My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida
First, let me say I’m glad to have air conditioning in the car!
We started the journey in Tulsa with a visit to the Tulsa Air & Space Museum because my son wanted to see an F-14. It was a little underwhelming, although seeing how big an F-14 is was cool. They have a couple of other planes and some nice mock-ups, which took us an hour to cover with a fine tooth comb.
While driving through Tulsa on Route 66, there’s another giant! Atom Man. Photo op and delicious home-made ice cream.
Next it was head west!
As expected, as you get further west there are fewer towns and fewer places to see. Instead of 10-15 miles between sites worth stopping to look at, it’s now 20-40 miles. While there are some rolling hills and trees by Tulsa, the land flattens out and you can see for miles and miles (a Who song is playing quietly in background).
A number of cute towns, several surprise finds (mentioned below!), abandoned buildings and we’re rolling into Texas.
I’m not a glutton for punishment, so pounding a stiff suspension along rough frontage roads meant throwing in the towel and taking I-40 almost into Amarillo, then taking 66 around the airport and into town.
It’s a cute little museum with a few things to see. If you’re really into aviation, take a detour to the north side of Tulsa airport and spend an hour. If you’re not a big aviation buff, there are better aviation museums to spend your time in.
Right on Route 66 on the west side of town is Buck Atom, another Giant Man. Space helmet and cowboy hat! A cute little shop and a little home made ice cream stand on the side, Cherry Bark brand. I had the vanilla, it was really good! Eclectic collection of shops across the street as well.
Out in the middle of nowhere, OK lies the stone remains of an old stop and convenience store. They sold cold soda pop when the ice man made a delivery, otherwise they sold warm pop. In the heat of the summer in the 1930s with no AC I’ll bet that cold soda really hit the spot!
It seems a traveler sold the proprietors a set of plates to print $10 bills. The owners built a room out back that was only accessible through the window in the back of the store, where the pressed the inked plates on paper, let it dry for a day, then printed the other side the next day. Finally one of the counterfeit $10 bills was spotted, the person passing the bill arrested and they traced where he lived and connected the store and the rest was no more counterfeit money. All that remains is the legend and stone walls and pillars.
Just east of Arcadia, OK is the wildest collection of soda I have ever seen. Pop’s is the name, Soda is the game.
They havce more flavors of soda than you can shake a stick at! Thousands of bottles on display in the windows, more in the coolers. Not a can in sight – only bottles. We ordered a lunch of hot dogs. I asked for orange pop, they didn’t serve it but had it for sale in the coolers. One whole “door” in the cooler was devoted to orange, with brand after brand after brand after brand… You get the idea. I picked Faygo. It was REALLY good!
If the Tulsa Air & Space Museum was underwhelming, the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, OK, was the surprise of the trip so far.
The museum that chronicles the career of astronaut and Brigadier General Thomas P. Stafford was amazing. We walked in the door at 4:45, 15 minutes before losing, and they let us in for free! They even let us continue through the exhibits after official closing hours.
Highlights of the exhibit were the Gemini VI capsule, which Stafford crewed with Wally Schirra on Gemini VI, the flight simulator all the space shuttle pilots trained in, a Saturn V rocket engine, an F-16, and much more, including four very cool airport on outside display. I wish we had time to go through the whole museum and learn so much more.
They are planning to add an F-117 Nighthawk to the museum in the very near future. Now that will be exciting!
I liked the place so much I bought a t-shirt.
With a strong desire to get to Amarillo, we abandoned the rough 66 frontage road and took to I-40, exiting for each town along the way.
Elk City, OK has a nice stop, building mock-ups reminiscent of an old town and good for a quick stroll.
Shamrock has a very cool gas station & diner on the corner that is worth stopping to check out. Before getting to the “downtown” intersection, I spied an old junk yard. Cars neatly arranged from different eras, rusting hulks with parts missing. Cars from the 40s, 50s and 60s. The largest collection of Edsels I’ve seen in one place, a couple of early Mustangs, two Corvairs, numerous Chevies, finned GM models, and more. We snuck a quick tour and imagined picking a car or two to restore. Be quite a job!
Finally, the leaning tower in Groom and great sunset shots. Then on to Amarillo and finding a decent hotel!
My Route 66 Road Trip
info@my66roadtrip.com
Clearwater, Florida