This is the first of a three-part series from KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva exploring the historic Route 66's 100th anniversary. If you have a story idea for Fernanda, you can send her an email.
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Thousands of travelers from across the globe are journeying down Route 66 this year to experience a piece of American history as part of the road's 100th anniversary.
We spent a day on the 13.2 miles of Route 66 in Kansas. It's about two and a half hours south of Kansas City.
Running through Galena, Riverton, and Baxter Springs, it's the smallest stretch of the route in any state. There, we met many travelers.
People like Mike Rockling, who flew from Vermont to Los Angeles to buy a 1962 Buick Skylark — with no air conditioning and no power steering — for the drive back.
"It’s a great way to see the country," Rockling told me. "It seemed more romantic to do it in a classic car."
He says family and friends are calling him crazy — but he insists it's worth it.
"We’ve seen a lot of things you would never see," Rockling said.
We caught up with him as he was driving on Rainbow Bridge, a 1923 bridge over Brush Creek, between Riverton and Baxter Springs.
Just a couple of miles from there, in Galena, we met the Othen family. They started their journey in Australia, to see parts of Route 66 while visiting family, and say the road is more than just the miles traveled.
"It’s nice to see what could be defined as real America," Andrew Othen said.
"We’ve seen a little of America that we don’t normally see… maybe towns we never thought of going to," Vicky Cheung-Othen said.
Outside of Gearhead Curios, a roadside attraction on the route, we saw Mary Beiser and Chris Beiser — a retired couple from Illinois.
They had been mapping out their trip for years and finally had the chance to make it a reality.
Instead of books, they used an app to decide what places they should stop at. But not everything is high-tech for them — an old camera is capturing their moments on the road.
"It’s quirky, it’s fun… the old school, the people we run into," they told me.
"It’s like a patchwork. All these little towns make up America and why it’s so great," Mary said.
"It’s America! It’s our history!" they said.
The travelers are passing through the southeast corner of Kansas, connecting with local business owners who are preparing for the influx of tourists.
Aaron Perry, owner of Gearhead Curios, said major events this year should help bring more travelers into his store.
"It is America’s 250th, it is Route 66’s 100th, and we’re kind of in between Dallas and Kansas City, and there are going to be World Cup games here. So I jokingly tell people, instead of having coffee in the morning, I’m just going to take the coffee grounds like chewing tobacco," Perry said.
Renee Charles, owner of Cars on the Route, said businesses are opening earlier than usual.
"Usually, a lot of the places aren’t open this early in the season. Probably by mid- to late April, they open up. We’ve been open since January, and the amount of travel has just been crazy," Charles said.
Scott Nelson, owner of Nelson’s Old Riverton Store, is also feeling the impact. The place is known for its deli sandwiches and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"I don't know what the day is going to bring until it happens," Nelson said. But according to him, the stop is worth it. "There's not another store like this — you’ll not find another place like this in America."
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