Reached Pontiac late in the afternoon. We stopped at the information center in the middle of a very picturesque and charming town. The lady there heaped a bagful of information and items that were for sale in the shop but were given to us. The Route 66 Museum next door was already closed so she drew us a map to a near by 4H campground that wasn't even listed in the camping guides.
We drove out to the campground and found a very country, peaceful area, just a few miles from the town. No one was there to admit us but there was an honor system box at the entrance - too cool. The grounds were full of trees, squirrels and apples. There were about 15 campers there, about half of them full timers who work at the Caterpillar plant down the street. Our camping neighbor had a toy hauler camper and he was very anxious to see the inside of the Honu and reciprocated sharing his hauler to Carl's delight.
The little town had much to see and the campground was so peaceful we decided to stay for a couple of days. There was a Route 66 Museum, housed in an old Firehouse maned by elderly volunteers who had many stories to share. Like the story of the picture of the License Plates that belong to one family from the community. The small ones like that one that is circled in the picture were made of soy beans during the war because the metal was needed in the war. Not many survived because the cows ate them. An art benefactor commissioned 3 large Metal Sculptures that were displayed in a neighborhood park that we sought out and also the three swinging bridges and the beautiful Victorian homes with unique front doors that the town was noted. One of our big finds was when we stumbled upon the original marking of the road west which is now a route 66 icon (they were still making the 66 signs) while we were looking for the park with the sculptures.
We had a great time, the town and the people had much to offer.
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