Route 66 has a bit of everything. From the serious to the funny to the “kitschy”. Time to look at the serious side of things.

In Jerome MO, there is a monument to the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The builder owned the land and created the memorial. He kept it up for years but when he died in 2003, the memorial began to deteriorate. Marie bought the land and memorial in 2016 and she has partnered with a nearby artist to restore the memorial. Met Marie on the trip. She told me should would open later in April. Found out the opening was April 22^nd.

Oklahoma City has the memorial to the Murrah Building bombing. The memorial has a quieting feel to it. Much like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. It has a sense of horror of the violence but also a quiet homage to those who died and to those left behind. The building site contains fixed empty chairs for each person who died and a reflecting pond in front of a memorial wall. Across the street a visitor center tells the story of the day, provides information on the trials and has a separate room where the names of the all the victims are being read continuously.