June 11, 2004

Joplin, MO to Riverton, KS

Joplin, MO:  About 20 enthusiastic Sierra Club members from the far southwest corner of the state turned out to take test drives, sign postcards, and talk to reporters from the Joplin Globe and a local tv station. The event took place at Cobblestone Market along original Route 66, a stretch now named for Joplin-born Langston Hughes, the 20th century American poet who definitely knew what it meant to set your sights on better possibilities. (Uh-oh...is my English Lit background showing?) Thanks very much to local volunteer Jean Blackwood and her husband Gary, to our site host Brad Warren, to Jeff from Roper Honda who brought a hybrid Insight, and to everyone who endured the sizzling heat!

Afterwards, I toured the Joplin museum in Schifferdecker Park, then headed west on Route 66 towards Kansas.

Galena, KS:  Only 13.5 miles of Route 66 cross the southeast corner of Kansas, but they are interesting miles indeed. There's a stint on un-lined road (original Portland cement, no less) through a wasteland of old lead and zinc mining operations which were in full swing during World War I. I'm told the air pollution was so bad that the road had to be moved. Not hard to believe! Galena seems to have more closed store fronts than open ones these days.

Gordon, who runs Gordon's Drugstore on Main Street, was a great help with directions and dining recommendations, and very interested in the hybrid, too.

Riverton, KS:  Five miles later, I stopped at the cool old-tyme market in Riverton for dinner and, of all things, encountered a three-person cable tv crew from St. Louis! They were looking for interesting stories along Route 66, and was I sure happy to oblige. We did an interview on the spot. The roomy, midsize Prius utterly demolished any assumptions about fuel-efficient hybrids being synonymous with teensy little flyweight vehicles. One of the crew was proud to report that her son and daughter in law had just had their 2004 Prius delivered. I can't wait to see the show when it airs!

-Jill