Route 66 Day 7 October 28, 2019
Oh wow! It was so cold when we stepped outside this morning.... 2 degrees Celsius.
According to the itinerary we were in Comanche territory. I'm really glad we recognise whose land we are on. I'd like to see more evidence of Native American Indian recognition on this trip in terms of the activities we do.
Our first stop today was an absolute treat. It was the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, and it helped me to piece together the story of Route 66 so that I had a much more comprehensive understanding of all the elements I had experienced so far. One of the exciting things I found out was that Route 66 was originally commissioned on November 11, 1926. I was born 71 years later on the same day!
Route 66 became the first national highway to cross the midwestern part of the country from east to west. It consists of approximately 2,448 miles from Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois to the Santa Monica Pier in California. The route winds through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California; and three time zones: Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Oklahoma has the most drivable miles with 432. The final Route 66 town, Williams, Arizona was bypassed by the interstate system in 1984, but Route 66 continues to thrive.
The creation of Route 66 is a fascinating story. In 1893 the National Good Roads Association was formed to meet the need of more and better roads to get crops to market, move natural resources to factories, and distribute consumer goods to people. The primary purpose of the association was to foster good road construction and maintenance in order to increase commercial enterprise. The US government passed the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1921 that initiated the intense development of a national highway system. There were 250 trails and highways usd in the national highway system with at least 18 used in the formation of Route 66. Of the 2448 miles, 800 were already paved - leaving only 1648 miles to be graded with dirt or gravel, covered with asphalt or simply covered with planks or bricks. It took until 1937 to pave the entire Route 66. Judging by the chilliness of the weather we've experienced over the last couple of days, it must have been cold work. Here's a piece of equipment the men used while they were working:
In Oklahoma the number of registered automobiles rose from 9000 in 1914 (then after the introduction of Henry Ford's less elaborate and cheaper Model T Ford) to 144,500 in 1920, and to 576,046 in 1930. As the number of automobiles rose, so did the demand for more and better roads, and facilities to provide travellers with the amenities they needed for a comfortable journey.
Gas stations (what Australians call service stations) became a necessity. Before the establishment of gasoline stations, fuel was purchased at liveries (a place where horses were let out for hire), repair shops or general stores. The drivers poured petrol into buckets, and then funnelled it into their petrol tanks. By the 1920's with the growing popularity of the automobile, filling stations situated about every 70 miles apart (because that was the range of most cars at the time) became the lifeline of Route 66. Between 1920 and 1930 the number of gas stations in the US increased from approximately 15,000 to approximately 124,000. The stations evolved from being a house (or shack) with one or two service pumps, to being service bays, tyre outlets and selling a particular brand of gasoline. Eventually they also became a place where people could enjoy refreshments and fun.
I'll share more of what I learnt as we progress on the rest of the trip. If you ever get the chance to do Route 66, make sure you get to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. It's the best museum I've seen on the whole journey.
After piling back into the car, the next stop was Hutch's Westside Gas Station. Here's a treat I've never seen anywhere else...
I saw a truck completely loaded up with bales of cotton.
I went over and had a chat to the truck driver who spoke in a southern drawl. He was a really friendly bloke. I asked him where he'd loaded the cotton, and he told me that he'd picked it up locally. I was expecting him to tell me that he was on route from somewhere down south. I guess I wasn't expecting to see cotton being grown in this part of the USA. I was wrong!
One of the guys on our trip invited me to join him for a drive in his yellow corvette. As we got back on the road we passed several cotton farms. Then, with very little warning we suddenly found ourselves in a very run down and neglected part of Route 66.
There were several bumps and scrapes as we made our way along this section of the road.... We stopped to take a group photo with Dale's drone, then it was back on the open road again. When Big Tone who was driving the corvette, planted his foot on the accelerator I was thrust into the back of my car seat to the point where I could almost feel the skin on my face peeling back (almost!!). It was thrilling and invigorating, but when we got to the next stop, the town of Erick, I was happy to return to the car I was used to driving which has now been dubbed "The Soccer Mum's Car".
We were in Erick to visit the iconic Sand Hills Curiosity Shop
Here we were greeted by another of the larger than life Route 66 personalities - Harley "The Mediocre Music Maker" and pure redneck!! Until three years ago, Harley did everything with his wife Annabelle...
... but she passed away. In true heroic and redneck fashion Harley continues their unique entertainment style which he calls "Insanity At Its Finest" for thousands of travellers coming from all around the world. When we arrived, we were herded into a space crammed with all kinds of oddities, and handed a can of beer and a tambourine!! Then the show began.
Before we all piled back into the cars, Harley had us take a group shot with him in it. There was someone waving an Australian flag and someone else waving an American flag. Then, as we drove in procession out of the town. he was there waving his American flag and doing a dance in the street. He encouraged us to toot our horns and let everyone in the town know that the Aussies were there.
It was great fun.
With the show over, and the pressure on to keep moving, we progressed on to our lunchtime appointment, Tumbleweeds Grill in Texola which is pretty much a ghost town these days.
This eatery is housed in the 1930s Water Hole No. 2 building which has been wonderfully restored using lumber from local abandoned buildings for the indoor trim. Tumbleweeds owner has declared that her cafe is the oldest on Route 66. She has things very well organised! As we walked into the cafe, laid out on different platters were hamburgers, hotdogs, and cakes. The condiments for these delicacies were on the tables, and if you wanted a drink, you needed to purchase it from the fridge behind the front counter. I liked the Route 66 insignia totested into the top of the hamburger buns. I was lucky enough to get the last hot dog!
A lunch and a rest rom stop we headed down the road a few miles and passed over the state border for Texas.
These are electric car chargers!
... the massive Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ - the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
Luke 23:46
Zechariah 12:10
According to the itinerary we were in Comanche territory. I'm really glad we recognise whose land we are on. I'd like to see more evidence of Native American Indian recognition on this trip in terms of the activities we do.
Our first stop today was an absolute treat. It was the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, and it helped me to piece together the story of Route 66 so that I had a much more comprehensive understanding of all the elements I had experienced so far. One of the exciting things I found out was that Route 66 was originally commissioned on November 11, 1926. I was born 71 years later on the same day!
Route 66 became the first national highway to cross the midwestern part of the country from east to west. It consists of approximately 2,448 miles from Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois to the Santa Monica Pier in California. The route winds through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California; and three time zones: Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Oklahoma has the most drivable miles with 432. The final Route 66 town, Williams, Arizona was bypassed by the interstate system in 1984, but Route 66 continues to thrive.
The creation of Route 66 is a fascinating story. In 1893 the National Good Roads Association was formed to meet the need of more and better roads to get crops to market, move natural resources to factories, and distribute consumer goods to people. The primary purpose of the association was to foster good road construction and maintenance in order to increase commercial enterprise. The US government passed the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1921 that initiated the intense development of a national highway system. There were 250 trails and highways usd in the national highway system with at least 18 used in the formation of Route 66. Of the 2448 miles, 800 were already paved - leaving only 1648 miles to be graded with dirt or gravel, covered with asphalt or simply covered with planks or bricks. It took until 1937 to pave the entire Route 66. Judging by the chilliness of the weather we've experienced over the last couple of days, it must have been cold work. Here's a piece of equipment the men used while they were working:
In Oklahoma the number of registered automobiles rose from 9000 in 1914 (then after the introduction of Henry Ford's less elaborate and cheaper Model T Ford) to 144,500 in 1920, and to 576,046 in 1930. As the number of automobiles rose, so did the demand for more and better roads, and facilities to provide travellers with the amenities they needed for a comfortable journey.
Gas stations (what Australians call service stations) became a necessity. Before the establishment of gasoline stations, fuel was purchased at liveries (a place where horses were let out for hire), repair shops or general stores. The drivers poured petrol into buckets, and then funnelled it into their petrol tanks. By the 1920's with the growing popularity of the automobile, filling stations situated about every 70 miles apart (because that was the range of most cars at the time) became the lifeline of Route 66. Between 1920 and 1930 the number of gas stations in the US increased from approximately 15,000 to approximately 124,000. The stations evolved from being a house (or shack) with one or two service pumps, to being service bays, tyre outlets and selling a particular brand of gasoline. Eventually they also became a place where people could enjoy refreshments and fun.
After piling back into the car, the next stop was Hutch's Westside Gas Station. Here's a treat I've never seen anywhere else...
I saw a truck completely loaded up with bales of cotton.
I went over and had a chat to the truck driver who spoke in a southern drawl. He was a really friendly bloke. I asked him where he'd loaded the cotton, and he told me that he'd picked it up locally. I was expecting him to tell me that he was on route from somewhere down south. I guess I wasn't expecting to see cotton being grown in this part of the USA. I was wrong!
One of the guys on our trip invited me to join him for a drive in his yellow corvette. As we got back on the road we passed several cotton farms. Then, with very little warning we suddenly found ourselves in a very run down and neglected part of Route 66.
There were several bumps and scrapes as we made our way along this section of the road.... We stopped to take a group photo with Dale's drone, then it was back on the open road again. When Big Tone who was driving the corvette, planted his foot on the accelerator I was thrust into the back of my car seat to the point where I could almost feel the skin on my face peeling back (almost!!). It was thrilling and invigorating, but when we got to the next stop, the town of Erick, I was happy to return to the car I was used to driving which has now been dubbed "The Soccer Mum's Car".
We were in Erick to visit the iconic Sand Hills Curiosity Shop
Here we were greeted by another of the larger than life Route 66 personalities - Harley "The Mediocre Music Maker" and pure redneck!! Until three years ago, Harley did everything with his wife Annabelle...
... but she passed away. In true heroic and redneck fashion Harley continues their unique entertainment style which he calls "Insanity At Its Finest" for thousands of travellers coming from all around the world. When we arrived, we were herded into a space crammed with all kinds of oddities, and handed a can of beer and a tambourine!! Then the show began.
It was a hootin' and hollerin' show, completely irreverent and totally funny. We had a blast and I thought Harley was actually a very talented guitar player, producing a full and beautiful sound that filled the cavern in which we congregated.
I delighted that Harley had lovely things to say about one of my favourite Australian musicians - Tommy Emmanuel - who I once had a lovely time with when I interviewed him back in my radio days.
Before we all piled back into the cars, Harley had us take a group shot with him in it. There was someone waving an Australian flag and someone else waving an American flag. Then, as we drove in procession out of the town. he was there waving his American flag and doing a dance in the street. He encouraged us to toot our horns and let everyone in the town know that the Aussies were there.
It was great fun.
With the show over, and the pressure on to keep moving, we progressed on to our lunchtime appointment, Tumbleweeds Grill in Texola which is pretty much a ghost town these days.
This eatery is housed in the 1930s Water Hole No. 2 building which has been wonderfully restored using lumber from local abandoned buildings for the indoor trim. Tumbleweeds owner has declared that her cafe is the oldest on Route 66. She has things very well organised! As we walked into the cafe, laid out on different platters were hamburgers, hotdogs, and cakes. The condiments for these delicacies were on the tables, and if you wanted a drink, you needed to purchase it from the fridge behind the front counter. I liked the Route 66 insignia totested into the top of the hamburger buns. I was lucky enough to get the last hot dog!
 |
| This was my favourite sign of the day |
And not long after that we stopped at the classic 1936 U-Drop Inn and Conoco service station in Shamrock, Texas.
Once considered a beautiful and impressive example of Route 66 architecture in Texas, the U-Drop Inn fell into disrepair with the decommissioning of Route 66. It closed for business in the late 1990s. In September 1997, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, bought by the National Bank of Shamrock and gifted to the city which restored it to its former glory. It is now a museum, visitor's centre, gift shop, and the city's Chamber of Commerce.
These are electric car chargers!
This is almost a shrine of remembrance The sign says:
- a place where Elvis once dined. Thank a vet today for your freedom
The wind was picking up and the air temperature was dropping. We welcomed the opportunity to jump back in our cars and travel onto the next stop. Along the way we saw masses of wind turbines. If the weather is regularly as cloudy as today was, there wouldn't be much point installing solar panels. Jenny was driving, so I was happily snapping away at some of the features on the land and then we saw the landmark pointing to our next stop ....
... the massive Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ - the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
Here we found the fourteen stations of The Cross depicted in beautifully created bronze statues. What a gift! The artwork was magnificent, but unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice.
Matthew 27:24
Philippians 2:7
Isaiah 63:5
Revelation 12:5
Mark 15:21
Matthew 25:37
1 Peter 2:24
Luke 23: 27-28
Psalm 22: 15, 16
Psalm 22:19
Psalm 22: 17-19
Luke 23:46
Zechariah 12:10
Mark 15:46
By the time I had taken all these photos I was freezing!! I quickly made my way over to the Christian bookshop located on this site and had a look at the huge array of merchandise they had for sale.
I began making my way to the car again, but it didn't look like too many people were racing back, so I took a few more photos:
Matthew 26:26-29
It was so cold now, and I already had four layers of clothing on!! As we drove towards our hotel in Amarillo for the night, we saw snow by the side of the road.
Here's the view from our hotel window in Amarillo - a restaurant laying down a challenge. If you can eat a 72 ounce steak and all the trimmings within an hour, you get the meal for free! I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that to their body!
Everywhere you go there are American flags unfurled proudly and reminding you exactly which country you are in.
The temperature was already at zero degrees, Jenny and I were satisfied with the amount we had eaten during the day, so we decided to snuggle up in bed and get a good night's sleep, ready for more adventures tomorrow!
Everywhere you go there are American flags unfurled proudly and reminding you exactly which country you are in.
The temperature was already at zero degrees, Jenny and I were satisfied with the amount we had eaten during the day, so we decided to snuggle up in bed and get a good night's sleep, ready for more adventures tomorrow!
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