Days 20 & 21 Oklahoma City Highlights

Always, on Route 66, there are treasures to explore…and today's drive was no exception.  En route to Oklahoma City, there were two noteworthy stops.  The first was this Old round Barn in Arcadia, OK.  It seems that Big Bill Odor  designed and built the unusual barn in 1898.  Nearly a century later, his son said that his father built the barn to be round in hopes that if a tornado hit the barn, it would go around the barn, instead of through the barn!  Today the barn serves as a venue for community events and local museum. 

The second noteworthy stop was just a mile or so down the road:  Pops in Arcadia.  Pops is actually one of the newer roadside attractions on Route 66.  Opened in 2007, Pops has a giant neon sign in the shape of a soda pop bottle.  The glass walls of the restaurant are decorated with shelves of soda pop bottles, arranged by beverage color.  All of the pop is for sale, and it seems there is an endless variety of brands---dozens of brand of root beer, for example, and a variety of flavors, too.  Ever had a butterscotch root beer?  Quite a popular place on Sunday afternoon, Pops guests parked in the spacious lot and then along the highway.

After an afternoon of exploring, we arrived at out very nice rv park near Oklahoma City.  Wagonmasters Barry and Terry Klein prepared dinner for us and JW Hurdle surprised us with more of his wonderful homemade potato chips --- no one can eat just one!  He also made some of his fried pickle slices -- the perfect compliment to our BBQ pork sandwiches!

Our visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial was a solemn observance honoring the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.  The Field of Empty Chairs, 168 lighted glass, bronze and stone chairs, represent the adults and children who died in the senseless act of terrorism. We were privileged to have a guide, a woman who was working in a nearby downtown office at the time of the bombing.  

Our guide introduced us to the memorial's Gates of Time, two bronze gates, one at each end of the reflecting pool.  The outdoor memorial begins with the eastern gate with the time 9:01serving as a representation of the last moments of peace, the final moments of ordinary time, prior to the bombing.  On the western gate, at the opposite end of the reflecting pool, the  time 9:03 represents time forever changed by the violence of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. We were moved.  

We visited the inside exhibits at the Oklahoma National Memorial & Museum the next day.  While a number of exhibits focussed on the terrorism of the bombing, and others focussed on remembering those who died, it was the selflessness of the rescuers that inspired what has come to be known as "the Oklahoma Standard".  On the 20th anniversary of the bombing, a dedicated campaign asked Oklahomans to commit to one act of service, one act of honor, and one act of kindness to honor those who gave of themselves following the tragic bombing.  

Oklahoma City is more than the remembrance of one tragic day, and we went on tour to discover several of the city's other assets.   The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is home to western art and a celebration of western life, including rodeo.  This sculpture, titled End of the Trail, welcomes visitors to the museum and provides a meaningful reminder of a childhood spent on the American frontier

We also enjoyed a narrated water taxi in the Bricktown Canal through a touristy part of Oklahoma City. It was a bit chilly, but our guide kept us entertained and shared stories of Oklahoma City.  The Centennial Land Run is one of the largest free-standing bronze sculptures in the world. After the water taxi ride, some of our group found pizza in Bricktown to be a great way to end our Oklahoma City visit.  More adventures await on Route 66.