The Route 66 portion of my road trip got off to a soggy start. It rained for much of my way through Missouri, and finally let up shortly before I entered Kansas.
Perhaps it was the weather, but the portions of Route 66 through Missouri were not all that exciting. It was an interesting learning process to try to figure out how to actually find the road. It also became clear very quickly that my guide book makes a lot of things sound more interesting than they actually are in person.
As opposed to Missouri, the short 13-mile stretch of Route 66 through the corner of Kansas was extremely well marked, although it was over before I knew it.
Oklahoma was when things really started to get interesting. Oklahoma has some very drivable stretches of Route 66, and for the most part they are fairly well marked. Before reaching Tulsa, where I stopped for the night, I got my first true Route 66 roadside attraction - the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma.
Tulsa was an odd city. I wandered around in the evening through the area where all of the recommended restaurants were. One restaurant had a 25+ minute wait, but every other restaurant had at most 2 customers in it. On principle I refuse to wait 25 minutes to eat Mexican food in Tulsa and I didn't feel like an awkward solo dining experience, so I headed back to the hotel restaurant and then called it a night.
The next morning I got an early start and was treated to a great roadside gas station and store called Pop's, which specializes in crazy sodas from all over the country. They came in every flavor imaginable, most of which you probably would never want to try. I bought a six pack of samples anyway just for the fun of it, although I'm sure they will mostly be terrible. Given that the root beer that I actually intended to enjoy was not very good, I have low expectations.
Next I headed to Oklahoma City to visit the National Memorial dedicated to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. It was incredibly moving and well done. It might be the nicest memorial I've ever seen.
After leaving Oklahoma City, I meandered my way through the rest of Oklahoma into Texas, alternately driving the old Route 66 for stretches and bypassing less accessible or interesting stretches on the Interstate. The ghost town of Texola, just on the Oklahoma side of the Oklahoma/Texas border was particularly interesting.
There were also several scenic stops on the Texas side before I reached Amarillo.
My destination for the night was the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. It was gloriously touristy. The food was delicious, although my "sampler" was so huge I still have half of it in the cooler in my trunk. The Big Texan is known for its 72 oz. steak challenge - you get a 72 oz. steak for free if you can finish it (plus multiple sides) in an hour. Two brave souls tried while I was there, but neither succeeded.
As it turns out, full days of driving are exhausting. And now I'm off to bed.
Perhaps it was the weather, but the portions of Route 66 through Missouri were not all that exciting. It was an interesting learning process to try to figure out how to actually find the road. It also became clear very quickly that my guide book makes a lot of things sound more interesting than they actually are in person.
As opposed to Missouri, the short 13-mile stretch of Route 66 through the corner of Kansas was extremely well marked, although it was over before I knew it.
Oklahoma was when things really started to get interesting. Oklahoma has some very drivable stretches of Route 66, and for the most part they are fairly well marked. Before reaching Tulsa, where I stopped for the night, I got my first true Route 66 roadside attraction - the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma.
Tulsa was an odd city. I wandered around in the evening through the area where all of the recommended restaurants were. One restaurant had a 25+ minute wait, but every other restaurant had at most 2 customers in it. On principle I refuse to wait 25 minutes to eat Mexican food in Tulsa and I didn't feel like an awkward solo dining experience, so I headed back to the hotel restaurant and then called it a night.
The next morning I got an early start and was treated to a great roadside gas station and store called Pop's, which specializes in crazy sodas from all over the country. They came in every flavor imaginable, most of which you probably would never want to try. I bought a six pack of samples anyway just for the fun of it, although I'm sure they will mostly be terrible. Given that the root beer that I actually intended to enjoy was not very good, I have low expectations.
Next I headed to Oklahoma City to visit the National Memorial dedicated to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. It was incredibly moving and well done. It might be the nicest memorial I've ever seen.
After leaving Oklahoma City, I meandered my way through the rest of Oklahoma into Texas, alternately driving the old Route 66 for stretches and bypassing less accessible or interesting stretches on the Interstate. The ghost town of Texola, just on the Oklahoma side of the Oklahoma/Texas border was particularly interesting.
There were also several scenic stops on the Texas side before I reached Amarillo.
My destination for the night was the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. It was gloriously touristy. The food was delicious, although my "sampler" was so huge I still have half of it in the cooler in my trunk. The Big Texan is known for its 72 oz. steak challenge - you get a 72 oz. steak for free if you can finish it (plus multiple sides) in an hour. Two brave souls tried while I was there, but neither succeeded.
As it turns out, full days of driving are exhausting. And now I'm off to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment