Cross Country from New York to Arizona – Oklahoma to New Mexico

 We departed Elk City Oklahoma and started our trek west. We will try and make it further today, but there are no guarantees! We headed into Sayre on Route 66 and found the neon cactus at the Western Motel and the mural on the Route 66 Bar.

Erick Oklahoma is home to more than just Route 66. Roger Miller, famous for ‘King of the Road,’ … I know now you are singing trailer for sale or rent … and you won’t be able to get it out of your head. Oh how we digress … Roger Miller was a native of Erick. There is even a Roger Miller Museum here. It was too early to be open, otherwise we would have stopped for sure! Shep Wooley is also a native of Erick, he was infamous for ‘Purple People Eater’ song. 

There is a unique shop in Erick, Sand Hills Curiosity Shop. 

There was some different metal artwork along Route 66 into Erick.

 After Erick is the tiny town of Texola, I am not even sure if we can call it a town anymore. I found a run-down building of better days. 

Just before you go into Texas, is a Will Rogers Marker and a Route 66 painted on the road. 

We were finally able to get the real picture I have been hoping for … I wanted a picture of us on the road, with the Route 66 on the roadway. There was a cheaters version of this picture in the parking lot of the National Route 66 museum.

We moved into Texas on Route 66 with only a small Texas State sign. Much of Route 66 is on a north or south frontage road to Interstate 40. There is about only 150 miles of drive-able Route 66 in Texas.

Shamrock is the first town in Texas, automatically we thought of our very Irish friends, Bob & Marie. The Blarney Inn picture, is just for you two! 

Shamrock is known for the restored U-Drop Inn and Conoco towers. I have to admit the building and there towers are an awesome sight! 

However, we discovered many murals in this town too. 

Shamrock is home to the tallest water tower in Texas at over 170 feet!

In McLean, gas stations literally drove the local economy back in the day. In 1929, Phillips Petroleum chose McLean as the location for its first Texas station.  The building’s quaint Tudor Revival design complete with shutters and an exterior brick chimney reflected the trend of building gas stations that looked like cottages. McLean was also the last town to be bypassed by Interstate 40. After McLean the landscape becomes more arid.

We traveled on I-40 for a bit today and stopped at the WB rest area and learned about the wind power that is abound in Texas. 

We captured some awesome views of the prairies too. The wind turbine farms are everywhere and more were getting built!

In Groom, there are two unusual sights! There is the “leaning water tower of Groom.” One might think that it is falling over, but it was actually built that way, to attract attention to their town! Also, on the other side of the town is a BIG cross, 190 feet tall! It is 90 feet taller than the big cross we saw the other day in Oklahoma!

In Conway, there is a satire to the Cadillac Ranch … it is the Bug Ranch …. Have you ever seen a VW buried in the dirt? We have! West of Conway, the speed limit on Route 66 jumps to 70 MPH … I cannot imagine going 70 MHP on any portion of Route 66 that we have been on! With I-40 out of sight to the north, this section gives you quite an isolated old-time Route 66 feel. Never mind the new wind turbines that line the road!

You can see the Big Texan, from the “Home of the Free 72 oz Steak dinner.” He was not always along I-40, he only moved there from Amarillo Blvd when Route 66 was bypassed.

The one attraction I wanted to see for sure was Cadillac Ranch. You cross onto the property via a very narrow gate and you walk out to the Cadillacs. I have to admit, I was disappointed … yes, you read that right! Not in the art work that the Cadillac Ranch represents, that is amazing … it is the inconsiderate people that visit the ranch. It is littered with empty spray cans … I watched adults and kids, paint on the Cadillacs and drop or try and hide the can. If you carried it in with you, you should be able to carry it out! There are all kinds of signs encouraging you to pick up your trash and other peoples trash … I saw a few people do it … but I saw more add more trash to the area!

The next town we hit was Wildorado, where we saw millions, okay maybe only thousands of cows … yes, thousands! There was a very distinct odor in the air before and after this farm! I would advise you to roll up your windows and plug your nose!

The last 18 miles have to be on I-40, as Route 66 is a dirt option only at the last miles west bound in Texas. We crossed into New Mexico and decided we could make it to Tucumcari for the night. The landscape has defiantly changed as we move further west!

We are spending the night at Tucumcari New Mexico. It is a desert KOA, but has easy access. The couple that owns it are working hard to make it a great place! Our rate for a 30 Amp pull through site with some shade was $34.00 with our KOA Value Card. Good thing we got here early, as it has been steadily filling up. They have a café here that makes breakfast and dinner, they will even deliver to your site! We walked up to the café to have dinner. Charlie had Chicken Fried Steak, real mashed potatoes, green beans and a biscuit. I went for the cheeseburger and fries, both entrees were delicious!

Cross Country from New York to Arizona – Oklahoma to Oklahoma

Today was a long travel day … we went 122 miles!

There were several reasons for this short distance today … 
# 1, we are retired and there is no reason to hurry! 
# 2, no mechanical issues! 
# 3, we are traveling Route 66 … sometimes there is too much to see! 
# 4, it is hot and the later in the day you travel … the hotter it gets!

 We departed Twin Fountains RV this morning and checked out the American Pigeon Museum … with a name like that, who could not stop! Okay, it is what it is---it's a museum about pigeons. But it is such a great little random stop. There are live pigeons out front, a stuffed war hero pigeon named 'Spike' inside, and the history of what pigeons have meant to humans in between. You can see the role these remarkable birds played over time and learn of all the amazing journeys taken by the homing pigeon as they saved many lives during World War I and World War II, and leave with a new found knowledge and opinion of our feathered friends. It has limited hours, so call ahead!

Bethany Oklahoma is home to Southern Nazarene University and Southern Christian University. Southern Christian University has an over-sized metal globe as a welcome sign.

Photo Courtesy of Greg Disch Photography

Historic Lake Overholser Bridge has been resorted and open to traffic, we did not cross it because we were unsure of the road on the other side of it. It was only a short cut-off onto an old portion of Route 66 that followed right next to OK 66. So we just stayed on OK 66 West instead.

Towering in the skyline of Yukon Oklahoma is their iconic flour mill. The tower has proclaimed for over a century, “Yukon’s Best Flour” and that sentiment also conveys the towns desire to do and be the best. Also Yukon is home to Garth Brooks and the Chisholm Trail.

El Reno had many murals, including several on railroad underpasses.

Outside of El Reno we followed the 1930’s route from El Reno to Hydro. It still has many of the original curbed concrete curbs, it was very straight, with a little up and downs, and a few curves. It crosses through mostly farm lands, a few natural gas collecting stations and bridges some deep gullies. We talked briefly about not taking this route … about 5 miles into it … we wish we had bypassed it. The road was littered with asphalt patches making it very, very rough. What we thought was a 4.5 mile stretch turned out to be 13.5 miles long! We were able to catch a good picture of the natural gas being burned off at a collection center.

On the start of the 1930’s route, we passed the entrance to old Fort Reno. The Fort was commissioned 1874 and was used as a military post until just after World War II.  The fort provided support for transitioning from Indian Territory to the State of Oklahoma before its location along Route 66 helped make it a military prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Many American Indians, including most of the Cheyenne, were forcibly resettled to small reservations near Fort Reno.  Soldiers at Fort Reno also supervised the conversion of Oklahoma territory to farms and ranches.  Fort Reno troops also supervised the race to stake claims in the 1889, 1892, and 1894 land rushes after the opening of the territory to legal settlement. Fort Reno served various purposes during the 20th century.  In 1908, the fort shifted from a station for troops to a remount station raising horses and mules for army use.  During World War II, Fort Reno continued to foster large-scale movements of people in support of the United States war effort.  As defense-related traffic hummed along on adjacent Route 66, stimulating economies adjacent to military bases, nearly 100 acres of Fort Reno’s eastern portion became an internment camp for German prisoners of war.  The bodies of 70 German and Italian soldiers who died while imprisoned throughout Oklahoma and Texas are interred in plots adjoining the western portion of the cemetery. After the station’s closure in 1947, Fort Reno hosted the Department of Agriculture's Grazinglands Research Laboratory.  The laboratory continues to operate Fort Reno, which still suggests a frontier fort.  Buildings cluster around a parade ground, and a walk around the site reveals mellow brick buildings from the 1880s, old sheds, living quarters, and a rock-walled military cemetery. Fort Reno is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

In Weatherford, there is a Jet Fighter on display at the Thomas P Stafford Airport and Museum.

Clinton Oklahoma is home to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. It is a nice stop, but it is not the best Route 66 Museum in Oklahoma. Our friends, Jack & Diana, talked with us about where the museum was that they stopped at … after walking thru this museum … this was the museum they stopped at, because I saw some of the same pictures Jack took!

Canute is full of remains of the old Route 66, motel signs, old motels like the Cotton Ball and Washita. Some were converted into apartments or homes. 

We found a truck self-wash and gave both the RV and the Jeep a well-deserved bath! After 7 days on the road, they were overdue!

We traveled into Elk City, passing by a 179-foot tall oil derrick, one of the world’s largest. 

We were driving through Elk City looking for the National Route 66 Museum. This museum includes several other museums and a small village in their price, the $4 for a senior, $5 for an adult. That is the same price we paid for the smaller museum. We visited the National Route 66 Museum; National Transportation Museum;

 Old Town Museum;

Farm & Ranch Museum; an Elk City Rodeo Museum and the Blacksmith Museum! 

Going through this museum we realized that our friends had gone through this museum too … so they both were right!

We are spending the night at Elk Creek RV Park in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is a small park, but has easy access. The couple that owns it are younger and are working hard to make it a great place! They offer discounts for military, Good Sams and a few others. Our rate for a 30 Amp pull through site was $29.00 with our Good Sam discount. Good thing we got here earlier, it has really started to fill up in the last few hours.