Today we're cruising Central OK. The historic Pony Bridge over the Canadian River is a must see. The "ponies" were as big a span as could be handled by the road building equipment in the mid 1930's. It's a remarkable sight. At Hydro we visited the old Lucille's Station. Lucille owned and operated this station from 1941 until the mid-90's. The brand new Lucille's is located further down the road complete with a nifty "50's" style diner. Another must see is the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. It documents the road by decade from the 1920's to the 1970's when Route 66 it was replaced (perhaps displaced is a better word) by the Super Slab. The displays are well done and extremely informative. As you can probably see from the photos we're enjoying fabulous weather. Sally and Byron
(We have some difficulty getting Internet in some old motels and some new also. We are trying to catch up.)
Abandoned Gas Station, OK
Pony Bridge Over
Canadian River, OK
Pony Bridge, 38 Ponies
On Down the Road
Lucille's Original Station,
Hydro, OK
New Lucille's,
Weatherford, OK
Lucille's Inside
Route 66 Museum,
Clinton, OK
Museum Display
of Route 66
Section of Original Road
Mug Shot at Museum
Today we visited yet another Route 66 Museum this one in Elk City, OK. The oil can Kachina out front was originally located at the Queenan Trading Post - another casualty of the Interstate Highway. We had a really unique experience in Erick, OK, at the Sand Hill Curiosity Shop. It's chocked full of Route 66 memorabilia and owned by two of the happiest people we have yet encountered on the Route. Annabelle and Harley entertained us with stories and their own version of 'Get Your Kicks On Route 66'. Move over, Nat King Cole! We crossed into Texas at Texola yet another ghost town thanks to the Interstaate. Shamrock, TX, is the home of the Conoco Tower Station made famous in the animated film Cars. It is completely restored and a very cool sight to see. Tomorrow we hope to make Tucumcari, NM. Sally and Byron
Oil Drum Kachina
Route 66 Tee Shirts
Sting Ray in Museum
Old Route 66
and Super Slab
Curiousity Shop
in Erick, OK
Very Old
US Route 66 Sign
Curious Entertainment
66 Send Off.
Cold Ones All Gone
GS Is Only New Thing Here
Conoco Tower,
Shamrock, TX
Hi Test Only Please
First stop of the day was yet another museum. This one the Devil's Rope and Route 66 Museum in McLean, TX. More barbed wire (devil's rope) than you can ever imagine! West of Amarillo we stopped at Cadillac Ranch a strange tribute to the Caddies of the '50's. Throughout the Texas Panhandle we saw so many abandoned buildings and ruins in the little towns along the old road too many to count. A highlight of the day was a stop at the Midppoint Cafe in Adrian, TX, for a piece of yummy Ugly Crust pie. The cafe was a gathering place for over 200 Corvettes on the Caravan to Bowling Green last September hard to imagine! The sign said Tucumcarii Tonight! The town is but a shadow of itself, but we had a great visit and overnight at the famous restored Blue Swallow Motel. Spent the evening listening to the owner tell tales of the road and taking pictures under his fabulous neon sign. Sally and Byron
Devils Rope Museum,
McLean, TX
Gas Station
Still Standing, for now
Cadillac Ranch
Famous Sign
Yummy Ugly Crust Pie
Gang at the Mid Point Cafe
Mid Point of Route 66,
Adrian, TX
Abondoned Station
& Jeep
Abandoned Station
and Pontiac
Tee Pee Curios,
Tucumcari, NM
Operational Motel,
Neon Sign Not Working
Blue GS at Blue Swallow Motel
Mural in Garage
at Blue Swallow
Blue on Blue
Tee Pee Neon Sign
at Night
Tucumcari Tonight for us
Neon Reflections
Mural at Blue Swallow
Another beautiful day on the road. Heading out of Tucumcari we spotted the modern Route 66 sign. Further on at Santa Rosa the old alignment travels right by the Blue Hole. This natural sinkhole is so deep; land-locked scuba divers use it for training. Another preserved Parker Truss bridge is just west of Albuquerque. On past Mesita the old route follows the terrain with a 180-degree curve aptly named Dead Man's Curve. Crossed the Continental Divide at 7263 feet. Just ahead Gallup, NM, Indian jewelry capitol of the world. It's also the location of the El Rancho Hotel one of the most famous old hotels on the Route. This hotel served as home to many movie stars of the 40's and 50's while filming on location in the NM desert. All the rooms in the three-story hotel are named for the stars who stayed there. We stayed in the Jack Benny room - I didn't know that he was in any Westerns! Sally and Byron
Camper 4 Sale
Leaving Tucumcari
Original Old Route 66
Blue Hole in
Santa Rosa, NM
Crystal Clear,
Dark Blue is Deep
Blue Hole Rock Rim
Old Whiting Brothers Station
Old Bridge
The Rio Puerco Bridge
Old and The New
The Old
Road to Dead Man's Curve,
Mesita, NM
Owl Rock
This Buds For You
Continental Divide
on Old Road
Stairway to the Stars
El Rancho Lobby
Cool Car
Just over the border in AZ we traveled on some of the last drivable sections of Historic Route 66. Most of the old road in eastern AZ is under the super slab, what's left is 4x4 only or the sections that run through the little towns along the way. We visited both the Petrified Forest Nat'l Park and the Painted Desert and although the wind was blowing really hard, we went on to Meteor Crater. We had planned to backtrack to Holbrook and stay in the historic Wigwam Motel for the night, but we ran through a horrendous dust storm on our way to the Crater and thought better about going back through it. So today turned out to be our last day on the road. We hadn't planned it that way, but Mother Nature had different ideas. We headed for Flagstaff instead - the end of the road for us. Despite the high winds on our last day and missing out on standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ, we had a great trip. We surely did "Get Our Kicks on Route 66", and driving it in our new Grand Sport made it that much more enjoyable!! Glad we could share our Route 66 adventure with you see you all in May.. Sally and Byron
Classics From Colorado
on Route 66
Cleaning Last Speck
Route 66 Through
Gallup, NM
NM and AZ Border
Free Wheel Wash Ahead
Wheel Wash Water
Classic Route 66 Sign
Wigwam Motel,
Holbrook, AZ
Great Mural
Petrified Tree Section
Real Gem Stone
in the Desert
Petrified Forest
Petrified Long Logs
Blue Mesa
The Teepees
News Paper Rock
You Have a Cool Car
Painted Desert
Lincoln City, OR - Bonus Photos, Coast Highway: Hi Again,
Carl thought we should conclude our trip with a few photos of our drive up the Pacific Coast, so here are a few bonus pictures. We began the coast trek in Ventura, CA and drove Highway 1 from San Louis Obispo to Leggett, CA. At that point it becomes Highway 101 to Astoria, OR. This is the ultimate Corvette road! - Tight corners, sharp turns, steep hills and deep valleys. It’s an 800-mile road course hanging on the edge of the continent! Sally nearly squished the stuffing out of the door handle hanging on and pushed the firewall a few inches forward “helping” Byron brake, but was it ever FUN in our fantastic new GS! What a great end to our 5000-mile adventure. Enjoy the pictures.
Sally and Byron
Pacific Coast Highway,
Central CA
Misty Bridge,
Central CA
Pacific Coast Highway,
Inland Valley
Devil's Slide,
North of Half Moon Bay, CA
Pacific Coast Highway,
Northern CA
Pacific Coast Highway,
Northern CA
Pacific Coast Highway,
Northern CA
Avenue of The
Giants Redwoods
Highway 101, OR
Highway 101, OR
