DAY ONE
The third phase of Route 66 road trip started in Miami, Oklahoma (after driving eight hours to get there from Davenport, IA). We found a faded mural in Quapaw, OK which is just north of Miami.
The mural was right along Route 66 in Quapaw...
...and close to Hemi's Cafe.
Unfortunately, Hemi's Cafe was not open when we got there.
We spotted an Antique Auto Museum; however, it was also closed.
The local flea market was also closed (fortunately).
Then we drove to Miami, OK. Here's the gateway sign over the main road.
Then it was on to the Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum in Miami, OK.
A gas tank autographed by Ann Margaret
There were a number of British motorcycles mixed in with the Harley Davidsons and special cycles.
We went to the Coleman Theater; however, it was not open yet.
Then we found Waylan's KuKu Burgers. We tried multiple times to catch them open; however, due to local graduations and a holiday, they stayed closed.
The Dobson Museum was closed so we visited the Eastern Trails Museum which featured the history of the region.
We tried to locate the Little Cabin Pecan Company; however, that closed years ago. So instead, we went to the Miller Pecan Company store. The lady there was extremely nice, even opening up early so we would not have to wait.
The pecan store had a large "rocking" chair in the parking area.
Next, we found the Route 66 Motel in Afton, OK.
And then it was on to the DX Service Station - Visitor Center.
We had lunch at Clanton's Cafe in Vinita, OK. The food was great; however, the portions were huge. We could not finish our burgers.
There was a plaque outside the cafe related to
We also visited a McDonald's Restaurant the spanned Hwy 40. At one time, it was the largest McDonald's in the world.
Inside the restaurant was a statue honoring OK native son, Will Rogers.
View from the McDonald's restaurant spanning Hwy 40.
On the way to our next stop, we spotted a giant Indian statue at a truck stop along Hwy 40.
We stopped by the Cabin Creek Battlefield. There was no visitor center or displays besides the signs.
That was the end of day 1.
DAY TWO
Our first stop was the Will Roger's Memorial / Museum in Claremore, OK. The outside of the museum and the grounds were beautiful. It is worth a stop just to walk around the outside. Inside provided alot of biographical information including his many accomplishments.
We also stopped by the Will Roger's Hotel a short distance away.
The next stop was the J. M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum. This place is a warehouse filled with every firearm imaginable.
Then we found the "famous" Blue Whale and the nearby Ark in Catoosa, OK.
By this time it was almost noon so we went looking for Hanks Hamburgers. We found it; however, it was a walk-up food shack with almost no parking. So we decided not to eat there.
Instead of eating at Hanks, we went to El Rancho Grande. El Rancho is a historic Mexican restaurant that start along Route 66 back in 1950. It was a good choice as the food at El Rancho was fantastic and plentiful.
While driving through Tulsa, OK, we passed by the Meadow Gold sign...
...and the Corner Cafe.
We also found Ollies Station which was open.
Ollies has a lot of trains running on tracks mounted high on the walls. Yes, they actually run.
Then we passed by the Hickory House BBQ shop to take some photos.
That was the end of day 2.
DAY THREE
We found the Bristow Historical Railroad Museum but it was closed. So we moved on to the 'ghost town' of Shamrock, OK. It is not really a ghost town because there are people obviously living there. They also have a post office and museum; however, they have definitely suffered since Route 66 closed.
We next went to the Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK, and left a note on the wall that we had visited.
On the way to the town founder James Stroud house, we stopped by the Skyliner Motel for a photo.
In the same town, we found the James Stroud House.
Then it was on to Jimmys Round Up Cafe in Oklahoma City, OK.
Followed by Dans BBQ Pit in Davenport, OK. Dans BBQ was not open, but the locals said that he would let them in for a cup of coffee.
The town of Davenport, OK is very small.
The main "road" in Davenport, OK, is paved with bricks.
And the town has a lot of murals painted on the sides of their buildings.
The next stop was the Lincoln Motel in Chandler, OK.
We tried to visit the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer History but it was closed. Instead I took a picture of cacti!
Also in Chandler was an armory that was converted into a museum and interpretive center. The center had a number of very good audio visual exhibits.
Leaving Chandler we found the last 'barn' in Oklahoma painted to advertise the Meramec Caverns.
We found the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum in Warwick OK; however they were not open.
Getting hungry we looked for the Butcher BBQ stand. We found it, but it was closed as it is only open weekends. So we looked around and found the Pecan Cafe in Wellston, OK. It was a favorite with the locals and the food was really good.
We think that we found the Hillbillees Cafe in Arcadia OK, but without any signs, it was difficult to verify.
We definitely found the Hwy 66 Tavern (County Line) in Luther, OK.
Our next stop for the day was at the Round Barn of Arcadia, OK. You can order memorial bricks that comprise some of the walkways. We ordered one to memorialize our son, Shawn. See if you can find it when you visit the Round Barn.
Then we saw the giant soda bottle at the Pops Resaurant in Arcadia, OK.
We believe this was once the Tuton's Drugstore but it looks like it has been converted into housing now.
That was the end of day 3.
DAY FOUR
We next traveled to Oklahoma City to see some of the sights there. Near the capital building we saw the building for the historical society.
Here is the capital building in Oklahoma City, OK.
The next stop of day three was the Oklahoma Museum and Memorial in Oklahoma City. It was built to commemorate the Oklahoma City bombing on 19 April 1995. Of course I did not take any pictures inside out of respect for the other visitors. Most of the displays were multimedia anyways.
Next we traveled to downtown Oklahoma City to locate the Tower Theater.
Just down from the Tower Theater, we saw Marilyn Monroe in one of the shops. Ok, not really.
We also found the old Milk Bottle Grocery with a giant milk bottle on top. It is located on a small triangular median and has been converted into a studio now.
We also found Brown's Bakery which was a very busy place. While we ordered some treats for our trip, a television news crew was setting up to tape a segment."
Then it was on to Ann's Chicken Fry House for some lunch. They have interesting displays inside and outside the restaurant. The give shop in the back parking lot was not open.
We also visited the Oklahoma Heritage Center.
That was the end of day 4.
DAY FIVE
The Heartland Museum in Weatherford, OK, was not open but they had some interesting displays outside.
We motored on to the Thomas Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford.
We looked for the City Diner in Weatherford; however, it looked like new highway replaced it. So we drove to Lucilles restaurant instead. The food was very good and plentiful.
We stumbled across the 1929 Provine Hamons Filling Station which also once featured motel rooms.
We went to El Reno, OK, to see the Heritage Express Trolley. Unfornately, due to the recent heavy rains, the trolley was not running. However, we were able to get some photos inside and outside the train station which now serves as their museum. We had fantastic talks with Pat and Kendall who were happy to answer all of our questions.
This is Kendall who currently operates the trolley. The trolley is a refurbished trolley that has been converted from electric power to a V8 engine. It has controls at both ends so it does not need to turn around (the town no longer has a turntable).
On the outside of the trolley storage building is a picture of Jack Reuter, the late husband of Pat.
Pat was kind enough to pose next to a picture of her husband dressed in a reenactment costume.
We traveled to Clinton, OK, to see the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. Outside of the museum was a restored diner.
There were a lot of displays inside the museum. This one in the lobby lets you pretend you are cruising down Route 66."
We traveled on to the Glancy Motel Hotel in Clinton, OK.
And found the Jiggs Smokehouse in Clinton OK which has been in operation for almost 40 years.
That was the end of day 5.
DAY SIX
We stopped by the Cotton Boll motel (sign) for a quick photo op.
And the Washita Motel (?) which was obviously closed.
This jail in Canute OK was built in 1918.
Parker Drilling Rig number 114 in Elk City, OK.
Also in Elk City was the National Route 66 Museum. It is now part of the Elk City Heritage Center. One small fee grants access to all of the buildings and displays. There are people in some of the buildings to answer questinos.
We stopped by the Sayre OK post office which is described as having and art deco design.
Just a short distance away was the Owl Drug store.
We think that this building was once the Old Hotel Bed and Breakfast in Sayre, OK. It is in need of some work.
Also in Sayre, we found the Rodriguez Steak House.
We also found the Shortgrass Country Museum; however, it was closed for renovation.
The Rafter T Restaurant in Erick OK was not open.
The Sand Hill Curiosity shop in Erick OK was open. It is operated by Harley Russell alone now that his wife Annabelle has passed. Harley Russell was half the inspiration behind Tow Mater, a character in the Cars animated movie. Harley performed a couple of songs for us and took our picture. One picture is while we are holding one of the original (according to Harley) Oklahoma Route 66 signs.
Harley is an interesting individual. Click on the below image to hear more about him. Viewer discretion is advised.
We found another tiny jail (territorial jail) in Texola OK.
That was the end of day 6.
END OF TRIP