Route 66 Road Trip Day 6: Oklahoma City to Shamrock

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

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial

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.

Vintage Signs: Yukon Flour Grain Mill, Eat More Beef, Western Motel, Motel Ranger,

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!

Cherokee Trading Post

And how could we NOT stop at the Cherokee Trading Post with a sign like this?

We then passed these gorgeous horses!

Vintage Signs: Glancy Motel, Cotton Boll Motel

And then there were, of course, more awesome motel signs!

National Route 66 Museum

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.

Sandy Hills Curiosity Shop

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.

Texola, Oklahoma

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.

Will Rogers Highway Marker

And just west of town is the Will Rogers Highway Marker.

U-Drop Inn Conoco Tower in Shamrock, Texas

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.

Read More: The Real Life Places Along Route 66 from Disney’s Cars

Big Vern’s Steakhouse

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 – meaning all of the historic route, no modern-day highways.

Follow along on the rest of our Route 66 Road Trip with my day by day guide:

• Day 1: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL
• Day 2: Springfield, IL to St. Louis, MO
• Day 3: St Louis, MO to Lebanon, MO
• Day 4: Lebanon, MO to Carthage, MO
• Day 5: Carthage, MO, to Oklahoma City, OK
• Day 6: Oklahoma City, OK, to Shamrock, TX
• Day 7: Shamrock, TX to Amarillo, TX
• Day 8: Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM
• Day 8: I gave Tucumcari it’s own post because I was in neon sign heaven!
• Day 9: Tucumcari, NM to Santa Fe, NM
• Day 10: Santa Fe, NM to Albuquerque, NM
• Day 11: Albuquerque, NM to Gallup, NM
• Day 12: Gallup, NM to Holbrook, AZ
• Day 13: Holbrook, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ
• Day 14: Flagstaff, AZ to Kingman, AZ
• Day 15: Kingman, AZ to Rialto, CA
• Day 16: Rialto, CA to Pasadena, CA
• Day 17: Pasadena, CA to Santa Monica, CA

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Land Acknowledgement

Salty Canary wants to acknowledge that we live, operate, gather, and benefit every day on the traditional stolen lands of several Indigenous peoples and nations including the Tongva (Gabrieleno), Kizh (Gabrieleno), Chumash, Popeloutchom (Amah Mutsun), Ohlone, Awaswas, and Fernandeño Tataviam peoples who have stewarded the lands and waterways throughout their many generations in what is now the state of California.

I wanted to personally acknowledge these Indigenous people and nations and both their commitment and current contributions to the land with a donation to the American Indian College Fund because acknowledgment without action does not begin to address the systemic issues facing Indigenous people. If you feel as though you benefit from the land you’re living on or traveling to and you have the means, I kindly ask that you donate at least $1 to a Native-led organization such as the Native American Rights Fund or the American Indian College Fund. 

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