Tuesday, October 1st, was a day of backtracking and finally leaving Oklahoma toll roads behind. We skipped breakfast and left the hotel about 10am. We were headed to a special place for lunch at 11am and didn't want to fill our tummies until that lunch.
I noticed this Oklahoma license plate as we drove. It says "Osage Nation" at the top. Look carefully over Oklahoma at the bottom. Love the language.
Our first photo op was Yukon, Oklahoma. This is the childhood home of Garth Brooks. It is also the location of a marker for the Chisolm Trail and Watering Hole. The Chisolm Trail was a cattle drive trail. After the Civil War there were lots of cattle that roamed the ranges in Texas and Oklahoma. In those states, this cattle could be sold for $3.50 each. If they could get them to Chicago or New York, they could be sold for $20 to $40 per head. A Trail system was formed and cattle drives were the order of the day. The Chisolm Trail was one of those trails.
The man on the horse in the statue is Robert Funk, a local man who was highly thought of, to mark the spot where thousands of head of cattle crossed in this very spot.
There is also a plaque describing the difficulty the cattle herders and cattle went through to get them to market.
Very interesting stop and a lot of US history here.
Watching Bizarre Foods, Delicious Destinations with Andrew Zimmern, we learned about Onion Burgers in El Reno, OK. This is a local thing. There are 3 little restaurants that make them. Claude picked Johnnie's. They take thinly sliced sweet onions and grill them into the burger as they grill the burger. Oh My Heck! They were delicious! We asked for an order of fries to share. Huge! If you are ever in El Reno, try Johnnie's, Robert's or Sid's.
The Grid suggested our next stop be Lucille's. This was a service station with an out-thrust porch. It is one of only two in Oklahoma. I put the address in Google Maps and we were off. As we approached Weatherford, Oklahoma, we passed Lucille's along the service road for I-40 (really, it is old Route 66). However, Google Maps told me we had a few miles to go. Hmmm... we arrived at the Google Maps location and found a very spiffy Lucille's with a nice dinner. I assured Claude this frustrated me. I took this picture of the shiny new Lucille's.
Claude then suggested we backtrack to the original Lucille's. We got on the service road and went back several miles. I was able to get these pictures. This felt real and right. Lucille's family lived in the small home upstairs. She passed away in August 2000 in her little home above her gas station. She lived there for 59 years. Even when the Interstate cut out traffic to her business, she still loved visiting with those who did stop by. She was honored by Route 66 Organization and the Historical Society. She became known as the Mother of the Mother Road.
We really enjoyed a stop in Elk City, Oklahoma at the National Route 66 Museum. It is an outdoor museum with buildings from the early 1900's. It felt great to stretch our legs and walk these beautiful grounds.
I set Google Maps for Texola, Oklahoma to see a final marker for Will Rogers before we left Oklahoma and entered Texas. When we arrived at the location, no marker was to be found. We new the road would take us back to I-40, so we kept on going. Just before the Interstate, there was the marker on the right side of the road. I rolled down my window and got this picture. Will Rogers is highly respected in Oklahoma.
We were now in Texas!
In Shamrock, Texas, we found Tower Station & U-Drop Inn Cafe. This was a Conoco Station. It serves as a Visitor Information Center. It was an inspiration for Ramone's House of Body Art in the movie 'Cars". There was a great old car parked under the portico. It turned out a couple drove it there to get a picture of it at this location. The man moved the car in front of the U-Drop Inn Cafe as I was finishing my picture taking. I got one more picture with this old car in front. I thanked the man for his kindness.
Claude and I did not miss the irony of the Tessla charging stations now located by this historic gas station!
There were a couple of other old vehicles on the property.
As we approached Groom, Texas, I had Claude on the lookout for The Leaning Tower of Texas. A man owned a gas station on this spot. To attract customers, he purchase the water tower and deliberately had it set in place leaning. The gas station eventually burned to the ground. The Leaning Tower did not and leans to this day. Another photo taken from the window as we drove past.
We also passed the sign for Claude, Texas!
And in practically some time, we were in Amarillo, Texas. We made a beeline for Slug Bug Ranch! That's right, Volkswagen Beetles planted in the ground. I only expected Volkswagens. There are other large cars and some grain elevators. Note on some of the big car, the use of cow horns on the front fenders. You are welcome to bring paint and add your artwork to what us currently there. Fun. Oh, the last picture is Where's Claudo?
We sat in the parking lot and found a Holiday Inn Express to spend the night in. We checked in to our hotel. Then went to The Big Texan for dinner.
We ate here once years ago. It is lots of fun. I loved the hotel painted like buildings in an old western town. Claude loved the pistol door handles.
We were seated near the grill where the steaks are prepared. Their claim to fame is a 72-ounce steak you can get for free IF you eat the entire thing by yourself in one sitting. Claude did not do this.
We were even serenaded. The man with the long beard asked where we were from. I told him Kentucky. He and the fiddler played a Bill Anderson song for us. Delightful.
We really enjoyed this day.
Very happy to not have Oklahoma toll roads anymore. They are ridiculous. The first one we got on gave us a ticket. We got further down and they had us pay a toll in cash only. Then we got to our exit and gave then the ticket and they gave us some cash back. Another time we had to pay in change only, no bills, and it wad $2. I fished through my billfold and found 4 quarters and a bunch of dimes and pickles. I counted out the second dollar in dimes and pickles. Claude dropped all the change in the hopper. We finally found a button to push to get the ticket that we paid. The green light wouldn't come on for us to leave. I looked at the ticket and it only showed $1.95. Ugh. I found one more dime in my wallet. Claude tossed it in the hopper and the light turned green and let us leave. We left with a ticket showing only $1.95 paid when I know we paid $2.10. When we got to our off ramp, this time there was no toll booth to settle up. We did have two times it took our license plate picture and will bill us later at about 3 times the rate is you pay at a toll booth. My advise, there are a lot of toll roads in Oklahoma. Make sure you have plenty of charge when you travel there. It is an adventure!
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