Amarillo, TX to Oklahoma City, OK
That drive from Boulder to Oklahoma City was a schlog! In
fact, I am a little surprised that Denitta agreed to join once she was privy to
the grueling travel plan. The route took us through four states – Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. It logged in at almost 740 miles and over 11 hours
of drive time. We did dally a bit at Garden of the Gods, so add another
hour there. We also lost an hour with a time zone change, and of
course extra time was needed for numerous stops along Route 66 to take in the kitsch. The planned
timeline also did not take into account the additional 40 minutes we sat in the
car off an exit somewhere near Panhandle Texas during a blinding thunderstorm.
Not ideal in a ragtop convertible, I have to say. I swear I felt the hair on my arms stand on
end with more than a couple of those lightning strikes that hit close enough to
shake the car.
Still, it was fun to visit Cadillac Ranch, even in the mud,
and Slug Bug, even in the pouring rain. Luckily, the skies cleared by the time
we reached Shamrock Texas and we got to pretend we were rolling into “Radiator
Springs” from the movie “
Cars.” You can certainly recognize the
inspiration. The town has done a great job of embracing the theme and welcoming
visitors willing to get off the interstate highway to enjoy a little nostalgia.
One hilarious note – look closely at this picture with “Mater” the tow-truck
beside the garage and you will see a 21
st century addition with a
line of electric Tesla car chargers at the right back of the lot. I don’t remember
that in the “
Cars” movie; maybe an upcoming sequel?
We decided to skip McLean TX because, by the time we got
there, the Devil's Rope Barbed Wire Museum was closed. We just couldn’t bear to hear, “Sorry the
moose out front shoulda told ya.” (I am not getting a kickback for movie
references, I promise!) We did a quick drive through the Route 66 museum village
in Elk City, Oklahoma because the museum there was also closed – that rain
delay had really hurt us – but you could drive around and see the vintage village
storefronts. I will be back for both of you one day!
Even as we raced toward Oklahoma City to try to make the
last possible dinner reservation at the restaurant in our hotel, we made time
for a quick stop at Lucille’s in Hydro, OK, one of the original Route 66
gas stations, and we were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset. We did make it to
our dinner reservation in Oklahoma City and had a killer meal, like the best I
have had in a very long time! But more on that some other time.
No comments:
Post a Comment