bright music - [Will] This week on "Wild Travels."

Our road trip on Illinois' Historic Route 66.

We'll start in Chicago and cruise south to Springfield to find the birthplace of the Cozy Dog, tour the land yacht of itinerate artist Bob Waldmire in Pontiac, discover why there's a phone booth on top of the City Hall in Lincoln, hop on over to Henry's Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, and then ride along in the annual bike race/eating contest, known as the Tour de Donut.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Wild Travels is made possible in part by Alaska Railroad, providing year-round transportation to many Alaska destinations, traversing nearly 500 miles of wild landscapes between Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and more.

alaskarailroad.com.

By Sheboygan, Wisconsin, centrally located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to Kohler-Andrae State Park, and outdoor adventures waiting to be discovered.

visitsheboygan.com.

By American Road Magazine.

Get your kicks on Route 66 and everywhere else a two-Lane highway can take you.

American Road Magazine fuels your road trip dreams.

And by the South Shore of Lake Michigan, exploring the Indiana Dunes, unique attractions, festivals, and more, just minutes from downtown Chicago.

alongthesouthshore.com.

If you look hard enough, go off the beaten track far enough, you'll find in America teeming with the unusual, the odd, the downright strange.

I'm Will Clinger, and I'm your guide on a package tour we like to call "Wild Travels."

(upbeat bluesy music) (cannon booms) (upbeat bluesy music) In the heart of downtown Chicago, you'll find a small sign that marks the beginning of the most legendary roadway in America.

There's plenty of kicks to be had along its nearly 2,500 miles of pavement, but we're concentrating on the first 250.

After 100 years, you can still drive on some of the original road, or just walk on it like this piece in Joliet.

Sadly, the iconic attractions are few and far between, but the unforgettable Gemini Giant will still welcome drivers to Wilmington even after its recent move.

The Mother road passes through eight states before reaching the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, but we've chosen to focus on the first one, Illinois, and our first stop was the state capitol for a bite to eat.

In Springfield, you can't do much better for road trip food than the Cozy Dog Drive-in.

Just don't ask the owners what goes into that special batter.

Hey, what's your name?

- My name's Josh.

Who are you?

- [Will] I'm Will.

Tell us where we are.

- Well, hey Will.

You're at Cozy Dog Drive-in.

Right now I'm cooking breakfast for one of our longtime customers.

- [Will] Well, it's around 9:00 AM.

Probably too early for a Cozy Dog.

- [Josh] No, I've already sold one today.

- [Will] Was this the original corn dog?

- No, my grandfather saw a corn dog being made.

- [Will] And wanted to improve it?

- He wanted to improve it.

It took too long.

He thought, what if we cook it in hot frying oil?

Surely that would be quicker.

And that's what they developed the batter to do.

- [Will] It's a miracle of science in a way.

- [Josh] This is the secret batter right here.

- [Will] There's probably nothing healthy about a Cozy Dog.

- They make you happy.

That's healthy.

- [Will] How far have you come to be here?

- 2,000 miles.

- [Diner] Dayton, Oregon.

- Just for a cozy dog?

- Yeah.

- I started doing cheese on a stick last year.

- [Will] It's an innovation.

- [Josh] And it's been a big hit so far.

- [Will] Cozy Cheese.

- [Josh] You came up with that.

We call 'em cheese-on-a-stick.

- [Will] You've also got a gift shop.

It looks like your father, Buzz, is working the table there.

- Good to see you, Will.

- [Will] Your son now runs the place, but you used to.

- [Buzz] Yes, that's true.

I did.

- [Will] And how long has this place been around?

- [Buzz] Since 1949.

- [Will] So you started working at the place when?

- My first official job was probably in the early 50s, and I would swat flies to get a penny for every two flies.

- [Will] Seriously?

- Yeah, and I'd get a penny for every table I cleaned off.

- [Will] And your dad originally called it the Crusty Cur.

- He called it the Crusty Cur.

- [Will] That didn't catch on?

- It caught on with his army buddies down in Amarillo, Texas, but when he came home, my mother, who had more common sense about many things, said "That's not a good idea for a food product."

They came up with Cozy Dogs.

- [Will] Two dogs getting cozy.

- [Buzz] Yeah, and Bob did that.

- [Will] Your brother, Bob?

Probably one of his first signs.

- [Buzz] One of, yeah.

- [Will] And then he made all these cards too.

- [Buzz] Yeah, over 150 different postcards he drew.

- [Will] What's in that batter, Buzz?

- Well, that's kinda like locked away in a vault, and I think the vault is burnt down so- - [Will] Nobody knows.

- [Buzz] Nobody knows what's in it.

- Guys, if somebody wants to pay a visit to the Cozy Dog Drive-in, where do they go?

- On old Route 66.

- In Springfield, Illinois.

- Let's eat.

Buzz Waldmire tipped us off that there was a museum with some memorabilia from his celebrated brother, Bob.

On our way there, we passed through nearby Lincoln, Illinois where we caught sight of an unusual addition to the city's skyline.

Tracy Welch.

- Hi.

How are you?

- Mayor of Lincoln.

- Mayor of Lincoln.

Correct.

- What the heck is a phone booth doing on the top of City Hall?

- In the late '50s before we had the National Weather Service, we had to have a way to spot severe weather as it approached town, and they would go up in the phone booth and they would notify the guys downstairs of any imminent weather.

- [Will] Mayor, we're going up there right now.

You realize that, right?

- [Mayor Welch] Yeah, let's do it.

- Mr. Mayor, how many flights up do we have to go?

- Approximately two.

- Is it safe to say this is the only city hall with a phone booth on top?

- I believe it is.

- Let's go on a limb and say yes.

- Well, I've never seen one elsewhere.

- Can I make a phone call right now to the Emergency Department if I wanted to?

- [Bob] The line has been disconnected.

- I'm currently inside the booth, and I'm holding a phone.

It's disconnected so I'll put it back.

- They would select the lowest ranking single firefighter to come up here and do weather spotting.

Some type of disaster and a tornado came through and took him away, there wouldn't be a family out to- - He'd be the least missed.

- Right, he'd be the least missed if you wanna call it that.

- I'm not sure I'd like to be that guy.

He's looking at a tornado coming towards him and saying, why me?

- Yes, and then he says, you know, he calls downstairs, tells him about it, and then heads for that stairway.

- Once he sees that it's a tornado, get downstairs.

- Right, right.

- Mayor Welch, if somebody wants to get a look at this phone booth on the top of city hall, where do they go?

- [Mayor Welch] The Courthouse Square in downtown Lincoln, Illinois.

- It's for you.

(sirens blaring) (upbeat music) (graphics pop) The brother that Buzz Waldmire mentioned wasn't just an artist of signs and postcards.

He was considered by many the patron saint of Route 66, and there's a museum in Pontiac, Illinois that happens to have two of the vehicles Bob Waldmire used to travel the iconic road.

Right behind us is your brother Bob's land yacht.

- That's right.

- [Will] A school bus that he took on the road.

Was it street legal?

- Well, it was street legal for a couple of years, but then it started losing brakes and stuff.

It was top heavy.

- It sure is 'cause he built his own loft on the top of the school bus.

- Yeah, he even built a bedroom up in the top part of it.

If I may.

- [Josh] After you, sir.

- [Buzz] All right.

- [Will] You're greeted by a snake over the driver's seat.

- That's one of Bob's pet snakes.

It's a rubber snake, but he did like to collect rattlesnakes and scorpions and keep 'em for a while.

- [Will] He collected a lot of stuff.

- He picked up pieces of road every time he went someplace.

Just anything he could find, he would latch onto and he'd find a purpose for it.

- [Will] This is the stairway to the second floor.

- He built steps to get up into his private loft.

Even has a hinge door there, but when he closed that, he about suffocated.

- [Will] What do you think appealed to about Route 66?

What drew him to that road?

- Well, I think he was drawn to the Route 66 to try to save it.

This was his office, and this right here is the typewriter he used to write his many, many, many letters to the editor.

- [Will] His art was mostly pen and ink, wasn't it?

- He never gave up the pen and ink, the drawing things.

- [Will] Which were amazingly detailed.

- Amazing.

Most normal people would need a magnifying glass to look and read at the things that he could draw.

He took advantage of every space he could find in here.

- [Will] He put a stove in it.

- He put a wood burning stove and he built a shower, a solar powered shower, right around the corner here.

- He's a real DIY kinda guy.

- Oh boy, I'm telling you, low maintenance is it.

- Not very friendly to tall people.

This is not high clearance is this.

- Well, all the Waldmires are kinda short, so you're right.

I like that.

- It's not as comfortable.

- Yeah.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- You would be Bob Waldmire.

- I would be if I could be, yeah.

- [Will] Buzz, this is Bob's famous VW Van.

- [Buzz] Yes.

- This is really what he did most of his traveling on Route 66.

- That is correct, yeah, and this had just about everything he needed to survive on the road.

- [Will] Unlike the bus though, it doesn't have a toilet or a shower.

- No.

- And it's got his picture there.

That's him in high school.

- [Buzz] That's his graduation picture.

He used to look normal.

- [Will] Now isn't it true that the character that George Carlin voiced in the movie "Cars" is based on this van?

- It is.

They wanted to call the van Waldmire, but Bob being a vegan didn't want his name associated with any toys served through McDonald's Happy Meals, or anything like that.

- [Will] He nixed it.

- So he kinda nixed it.

Passed away in December of 2009.

- [Will] And they've got this great mural honoring him over here in Pontiac, which he designed, right?

But other people painted.

- He just got too sick and he couldn't do it, so the Pontiac city fathers came down, and they made a deal that he'd design it and stuff, and they would paint it for him.

- [Will] They put him next to it.

They painted him right next to it.

- [Buzz] Yeah, that happened after Bob passed.

Bob didn't include that in the mural.

- Our furthest stop south on 66 is Staunton, Illinois, where we found an attraction that boasts both animals and automobiles.

Hello, what's your name?

- [Rich] Rich Henry.

- Which would make this Henry's Rabbit Ranch.

- Exactly.

- [Will] How did this whole thing get off the ground?

- Up until '99, it was called Henry's Old Route 66 Emporium.

- [Will] But you need a gimmick.

- [Rich] I did.

- [Will] What brought on the rabbits?

- Two things.

In 1982, my dad got me involved with Volkswagen rabbits.

Up until then, I was in the Ford Pintos.

In 1999, my daughter had 14 bunnies she wasn't taking care of, so I took those over.

- [Will] And you got a theme?

- Yeah, things have been hopping ever since.

- [Will] How many VW Rabbits are out there?

- [Rich] 23 that are worth restoring, and then I have others like our replica of the Cadillac Ranch over there.

Probably about another 10.

- This one looks pretty worse for wear.

It's missing some parts.

They're very close together, aren't they?

- [Rich] Well, rabbits like to huddle and snuggle.

Three of these cars belong to my kids.

I told the kids when they were young, they had to take care of their cars or they'd run 'em in the ground.

(laughs) - [Will] How many rabbits are on the premises?

- Bunny rabbits?

- Bunnies.

- Well, we have 65 that have passed away, and then we still have three that are right now over in the house.

- [Will] You're down to your last three?

- Yes.

- That's kinda sad.

- [Rich] It's very sad.

- Do people come here expecting to see more rabbits than just the three?

- No.

They're happy.

- [Will] You don't seem that excited, sir.

- (chuckles) I'm not very animated, but yeah, I am excited to be.

- [Will] So this is as animated as you get, isn't it?

- Exactly.

- Rich Henry, behind us is an alarmingly large model of a rabbit.

- Yes, it is.

It's eight feet tall.

- [Will] Over here is apparently a graveyard for your rabbits that have died.

- Yes, there's 65 of 'em buried today dating back to 2000 up until 2020.

- [Will] Do they each have an epitaph?

- [Rich] For the most part, their names are all on it.

- [Will] Rich Henry, if somebody wants to pay a visit to Henry's Rabbit Ranch, where do they go?

- [Rich] They'd have to come here to Staunton, Illinois on historic Route 66.

- Why the small horse under his chest there?

- [Rich] Little kids like it.

- Henry's Rabbit Ranch isn't the only reason to pull over in Staunton, especially if you're partial to sporting events with an odd twist.

In the annals of competitive bicycling, there is a 34 mile race that provides its participants with a truly unique challenge if they have the stomach for it.

Christian, what's your title on this whole thing?

I'm the race director.

- Of the Tour de Donut?

- Yes, the original Tour de Donut.

- There are other Tour de Donuts, but you were the first?

- Yeah, yeah, and I've been to the Ohio one.

They put on a great race.

- Well, that's very gentlemanly of you to say that.

They're copying your race.

- I'm not offended by that.

You know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

- [Will] How long has this thing been going on?

- 32 years.

It's a spoof ride of the Tour de France.

- [Will] It happens actually during the actual Tour de France, right?

Tell us the rules.

There's two donut stops.

- There's one at mile seven and one at mile 26.

You don't have to stop, but if you stop and you eat a donut, you get five minutes off your time.

- Technically, if you ate enough donuts, you could have a negative time.

- Absolutely, and if you don't have a negative time, you probably won't win.

- What is the most donuts somebody has eaten at this race?

- The most I think I remember is 41.

- That's unhealthy.

- (laughs) I couldn't do 41.

- There are some people here that are really just here for the speed.

They're not even gonna stop for donuts, which I think defeats the purpose.

- They're gonna lose.

- [Will] But they're gonna win the medal for fastest time, right?

- So?

- [Will] As competitors began to coagulate at the starting line, we spoke with a former champion.

- In '87, I was one of the first winners of the Tour D. I ate 18 donuts.

- [Will] Do you still have your medal?

- What they gave me was a T-shirt, and on it it had lead cream puff.

(laughs) - Four donuts is probably a good number.

Four is not a good number.

That's not gonna even get you into the- - Oh no, these little skinny guys eat 30 donuts and beat me by an hour in the ride anyway.

- Metabolisms?

- I think they cheat.

I think they throw up.

(laughs) - Bulimic riders?

- Yeah.

- We're here for the donuts.

- We're here for the donuts.

- [Will] You admit it?

- Absolutely.

- [Will] How many do you hope to eat?

- Two.

(laughs) - That's not that many.

The donuts that go down, what if they come up?

Do you know what the rule is?

- It's okay.

Just try not to get it on anyone else.

- Yes.

- Mr. Mayor, you're here as a volunteer.

- Yes.

- [Will] You've got a rather interesting nickname.

- [Mayor Neuhaus] ] Yes.

- Fireball.

- Fireball.

- [Will] What's the origin?

- Actually, it was a fourth grade Lutheran camp.

That's what it's from.

- It's the red hair, red face.

- Red hair, red face.

Yeah.

- [Will] The front people have to be people that are real serious racer.

- You just have to be here first and put your bike up there.

You don't have to be serious to me.

- [Will] You don't seem 'em all that serious.

- Ah, I am.

I am.

I'm a little serious.

- [Will] You're as serious as a heart attack.

- Yeah.

Oh yeah.

- [Will] Okay.

Well, good luck.

- I might have a heart attack.

(laughs) - Five, four, three, two, one, go!

(upbeat bluesy music) - You're starting way in the back.

What's your strategy?

- Donuts, donuts is the strategy.

- [Will] Is he gonna eat some donuts as well?

- He's gonna eat a lot of donuts.

That's how we're gonna dominate this race.

- [Will] There was seven miles to the first donut stop, which I would be spending in the relative comfort of a lawn chair on a truck bed.

But I made sure to offer words of encouragement at every opportunity.

Stay safe out there.

- Thank you.

(bell clanging) - [Will] You're in mid donut?

- Yes.

- What number is that?

- That's my first one.

- [Will] How do they keep counting your donuts?

- [Participant] They scan your barcode on the back.

So for every donut, I get scanned.

- You're on your first donut, right?

- Second donut.

- We're on our second.

- Second.

- [Will] That's good.

How many do you plan to do on this first stop?

- I don't think I can do anymore.

- [Will] Really?

You peaked that quickly.

- I think so.

- [Will] How many donuts do you plan to eat on this first stop?

- At least a dozen.

- [Will] You're delusional.

- Yes.

Yeah.

- One.

I'm on a diet.

- [Will] You're on a diet.

This is the wrong race to be in if you're on a diet.

- I know that.

- You seemed enthusiastic about the donuts running over here.

- Way easier than riding a unicycle.

- [Will] You're riding a unicycle?

- [Rider] Absolutely.

- [Will] So you guys are gonna do the whole 34 miles on a unicycle?

- No, just like 12.

- Just 12, yeah.

- [Will] Oh, I can't give you credit then.

- We don't deserve it.

- [Will] How many years you been doing this?

- I think we're at 20 years.

- Do you all ride together, or is it?

- We do.

Yep.

- [Will] What are your chances of winning today?

- Pitiful.

Yeah, pitiful.

- And we're off.

(upbeat bluesy music) - Feel free to draft off us.

- I may just grab on.

(Will laughs) (bell clanging) - [Will] The final donut stop.

The last chance for the competitors to scarf down as many donuts as they can before the last leg of their journey.

You're two-fisting.

(rider laughs) - Hey.

- Putting three in your mouth right now.

- Four.

- Four?

- Yeah.

- You've smashed it into a- - Giant donut.

Yep.

- [Will] That's 20 minutes right there off your time.

You know, you're getting crumbs in your beards, guys.

- It's sugar and energy for later.

About five miles down the road we can clean that out.

- [Will] Suck on your mustache.

- Yeah, it's a good time.

- Kinda gross actually.

(riders laughing) (upbeat lively bluesy music) Looking good, Waldo!

(riders cheering) How many donuts have you had?

- I don't wanna admit my failure.

- [Rider] Just two, just two!

- [Will] What about you?

- Six.

- Where do you feel it worse?

Your legs, your heart, or your stomach?

- [Rider] The middle of the stomach.

- Really?

- Straight in the gut.

Oh yeah.

- You still got a few miles left.

- Yeah.

- How do you feel?

- Well, I ate 14 donuts so I can't really breathe right now.

- As the plucky bicyclists began crossing the finish line, the rain that had threatened all day began to come down in buckets.

Kyle, we hear that you're a contender.

You've won this in the past.

How many donuts did you eat on this race?

- Today I got 22 down.

I think it was 110 minutes.

A few minutes after I finished, stuff started to settle.

It wasn't pleasant.

I like to pancake 'em all down.

There's sugar in the middle, but definitely a lotta sugar.

- [Will] How many do you pancake together?

- 12.

- 12 donuts in one thing?

That's not appetizing.

- I mean, you do it for the win.

- [Will] You sacrifice for the victory.

- [Kyle] Do it for the fame, donut fame.

- Christian, if somebody wants to participate in the Tour de Donut, what do they do?

- Come to Staunton, Illinois, register bike race second Saturday of July.

- Coming soon on "Wild Travels."

Chicago's version of the Iditarod, the CHI-ditarod, the Watergate Hotel scandal room, surrealist Michael P. Price in Arizona, the Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa, and an art exhibit made from Peeps.

You know, back in Chicago there's a structure that's just as old as Route 66 and equally iconic, where a special breed of fan waits outside for a treasured souvenir to fall out of the sky.

They're the Wrigley Field ball hawks, and woe be to the pedestrian who comes between them and a home run ball Rich, you're one of the originals.

How long have you been coming out here?

- I've been coming out here since 1959.

- [Will] You go to just about every home game?

- Just about.

Yeah.

- Your spot is staked out here.

- Right.

- Right on the left field foul pole.

- And I got the gate open behind me so in case it goes down there.

- [Will] How many balls have you collected over the year?

- 4,070.

- Wow.

You are one of the younger generation ball hawk?

- That is correct.

Cubs tattoo because I love Wrigley Field so much.

- Nice.

Is this your son over here?

- That is my nephew, Aaron.

My methodology is to hang out, show up, and just be in the right place at the right time.

- Is it instinct?

- Something like that.

You can hear the, ball hit the bat, you read the people, you see all the people start to move in the bleachers.

- You hear the cheers?

- Absolutely.

Yep.

- [Will] Do you stay for the whole game, or just a batting practice guy?

- Oh, the whole game.

The entire game.

- This guy's throwing right at me now, isn't he?

That was some chin music right there.

- He didn't like that last question, I think, yeah.

- Father and son ball hawks, huh?

- We are.

Tim and Jacks.

- How are you?

- Good.

- This is the largest glove maybe in the greater United States area.

- Probably in the world.

Yeah.

24 inches.

Weighs about four and a half pounds.

- [Will] Is there any strategery to your ball hawking?

- I don't move very well.

I catch 'em if they're high.

He moves really well and catches 'em if they're low.

So you got both levels covered?

- Yes.

- Mo Mullins, sort of the dean of ball hawks here.

- They call me the King ball hawk.

- You've been doing this since when?

- I started in 1958.

- [Will] You've collected how many balls over the years?

- I've caught over 6,200 baseballs.

I got probably 5,000 balls at home in three big fish tanks.

I used to be the fastest thing out here.

I'd outrun a bullet.

- You're talking about the past tense.

- I definitely am.

Now- - You've lost a step.

- I've lost all those steps.

- Now tell me this, there's a legend that you were the first guy that caught that famous Sammy Sosa homer.

- I had that ball, I got it clean.

I got up a couple of steps, and I got mugged by tons of people and they dragged me to the ground, and I've held that ball for like five minutes in my hands.

I literally blacked out for a few seconds from the weight of people on me, but finally the guy I took to court, he got a hold of my right hand thumb and I had torn ligaments in it for a couple of years.

- So you sued this guy and did you get the ball?

- The judge wanted us to resolve it jointly, and I wouldn't have nothing to do with that.

So I made a deal with him that if he gives the ball back to Sammy, you know, I'll just drop the whole thing.

- [Will] What are the factors that make it a lot tougher these days for ball hawks?

- The parks had a couple expansions, and the video board has knocked us out from 1,500 hit out a year to we might get 300.

I mean, this year I only got eight balls.

Normally, I'd have- - That's pathetic, Mo.

It's pathetic.

- It is.

- [Will] What about the players aren't juicing much anymore, are they?

- We don't have the cork bats, we don't have the steroids.

- [Will] You miss it?

- It was beneficial to me, but life doesn't revolve around Mo Mullins and the ball hawks.

(upbeat bluesy music) - We're always looking for new destinations.

The wilder the better.

So if you've got an idea for our show, let us know.

And thanks for watching.

(upbeat bluesy music) (bright music) - [Narrator] Wild Travels is made possible in part by Alaska Railroad, providing year-round transportation to many Alaska destinations, traversing nearly 500 miles of wild landscapes between Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and more.

alaskarailroad.com.

By Sheboygan, Wisconsin, centrally located on the shores of Lake Michigan, is home to Kohler-Andrae State Park, and outdoor adventures waiting to be discovered.

visitsheboygan.com.

By American Road Magazine.

Get your kicks on Route 66 and everywhere else a two-Lane highway can take you.

American Road Magazine fuels your road trip dreams.

And by the South Shore of Lake Michigan, exploring the Indiana Dunes, unique attractions, festivals, and more, just minutes from downtown Chicago.

alongthesouthshore.com.