We are having to admit, we can’t see it all. When I made all the plans for the excursion I rarely had us traveling over 200 miles a day. Except I figured all that out using maps which calculates highways. I didn’t know Rt. 66 would be hard to locate and follow from town to town. I didn’t know the speed limit would be about 45 mph in most places and I didn’t allow enough time at each stop. So, ten days in, we are getting to our destination later than expected so take the next morning to explore it which gets us on our way to the next hotel about noon. Gotta figure out a way to break the cycle.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Bob and I both like to eat. Diners and good food abound. Tally’s was our breakfast spot this morning. April took good care of us. The retro decor was the best we’ve seen and the employees seemed to like being at work. I had a Popeye Omelette which had spinach, bacon, onions, and mushrooms inside. Bob had the Tally’s Bomb plate. Both were delicious and huge portions. We ate our leftovers for lunch.
Bob had the Tally’s Bomb plate.
Retro look inside Tally’s Cafe.
After we ate we went looking for the Rt 66 Harley Davidson store. Bob still wears all his Harley shirts and the good polo shirt he has needs to be retired. The picture of the bench that is the lead photo for today was in the store. Bob did get a new shirt. It will probably show up in a picture before this trip is over.
Next we went in search of the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza. He is considered the “Father” of Rt. 66 because he was instrumental in bringing together representatives from all the states involved to build a continuous road from Chicago to California. Below, with a messy background, is a statue depicting the change from horse drawn buggy to automobile. The statue was life size, detailed and a beautiful piece of art.
A walking bridge with the Tulsa Medical Center in the background. And you know who in the foreground. We heard no sirens last night.
I have mentioned the EZ66 Guide we are following. The guy in the blue shirt is its author. Jerry McClanahan lives in Chandler, OK. He is an artist as well as an author. In the guide is says to stop by and meet him and he will autograph the guide for you. He was very friendly, gave us some updates on road changes, and was happy when we bought a print of one of his paintings. He could flip through the pages of the book like it was his child’s baby book.
Our next stop was in Arcadia, to see the Round Red barn above. It was built by slaves in 1898. A pencil drawing of the innards had Bob figuring prices. Below is just a contrast in size of our Mini Cooper to a tour bus. It made us smile, so we had to share.
Also in Arcadia is a 66 foot pop bottle replica. The store and diner it advertises is called POPS. They have any flavor pop you can think of. Who knows what some of them taste like. Below this picture is the flavor I’m sure my dog enthusiast grandson would pick. For lunch I picked an Australian ginger beer and Bob had something that was grapefruit flavored. It was called KISS and made in Mukilteo, WA.
It was just after 3:30 pm when we got to the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. We stayed until it closed at 5 pm. Inside there were exhibits about rodeo riders, old time cowboys, Native Americans and the TV stars that we all know from playing both on the big screen. It deserved more time than we had to give.
Leaving a museum in one city with 100 miles to go to the next city where your hotel is booked means you deal with 5 o’clock traffic because of poor planning. And I thought I had done a fantastic job getting all the stops in a row. We got on the highway and made time. There is not a whole lot of scenery in Oklahoma and you can literally see for miles across the plain. The first picture below, if you look closely at the haze in the background you can see windmills. We couldn’t guess how far away they were. The last picture is of some windmills right next to Highway 40 that we passed on our way to Elk City. The curious thing, in this area, most houses are fenced with gates. When we asked why, we were told to keep the cows out of the yards. The little black dots in the plains picture are black Angus beef cattle.
Once we arrived in Elk City, we went to dinner at the Prairie Fire Grill. Sara our server was helpful and bubbly. Bob said his pork chops were delicious, but my Chicken Caesar Salad couldn’t compare to last nights salad. One surprise, I have heard many times about the country music scene in Texas and Oklahoma. Last night we too tired to go in search of a honky-tonk and tonight the Grill was playing classic rock. Nothing wrong with that type of music, I was just expecting to hear country. Maybe tomorrow night.
Sue Spitulnik 