WATCHING THE WORLD: Cruising along Route 66 in Oklahoma

Cruising the Mother Road across Oklahoma

There are many things to see and do along Route 66 and it would take a few weeks to see them all. The Mother Road extends from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California and was officially opened on November 11, 1926. The 2,400 mile road extends through eight states, and influenced lifestyles and brought along a new culture of enjoying the freedom of the road. The road meant the opportunity for new beginnings during the Great Depression and the Okies' migration to California was highlighted in the famous novel, "Grapes of Wrath", by John Steinbeck.

So making our way from POPS Soda Store near Arcadia and Oklahoma City, back to Tulsa, I'll be sharing some of the very interesting things I found along the route. POPS an ultra modern gas station and store, which sells Route 66 souvenirs and over 400 different flavours of sodas, as well as housing a restaurant that serves up great American hamburgers and sandwiches. The impressive 66 foot tall soda bottle changes colours at night and is an impressive beacon for anyone travelling along this stretch of the road.

The next attraction is the Red Barn, the only wooden round barn along the road, which was restored in 1898.

Across the road one can find this stone plaque, with some information about the area.

The inside of the barn has a lot of old memorabilia for sale, which includes books, postcards, souvenir spoons and some of these humorous posters, compiled by some of the locals.

Leaving Arcadia, about five miles along the road, there's an open air museum, filled with an interesting selection of items, ranging from an old gas station, to a groovy painted VW hippy camper.

A visitor to this unusual museum could spend about an hour walking around, looking at the various collectors items, which have been displayed in some most unusual ways.

The museum is lovingly taken care of by this friendly guy, whose name evades me now, with his friendly Rottie, who brought over her big chewed up teddy when she welcomed me at my car.

There are over 400 miles of Route 66 in Oklahoma and this is just a very small portion of what one can see along the rolling hills, in and out of the various towns and cities.