Day 4 - Cahokia and Beyond at DennyGibson.com

Day 4: December 24, 2025
Day of the Food
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I spent last night in this room at The Campbell Hotel on Historic Route 66. The rooms here have names, and mine was called The Pearl. I had vague thoughts that that might have something to do with Janis Joplin but that was obviously not the case. I'd checked in prior to heading to see the giants, and seeing the Pearl signs near them prompted me to ask the lady work at Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios what that meant. She told me it was one of the names for the neighborhood, but she didn't know why. I just now tried a search and the best thing Google came up with was that came from the neighborhood being a "gem" in Tulsa. Pretty weak, in my opinion.

I took that picture of the hotel as I walked across the street to breakfast. Apparently Route 66 author Jim Hinckley stayed at the Campbell on his last visit to Tulsa and discovered Sweetie Pies Amish Bakery and Cafe while he was there. Thanks for a great recommendation, Jim. I also owe Jim a tank you for last night's dinner spot since I first heard about the Mother Road Market on one of his podcasts. I had some great French toast made with bread baked right here.

Sometimes places turn up in my GPS that I don't remember when or why I put them there. Ed Walker's Drive In is one of those places. It was right on today's route and definitely looks like my kind of place. Note the no-where-near-Route-66 Historic Route 66 sign. Ed's opened in 1943 and is the last place in Arkansas serving beer curbside. Either of those could be the reason it's in my GPS. I would really like to have a burger and beer here someday but I had other plans today so settled for a hand-dipped chocolate malt to go. It was outstanding.

US-270 between US-71 and Mt Ida is in very good condition but quite curvy. The posted speed limit is 55 MPH, with plenty of advisory postings (the yellow ones) of 45, 35, and even a couple of 30s. I had my cruise control set to 60 MPH, tapping it off and slowing as appropriate. At one point, a white Honda appeared in my rear-view mirror somewhat abruptly. It stayed there through a solid yellow line segment, then shot past me at the first opportunity and moved on out of sight fairly quickly. He managed to put enough distance between us in just a few miles that the cop who pulled him over was already out of his cruiser and approaching the Honda, before I caught up.

Ari's Little Italy is one of my favorite restaurants. It was not my next target, but was close enough to the route to make it today's destination. I would have eaten here in any case, but had a little extra reason to do so today, although it turned out not to be quite what I thought. I walked in planning to order something else but ended up ordering lasagne again. The rolls are pictured because of their connection with that "little extra".

Not long ago, I stopped at a new Italian restaurant much nearer my home. I sat at the bar, where I ended up being served by the owner. Ari's rolls aren't exactly unique but neither are they typical. When I was served something similar at the new place, I mentioned that they reminded me of a restaurant in Arkansas. One thing led to another, and the owner of that restaurant told me he knew the owner of this one. I asked if the owner was there, and was pleasantly surprised when he came out to meet me. Ari's a very friendly guy and we had a great conversation, but I was unpleasantly surprised when when he could make no connection with my knew acquaintance in Ohio. Oh well, the lasagne was great -- again.

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