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| Oklahoma Route 66 Museum (1995, by Rand Elliot) in Clinton, OK; we went ahead and paid the $5 entrance fee! (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck called Route 66 the "Mother Road" because it beckoned desperate migrants to flee the Dust Bowl in search of jobs |
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| Examples of Route 66 souvenirs |
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| Tire repair equipment (KSS) |
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| The first heavy use of Route 66 was during during the Depression and Dust Bowl (1930s) (KSS) |
In the sections representing the decades, there was a button to press to hear the music of that era.
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| In the 1940s, truckers transporting goods across the country traveled on Route 66, including taking troops, equipment and supplies to military bases |
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| A 1950s style diner with juke box |
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| In the 1950s and 1960s, family vacationers used Route 66 |
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| The 1960s saw hippies passing through, happy to take the slower back roads, perhaps searching for nirvana |
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| Remember Royal Crown Cola? |
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| Back on the road, but on I-40 E, with Route 66 running parallel to us, from Clinton to Elk City, OK |
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| Cotton Boll Motel (1960) in Canute, OK, now seems to be a private residence with a wall blocking view of all the motel units |
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| Parker Drilling Company Rig 114 (1969) was used to drill shafts for testing nuclear bombs, including a then world record hole 10"/25 cm wide and 4,500'/1,372 m deep in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska |
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| Casa Grande Hotel (1928, by Hawk and Parr in Spanish Eclectic style) |
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| National Route 66 Museum (1998) is part of the Elk City Old Town Museum Complex |
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| Old Town Museum Complex |
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| Beckham County Courthouse (1911, by Layton, Smith & Hawk) in the town of Sayre, OK, had a cameo in the movie The Grapes of Wrath |
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| The main intersection in Erick, OK has the town's only traffic light, and chamfered corners (the right angle corners are cut across at a diagonal), to improve the view around the corner, which does not seem necessary with these wide streets |
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| Roger Miller Mural (2021, by Brian Lewis) depicts the country music musician and composer who grew up in Erick |
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| Also in Erick, OK is the Sandhills Curiosity Shop, located in the City Meat Market, the oldest brick building in town (a Roadside America attraction) |
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| Erick, OK is the Redneck Capital of the World? |
The Sandhills Curiosity Shop looked closed, even when the hours are said to be daily 8-21. Then a couple exited the building, and we went in. The proprietor, Harley Russell, apparently comes and goes, and he had seen the other couple outside his shop, and came over. I was thinking we were really lucky to catch him.
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| The "shop" (nothing for sale) is full of metal signage and Route 66 items, toys, and at least a half dozen guitars |
I had heard that Harley has a "Mediocre Music Program" and mentioned that, having to check my notes before using the word "mediocre"! But Harley wanted to talk, asking where we were from, and then saying he had no desire to travel. He asked what we had seen, and if we had seen Pops 66. He did not like a new billionaire coming in to put up a Pops to the detriment of others along Route 66. Harley was a bit rough around the edges, but shouldn't we have expected some characters along the way?
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| Harley let us hold a rusted metal Oklahoma Route 66 sign, while his cat rubbed against our legs |
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| Tamiko with the Route 66 sign, which had holes punched in the sixes (KSS) |
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| Harley then took our picture ... |
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| ... before he decided he would give as a taste of his "Mediocre Music Program," he seemed really pretty good |
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| We continued along the old Route 66 alignment |
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| One Room Jail (1908) in the ghost town of Texola, OK |
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| One room, and the jail cell is even smaller! |
Next: Route 66 in Texas.
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