Oklahoma: Story and Photos
South of Miami, Oklahoma we found ourselves on a nine
foot wide (one lane) asphalt
section of old 66 covered in gravel that we had to ride for nine miles.
Apparently years
ago Oklahoma figured out that it could save money by paving only one
lane for both
directions, instead of two (one for each direction). This one lane
wonder was later
bypassed in the fifties with a more direct two lane road (that we should
have taken
instead).
Route 66 is still heavily traveled in eastern
Oklahoma due to I-44 requiring a toll.
We had to put up with loads of big rigs and cars bypassing the toll
road. Speed limits
went up to 70 mph on old 66 where winds and hills kept our scoots down
to 45-55 mph.
To make matters worse, it started raining off and on after Tulsa.
Oklahoma City provides the only stretch of
interstate you must ride while
following old 66 in Oklahoma, a whopping 100 feet. Downtown is very
strange in that
there are oil wells in front of the state capitol building and governors
mansion. We
stopped to check out the landmark "milk bottle building," a small building
with a huge
milk bottle on top. On the way out of downtown we decided to call it
a day, and checked
into another cool 50's neon hotel, the Carlyle.
That night we stopped at Ann's Chicken Fry
House for her famous chicken fried
steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy (yum). The manager, after hearing
of our journey, gave
us free t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Leaving Oklahoma City the next day I noticed
my bike was running strange.
Around Yukon, home town of country star Garth Brooks, my spark plug
popped out of
the head. This would foreshadow breakdowns to come.
Back on the road, we passed through El Reno
before coming to a long stretch of
old 66 complete with original Portland concrete roadbed. We went one
stretch for over 30
miles without seeing one other car, person, or animal. It was like
being in some old
Twilight Zone episode.
In Clinton we visited the Route 66 museum.
It took us more than an hour to go
through the museum's impressive displays. We even ran into a couple
driving 66 in a
1929 Ford. The old ladies that run the museum are really nice, and
won't let you leave
without a free bumper sticker.
Before leaving Oklahoma, I somehow managed
to find a suicidal cat in a little
ghost town called Erick. We were riding down an old section of deserted
four lane Route
66 when I noticed a cat running across the road come to a stop. I did
not think anything of
it until the cat started running again, and right into the path of
my scooter! At that point I
tried to slow down to miss the cat. Next thing I knew I felt a thud
on the floorboard. I
came to a stop and looked back. Poor Fluffy was dead! Fearing "you
kill it, you eat it"
laws, we hauled ass for the Texas state line.
The "Blue Whale" theme park ruin in Catoosa, OK
Milk bottle building in Oklahoma City, OK.
Route 66 museum in Clinton, OK
At the museum we ran into this couple driving Route 66 in a 1929
Ford
inside the Route 66 museum in Clinton, OK
Click
here to see the Texas Story and Photos
This page created and maintained by Mike
Frankovich