for the inn becomes obvious when you walk around outside, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to use the bridge! It appears that there is still a fundraising effort underway to restore it for (I assume) pedestrian access, which would be highly beneficial, because the rest of the state park is actually across the river, and requires using an entirely different exit from the interstate to access!

There are quite a few trails through the park, and it also contains a piece of local history, as the former summer resort town (and eventually full-time low-income housing community) Times Beach was once located here. That spot has a rather sordid but fascinating past involving poverty, an industrial disaster from the spread of the contaminant dioxin, and flooding, but is a lovely (and clean!) park today.

We are very fortunate to have Route 66 locations close enough to home for us to visit!

Stay tuned for more Route 66 adventures!

Tasty Tuesday–Dining Down the Mother Road (At Home)–Part Three

We’ve had another pair of Route 66 dinners in the last week!

First, I made “Bang Bang Burgers” from The Route 66 Cookbook like they serve at Hoppers Pub in . Waynesville, MO. The Bang Bang Sauce was amazing, and an onion ring is a great topper for a burger!

For dessert we had “Butter Spritz Cookies” like they serve at Jubelt’s Bakery and Restaurant, a Route 66 stop a little closer to home in Litchfield, IL.

Next up was a German feast…all items I’ve made before, but with new twists from The Route 66 Cookbook. The main course “Pork Wiener Schnitzel” like they serve at Westside Lilo’s in Seligman, AZ. It was very similar to how I usually make schnitzel, but with lemon pepper added to the breading…I will definitely be using that tip from now on!

To go with the schnitzel, I made Späetzle like they serve at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK. I make Späetzle A LOT, but this recipe was very different from what we’re used to. It was still good, and it’s nice to have another option!

I kept the German theme going with dessert, and the recipe for apple strudel was from a restaurant near and dear to my heart…The Berghoff in Chicago. I’ve never made strudel with phyllo dough before…it was light and lovely and the recipe is a definite keeper!

I already have a few more meals planned for our culinary journey down Route 66!