66 Day Three: Sullivan, MO to Joplin, MO

Onondaga Cave State Park is less famous—and less crowded—than Meramec Caverns, but equally impressive. Massive stalagmites and stalactites drip from the ceiling and rise up from the floor, and guided tours take visitors throughout the underground labyrinth. Don’t miss the panoramic vista points where you can see views of the Meramec River.

Cuba, Missouri, nicknamed “Route 66 Mural City,” will make you feel as if you’ve traveled back in time. The town was founded in 1857 and named after the island nation just south of Florida. Over the years, Cuba has seen its fair share of famous visitors—including Bette Davis, Amelia Earhart, and President Harry S. Truman—many of whom are featured in the town’s murals.

If you need a break from driving and sightseeing, catch a flick at the 19 Drive-In. The classic theater opened in 1955 and is still operating seasonally, between March and October.

In Cuba you’ll find the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel, a 19-room historic Route 66 motel in operation since 1936. Don’t miss nearby vintage gas stations such as the Old Conoco Service Station and a Phillips 66 station.

On the southwest corner of Prairie Street and South Main Street, you’ll find a concrete block that served as the town’s jail from 1908 to 1954. Today, the building is furnished with traditional prison furniture, including a wood cot, desk, and stove.

There are so many Route 66 icons to see and experience while in Cuba, but it’s absolutely essential to take a tour of the famous Route 66 Viva Cuba Murals. Take a journey through the town’s history via 12 outdoor murals. For a more in-depth look, a narrated bus tour departs from the Cuba Visitor Center. A self-guided map is available at cubamomurals.com.

The 40-feet-tall rocking chair in Fanning, Missouri, was once Guinness-certified as the World's Largest Rocker. In 2015, it was bumped down to second place by an even larger chair in Casey, Illinois.

You may not expect to stumble upon the abandoned ruins of a castle in the middle of the Ozarks, but when driving down Route 66, this amazing state park is well worth the detour. Tucked behind lush forests and bordered by a vast lake, Ha Ha Tonka State Park is a world unto itself. The name “Ha Ha Tonka” reportedly comes from a Native American phrase for “laughing waters,” a reference to the area’s many springs. There are 17 miles of trails that feature sinkholes, natural bridges, caves, a spring, and the ruins of an early-20th-century castle.

Robert McClure Snyder was born into a family of millers and grocers in 1852. Snyder moved to St. Louis to work in the grocery business and, in 1904, he bought 5,000 acres of land around Ha Ha Tonka Lake and Spring. He started building roads, exploring the caves, and visited the area whenever he needed to escape his busy city life.

Snyder employed Scottish stonemasons to build his dream home, a massive, European-style castle, with an incredible view overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks. Snyder died in 1906, before his dream home was completed, when he became one of Missouri’s first automobile fatalities. In Snyder’s obituary, the Kansas City Journal wrote that he “was a man who understood big things and made them win by keeping up the fight when other men might have been ready to give it up.”

His sons took over construction of the castle and completed it in the 1920s. The castle was used as a residence for most of the next two decades until it became a boutique hotel in 1937. In 1942, a fire completely destroyed the interior and carriage house.

Ha Ha Tonka became an official state park in 1978, and visitors to the stabilized castle can still enjoy the artistic masonry of the ruins.

Edwin Powell Hubble was born in Marshfield in 1889. To commemorate the famous astronomer, there’s a Hubble Telescope Replica Statue on the west side of the town square. It weighs a whopping 1,200 pounds and is one-quarter the size of the actual Hubble Space Telescope. The town itself is cute, too, so if you have time, spend a day strolling around.