Heading West on US-136-- Part 1: Irrigation Wheels

Back in September, we drove to Miami, Oklahoma, for the start of the Route 66 Association of Missouri's annual motor tour. We decided to drive a different stretch of road to get there instead of taking Route 66 (figuring we'd get plenty 66 time on the way back home).

I'd always wondered about the road heading west from the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois. We always turned onto Route 66, but where did this road, US-136, go and what towns did it pass through?

Seemed as good a time as any to check it out.

There was a real lot to see after we crossed the railroad tracks for quite a ways except flat land and one corn field after another. There was a big wind farm.

On previous travels, we'd seen lots of huge irrigation wheeled pipes in the fields, but had never seen one operating. We saw lots of them this time. Central Illinois was having a draught this summer (whereas we, in the north, were getting an overabundance of rain).

When flying, I've often seen the green circles these contraptions make. And, they do put out a lot of water. Of interest, at the ends of each pipe is something that looks like a fire department nozzle that sprays out as well. They were so close to the road that we got a free car wash every so often.

A 136 We Go. --RoadDog