Day 3: Cuba MO to Carthage MO
Postcard from Carthage, Missouri
Hitting the road before 7am ended up being a great idea since another storm happened minutes after arriving at destination, 255 miles later.
The road, at first rougher and honestly more fun to drive, turned soon into a wave of smooth rolling hills: an hypnotic relaxing up and down lulling, that lasted till the Mother road matched the Highway 96 with its hordes of huge scary trucks. End of the fun.
A few more abandoned premises, big signs and the coolest motel so far, straight out of an action movie.
—
Edit: dying for a beer to fight the post-rain humidity and this city doesn’t seem to have any bar or store open. Not. Even. One.
Driving from Cuba to Carthage Cheat Sheet
Accommodation in Carthage:
- Guest House Motel, 417 East Central Avenue, Carthage, MO, 64836. A very cool motel, straight out of an action movie.
Where to eat and what to see between Cuba MO and Carthage MO
- Spencer, a very tiny community on the Route 66. Worth stopping by to take some pics
- Carl Muffler Man Chef, 1530 E St Louis St, Springfield, MO 65802 cause you gotta love a 25-foot-tall chef, right?
- Fanning 66 Outpost Llc, 5957 State Hwy ZZ, Cuba, MO 65453. the World’s Largest Rocking Chair
- Carthage Family Restaurant, 125 N Garrison Ave, Carthage, MO 6383. Just a basic diner, nothing fancy but everyone was very welcoming and polite.
Driving from Cuba to Carthage FAQ
The shortest possible route from Cuba to Carthage is 188 miles long. Since I wanted to drive the historic Route 66 and I had a couple of misunderstanding with the GPS, I drove 255 miles.
Driving no stop from Cuba to Carthage would take about 3 hours. It took me 6 hours due to some stops and some unnecessary back and forward to stay on the historic Route.
At least part of the road is pretty fun and relaxing to drive with lots of smooth rolling hills and a beautiful countryside.
The major attractions between Cuba and Carthage are the tiny community of Spencer where you can see some iconic gas stations and premises and the Carl Muffler Man Chef, a 25-foot-tall statue of a chef.
It depends on the season. In summer you can drive from Cuba to Carthage with any car even tho some stretches of the road are a bit rough and not super well maintained.
Route 66 pictures: photos taken from Cuba to Carthage
My itinerary on the Route 66
- Route 66 the ultimate American road trip
- Day 1: Chicago to Springfield
- Day 2: Springfield to Cuba
- Day 3: Cuba to Carthage
- Day 4: Carthage to Oklahoma City
- Day 5: Oklahoma City to Amarillo
- Day 6: Amarillo to Tucumcari
- Day 7: Tucumcari to Santa Fe
- Day 8: Santa Fe to Gallup
- Day 9: Gallup to Bluff
- Day 10: Bluff to Chambers
- Day 11: Chambers to Sedona
- Day 12: Sedona to Kingman
- Day 13: Kingman to Barstow
- Day 14: Barstow to Santa Monica
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