Get your kicks on Route 66 and follow along on our 16-day Route 66 Road Trip from Chicago to Los Angeles! Day 6 from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Shamrock, Texas included a somber morning at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, vintage motel and road signs, and the Cherokee Trading Post before crossing over into Teas and stopping at the Sand Hills Curiosity Shop before stopping in Shamrock, Texas and seeing the neon light up on the beautiful art Art Deco U-Drop Inn/Conoco Tower building!
Route 66 Road Trip Day 6: Oklahoma City to Shamrock
Day 6 started on a sad note as we visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. I can’t write anything vile enough about the two assholes who blew up that building and the people who helped them do it.
The memorial is very well done. The Field of Empty Chairs is especially touching. It contains 168 chairs representing the lives taken in the bombing with nineteen of the chairs being smaller to represent the children. We didn’t go inside and visit the Memorial Museum except for a moment to give a donation, so I can’t speak to it, but based on the outside you can assume the museum is well laid out and informative.
We then hit the road for Texas! But of course pulled over for everything, including the Yukon flour grain mill and some awesome road signs.
The drive through Oklahoma was gorgeous!
And how could we NOT stop at the Cherokee Trading Post with a sign like this?
We then passed these gorgeous horses!
And then there were, of course, more awesome motel signs!
We didn’t make it to the National Route 66 Museum before they closed for the day, but it was still fun to walk around and look in the windows.
And we stopped in Erick, Oklahoma. Unfortunately the Sand Hills Curiosity Shop was closed so we didn’t get to meet Harley and Annabelle and see a live performance, but click on the link and you will see what could have been.
Roger Miller was born in Erick, Oklahoma and I don’t think it was a coincidence that we later heard Chug-A-Lug on the radio. My husband knew EVERY SINGLE WORD. I have no idea who I married!
A bit farther down the road, the tiny town of Texola has seen better days.
And just west of town is the Will Rogers Highway Marker.
We then got into Shamrock, Texas. It is a strange place. It’s tiny and kind of run down except for the gorgeous Art Deco U-Drop Inn/Conoco Tower building.
For dinner, we went to Big Vern’s Steakhouse. Great food and I definitely recommend the homemade beer bread!
Be sure to see the Conoco Building lit up at night!
The hotels/motels in Shamrock leave a bit to be desired. But I think I found the best at Sleep Inn and Suites … although the art is questionably hung and there were stray cats camping outside the front door.
Stay: Sleep Inn and Suites, 111 E 15th St, Shamrock, 79079, Texas
Planning your own Route 66 Road Trip? I used the Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers to plan our trip and I highly, highly, highly (I truly cannot emphasize it enough) recommend the book/maps if you’re planning to drive most of Route 66 turn-by-turn like we did – meaning all of the historic route, no modern-day highways if you can help it.
Follow along on the rest of the trip:
Russell Sublette
Tuesday 10th of May 2016
Andrea,
I have spent the last two hours reading your blog, and found it very appealing. My wife and I are denizens of The mother Road and look forward to every happy accident it brings our way. When you find the time, go back and check out the the museum in OKC - it is very informative and extremely moving. Having spent my career working in a museum, I am a hard sell when I visit such a place, but it exceeded all of my expectations.
My wife is compiling stories and pictures with the hope that they will soon be part of of a 66 book. She is completely blind, yet soldiers on to finish and has found a very original way to produce artwork that will grace it's pages. Perhaps I can share some of artwork her artwork in the future. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy your impressions of Route 66.