Kansas

The next state we will find after having visited Missouri is Kansas. Route 66 passes briefly through this state in the southern part of the state, covering only 18 kilometers of it. It enters the state through the city of Baxter Springs, leaving the state in Galena.

You might think this short part of the route is useless and uninteresting, but it is actually where you find the best preserved parts of it, so do not consider avoiding it because you would be missing on a really important part of the experience!

William's store

Leo Williams was a U.S army soldier in World War I. When he came back from the war, he decided to build a diner to make a living, but unfortunately, in 1923 a tornado torn it down to the ground, so he decided to rebuild it as a store.

And so he did, opening it in 1926 near the road, which made the store a huge success, having lots of people pass by every single day. It came to a point where it was just another stop of the Mother Road, so it was decided to include it in the maps in the late 30’s.

One interesting fact about this store is how Pixar (the movie studio) decided to include it in their animated movie Cars. They started a research along route 66 to find an iconic place until they reached the state of Kansas, and they found this great place which fitted perfectly what they were looking for.

So if you are in the state of Kansas doing route 66 you need to visit this still operating store which has even been classified as a historic place. After all, we cannot forget it has been operating for 90 years, with thousands of people passing by during many years.

Other stops

Despite not explaining more stops, it is also recommended to visit The Galena Historic District and The Litch Historical and Mining Museum (also in Galena).