Heading diagonally across the state between St. Louis and Chicago, what remains of Route 66 is a surprisingly rural cruise through endless fields of corn. Despite the urban conglomerations at both ends, for most of its nearly 300-mile trek here, Route 66 and its modern usurper, I-55, pass along flat prairies with nary a smokestack or skyscraper as far as the eye can see.
The heavy industrial and poverty-stricken suburbs of East St. Louis aren’t terribly rewarding for travelers in search of the Mother Road, but a couple of intriguing attractions—one a prehistoric city, the other a water tower shaped like a catsup bottle—are worth searching out. The only real city along the route and the state capital, Springfield, has preserved its sections of Route 66, as have most of the small towns en route. All of them play up their Route 66 connections, and most boast at least one true old-road landmark.