VIRDEN, Ill. – This summer, I drove the entire Route 66 from the Windy City to Santa Monica. I traveled with Dannelle Gay, the Traveling Cheesehead, and on our journey we sought out agricultural experiences because, for this farm girl, agriculture, agritourism and agricultural preservation are of high interest.

The first ag sighting was in Atlanta, Ill., at the J. Hawes Grain Elevator and Museum, which is the only fully restored wooden grain elevator in Illinois. The 55-foot-tall elevator, with a 30,0000-bushel grain capacity, was built in 1904, and was open until 1976. The elevator showcases a 920 Fairbanks gasoline engine. It was built by John Hardin Hawes along the Illinois Midland Railroad. Visitors can enjoy a self-guided tour with indoor tours offered by calling the Logan County Tourism Bureau at 217-735-1218. They also offer a Cracker Jack scale house and 1927 boxcar.

Between Chatham and Auburn, Ill., is a 1.4-mile stretch of preserved brick segment of the route that was built in 1931. Next to the road, Greetings Tour created a lovely post card style mural on farmer Dave Moose’s grain bin.

On to Missouri! Besides it being a convenient dining stop, the Travel America truck stop in Cuba, Ill., offers a big surprise for antique farm toy collectors. Inside the extensive gas station is the late Bruce and Lorraine Barnes’ toy truck collection. Case after case of model trucks is on display. The former truck driver once had a toy museum in Stanton.

Just a little off Route 66’s path is Nevada, Mo., and home of Dan Agee’s International Harvester Museum. This amazing collector has his Farmall finds in a historic fire house, and Danelle and I were lucky enough to get to stay in the guest suite. Agee and his friend Paula, and another couple fed us, and Agee gave me a wonderful tour of his mostly IH truck collection. He’s glad to open the museum to visitors and show off his Farmall Red treasures.

Agriculture in Oklahoma, from what we saw, offers more ranching than traditional farming. We saw details of this at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. This extensive museum offers America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture sharing the role of the cowboy, the cattle drives, and a way of life idolized in Western movies. For President Abraham Lincoln fans, there is even a statue of him by sculptor James Earle Fraser at the museum because he signed the Homestead Act in 1862 that opened the west for homesteading. We had so much fun at the interactive photo booth that turned us into cowgirls. We looked tough and ready for the range.

The Farm and Ranch Museum and Rodeo Hall of Fame in Elk City offers a look into farming in the area in the past.

In McLean, Texas, is the Devil’s Rope Museum, which is a barbed wire collection. Named so because they said both animals and people were hurt by the wire, it shows how this fencing changed farming, ending the days of the open range. They have information about all the amazing patents and different types of barbed wire that exist. The museum is fun, educational, and tells the story of the changing western ranch over time.

Along Route 66 is the haunting Jericho Gap, a story of farmers helping themselves. Farmer ingenuity comes into play, but not in a good light. Located in the Texas Panhandle, they share this on the website: “Once a bustling way station for westward-bound traveler’s during the Dust Bowl era, Jericho now stands as a haunting testament to America’s boom-and-frontier spirit-ghostly ruins echoing stories of prosperity turned hardship…”

At the turn of the century, the story goes that drivers would get mired in the mud, and farmers, for a fee, would pull them out with their mules. They never fixed the road, just used it to make a living.

Oatman, Ariz., is a former mining town where donkeys roam. After the mines closed, the donkeys remained. Now these donkeys are wild/domesticated for agritourism purposes. They bring visitors to the former ghost town where they come down out of the hills each day and visitors can feed the donkeys.

Outside the town of Oatman is a sign showing watch out for cattle. This is an open range state where livestock can just wander. The “fence-out” theme is that it is the responsibility of the property owner to keep livestock out rather than livestock in.

In California, there were wineries and an Olive plantation. In Temecula Valley, we visited the historical society with a lot of agricultural history. Santa Monica was the end of the line. While there was no distinct connection to agriculture at this beautiful ocean beach, we did see a John Deere tractor out raking the sand.

Keep in mind that this is a snapshot of agricultural history along the Mother Road, but what fun to see agriculture in a different light from state to state, flatland to desert, to mountain to ocean. Truly a great way to see America and learn about farming around the U.S.