Day 22 & 23 Elk City, Oklahoma on Route 66

Day 22 was a travel day with a short stop at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK.  Along the way, we are reminded that Route 66 is Mainstreet, USA.  In El Reno,OK, a small town where automobiles were once built, there are a number of murals honoring Route 66, those who have served in war, as well as a mural of hero burial.  Beautiful for those of us driving through…and even nicer for those who call El Reno home.  

Near Hydro, Lucille's Service Station, built in 1929, is one of only two upper story, out-thrust porch style service stations left on the Oklahoma stretch of Route 66 --- just one of the many treasures we pass as we drive The Mother Road. 

On the Afton Oklahoma section of Route 66, this monument
tells the story of another of the famous names for Route 66---the Will Rogers Highway. Alongside the current Route 66, you can see a 9-foot wide section of the original highway…gravel and cracked asphalt.  This section of the original highway is about 13 miles long, and is listed as an 
Oklahoma National HIstoric Landmark. 

Many of the eight Route 66 states have a state Route 66 museum.  This retro neon sign and a cherry-red '57 Chevy welcomed us to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.  Inside, a walk along the "Main Street of America" gives visitors a chance to look at old cars and souvenirs and displays about old route 66.  

Wouldn't this retro Love Bug van be a great addition to our Route 66 Adventure Caravan!

Fortunately, we have not had need of the Oklahoma State Police, but this 1937 Ford with a flat-head V-8 engine is a beauty. A very fast car…but also difficult to stop!  Although it's a vintage car, it has been recently used by the OHP to arrest and transport a suspected DUI violator.  

While we usually stay in more typical RV parks, we stayed one night in Elk City, Oklahoma. This wise Chamber of Commerce must have known, "If you build it, they will come."  They have RV sites with water and electric hookups behind the Convention Center.  Thanks, Elk City!  But before we departed Elk City for Amarillo, we made a visit to the NATIONAL Route 66 Museum, and the adjacent Old Town Museum, Farm and Ranch Museum, and Blacksmith Museum --- all on Route 66!  

JW Hurdle inspects the tiny teardrop trailer in the National Route 66 museum. 

Kathy Snyder enjoyed the nostalgia of the Popeye room.  Where's your spinach, Kathy?  

Tailgunner Sharon Gilbert remembers her childhood days when playing in a caboose was loads of fun.
All along Route 66,  various railroads run parallel to the Mother Road. 

  

In many of the small towns along Route 66, we've seen tributes to entertainment of the past.  Because the railroad parallels Route 66 so much, it was often railroad officials who helped to bring opera houses and theaters to small towns.  In the Elk City, Old Town village museum, we see an Opera House built in 1998 that is used as an event venue today.