Ramblin' fever,
The kind that can't be measured by degrees.
Ramblin' fever,
There ain't no kind of cure for my disease.
-- Merle Haggard
Sometimes I need to go somewhere where I've never been before. Around here, I have to use my imagination and pretend I've never been there before, because the truth is I've been just about everywhere. Forget about Route 66 between Tulsa and Afton. I have a good imagination, but it's not that good! I've got that one memorized down to the last branch on the last tree. But I don't get out west of Tulsa very much these days, so this afternoon I took a short "westward ho!" trip. I only got as far as Depew, but it just felt good to be out on a beautiful day on Route 66, in slightly less familiar territory.
I went out specifically to stop and gaze at remnants of the old Route 66 around the Depew area. There are some beauties out there. They're not driveable, but they're pretty photogenic when the haze doesn't get in the way like it did today. Nevertheless, you get the general idea.
Could anything be more indicative of a closed road than someone making it into a basketball court? Route 66 a basketball court! Shameful!! :-) Anyway, these old alignments run right up next to the later alignment of Route 66 and some people have to cross them to get into their driveways or farm roads. Since the tiny segment dead-ends just beyond the photo, might as well put the pavement to good use.
On the way back, I took a quick spin through Depew, another sad little Route 66 town. As you can see, there was not much commerce going on in downtown Depew this afternoon. I paused to have myself a nice cleansing cry in the middle of town. I think I've cried in just about every little Route 66 town I've been in. It has to do with what's been lost, and what used to be. I can't help it. It's my own personal Trail of Tears.
