Cruising The Mother Road

A big trip calls for a big sign!

Planning and actually taking a week-long road trip are two entirely different things, and we discovered we were more than capable of pivoting when the need for adjustments to our itinerary arose.

On a clear Tuesday morning in May, in Frisco — North Dallas — Texas, two couples in two late model convertibles packed four suitcases and some squishy duffle bags that fit into small trunk spaces, and set out for the road trip of our lifetimes. One of the drivers, my husband, Jim, had just celebrated his 68th birthday. His only gift request? To take off on the road trip of his life: America’s Highway, Route 66. When our friends Ron and Paula found out what we were planning, they asked to join us. Having two convertible sports cars, one a red Mercedes and the other a black Camaro, made it a delightful arrangement. Many times along the miles, the guys rode together, as did the gals. I enjoyed driving.

A little backstory: Jim had traveled out west, from West Virginia to California, when he was in his late teens, but he had never really taken the time to savor the experience along Route 66’s winding highway. Considered the epitome of “cool”, lined with neon signs and displaying romantic and unconventional attractions, the road trip beckoned him as sure as anything he has ever wanted to do. A history buff, Jim knew the road was a main artery connecting the west coast to the heartland, and that the highway had been forged from migrants looking for a better life, traveling west during the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. Knowing the four of us would be traveling from the opposite direction, from west to east, we read our guidebooks backwards, so to speak.

Preparation was key. Between Pinterest blogs, maps and travel manuals dedicated to Route 66, we came up with a plan and a detailed but very flexible itinerary: we would drive from Frisco, Texas to Amarillo (the longest drive we would have) with an afternoon visit in Lubbock, Texas to see a friend. We also took photos of the Texas Tech stadium, since our beloved Mountaineers oppose the Texas Tech teams in the Big 12 athletic conference. After an overnight in Amarillo, we planned to continue on through the iconic Route 66 highway as much as possible, until we reached our destination, St. Louis, Missouri. The guidebooks all warned: there were portions of the road that could be hard to find, but since the interstates parallel the historic route, we would be driving on-and-off the interstates when necessary.

One of the best ideas Jim had in the preparation was to pack our walkie-talkies: since we were following our friends in their automobile, the hand-held devices were old-school fun, and better than texting. Of course, we had to be within a certain distance to use them, and in the big cities, we had occasional interference, but overall they became indispensable.

“Breaker-breaker, 1–9, you copy?”

“Red Ryder here. What’s our next stop, Black Knight?”

“Pop’s Gas Station, up ahead in Arcadia.” (That’s Oklahoma)

Here are the highlights, the stops along the way we would like to recommend to any other Route 66 enthusiasts:

1. Amarillo was a good place to start. Though we arrived in a severe rainstorm, we were fortunate (blessed) to avoid the worst of it. When we saw the dark, energetic clouds forming for ten miles south of the city, we prayed hard. Lots of prayer went into this trip. Friends back home were praying for us, too, and we felt them. Like I said, we broke up the drive by stopping in Lubbock to visit a friend, had a nice, long lunch catching up with him, and called it a night after a late dinner in our Embassy Suites restaurant. The storm made it too wet to explore anywhere else.
2. The next morning, clear and sunny, we drove an hour or so to the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, south of Amarillo. 120 miles long and six miles average width, the rugged park’s beautiful, unspoiled scenery was spectacular. Texas’ Grand Canyon lives up to its nickname. The storm the night before had flooded Red River canyon, so after stopping to take some photos from high above the base and visiting with some knowledgeable volunteers in the Gift Shop (where I purchased some Navajo beaded earrings) we were encouraged to drive our cars down into the canyon, but were warned to stay off of the trails. A woman had been rescued from the flood waters the day before! The winding road goes on for 16 miles, but we didn’t drive quite that far. Driving 15 m.p.h. downhill was the perfect way to begin our trip: it slowed us down and I believe it was in the canyon where we began to truly savor the journey. The guys put their top down, and so did we gals. The openness of our vehicles, and the unusually stunning scenery gave me the feeling of both freedom and excitement. We didn’t talk much, but just kept saying, “Wow!” Red-faced cliffs and mountain formations, like what you would see in Arizona, presented themselves like monuments to the park. Wildlife abounds, but we were rather glad we didn’t see any snakes or coyotes.
3. Next, we headed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that afternoon, with stops along the way. We stretched our legs in Elk City, where we immersed ourselves in all things Route 66, taking our photo under the gigantic sign, and walking through a history museum displaying life in the early 1900’s. Our drive into Oklahoma City was uneventful, and after unloading in our lovely hotel, The Colcord, where we had booked two nights, we set out on foot to find the dining district known as Bricktown. Former warehouses made for fabulous architecture in which are housed many restaurants and art museums. Stopping to talk to a local, an older gentleman who was working a parking lot and sitting in a metal folding chair, he asked us what type of cuisine we were after. When we said “Tex-Mex”, he highly recommended Abuello’s. The food and atmosphere were outstanding.
4. We drove down to Norman, OK the next morning for a walking tour of the University of Oklahoma campus. (They, too, are our rivals in the Big 12 athletic conference.) The lovely campus was virtually empty after graduation, and we enjoyed the wide sidewalks, the iconic buildings’ architecture, and lovely landscaping. We ate barbeque at Billy Sim’s.
5. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum was within walking distance of our hotel, and we set out to find it that afternoon. A somber reminder of how life can be cut off in an instant, we met with a park official where we toured the reflecting pool, and the actual site of the terrible bombing in 1995 where 165 innocent people lost their lives. The specific case details are well covered in the presentations, and we came away from the tour with a new appreciation for our Sooner brothers and sisters, who with the help of God and alert officials, solved the case in 64 hours. Arrests were made, and the healing began.
6. Our most memorable dinner experience in OKC had to be at the restaurant called “Vast” which, as it turned out, was very close to our hotel. Located on the 49th floor of one of the tallest buildings in OKC, we would have a funny story to tell. We used our GPS to find the restaurant, which took us in a circuitous route around three city blocks, only to find out after dinner, after coming down the elevator and preparing to GPS our way back, Vast was actually attached to our hotel. We cracked up laughing at ourselves! With our lovely table set up next to the windows, the view was vast (hence the name) as we saw Bricktown, the Memorial and other sites from our perch high above. We also enjoyed steaks that were cooked to perfection.
7. On the road again, between OKC and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a little town called Arcadia, we stopped at Pop’s for a soda pop. The gas station is a popular destination for all who want to experience the fun things along Route 66, and the extensive variety of pop should put them in the Guinness Book of World Records. Jim, Ron and Paula opted for a root beer in a Route 66 commemorative bottle, and I chose a Ginger Ale and we all took a photo op at their soda fountain.
8. When it was time for lunch, we were thrilled to find Rock Cafe’ in Stroud, OK. Historic and popular, we waited for a table in the limited seating. It was so worth the wait. I enjoyed ham and bean soup with cornbread, and the others had hamburgers. A must stop on your way to Tulsa.
9. Tulsa looked a little rough around the edges when we arrived at the historic Campbell Hotel, right smack-dab on old Route 66. The place has been restored to a boutique hotel on the inside, and our room had a bowling alley theme. Five silver-painted bowling pins (I counted them) were stacked atop each other, and fashioned into a floor lamp stand. The wood floors creaked and the place was interesting. That evening, we took our first Uber ride to downtown, where we enjoyed a fabulous meal at The Tavern, near the Arkansas River. The wait staff were terrific, the atmosphere very tavern-ish, with its tall ceilings and original moldings. Plus, after our meals, we enjoyed a memorable dessert of blueberry bread pudding with a side of lemon ice cream.
10. On the road again, we thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore (near Springfield) on our way to our overnight in Lebanon, Missouri. The man they called Will Rogers became infamous in the early 1900’s for his wit, his popular newspaper column, his public appearances where he made hilarious and brutally honest pronouncements about politicians and Hollywood. He was world-renown, extremely well-traveled for such early history of aviation, and to add to his talents, he was a famous cowboy, rodeo performer, polo player, rancher and actor. While at the museum, we watched at excerpt of an old film of his entitled, “Ambassador Bill” which we plan to view some day, in its hilarious entirety. Here’s one of his famous lines: “I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.”
11. Back on Route 66, the weather was perfect for us to put the tops down and tour small towns along the way to Lebanon, Missouri. We stopped at a park where The Trail of Tears is commemorated. We walked a trail along the creek and remembered our American Indians being forced to leave their land. A colorful totem pole has been erected on the site. From there, we drove to see the Devil’s Elbow, a reference to a sharp bend in a river (or was it a creek?) over which an old (restored) bridge spans. Very backwoods, like going for a drive along your favorite creek. We parked our vehicles and took time to view the river from the bridge. We noticed an old, faded sign that you could barely see: it read Route 66, and had been painted on the road right in front of the bridge. We spied lots of turtles in the water. Back in our cars, we drove over the bridge, and along the country road, using the sports cars’ convertible features since the weather was perfect. Jim remarked it was his favorite part of the drive thus far, for the drive to Lebanon was many miles on the actual Mother Road. Finally, we arrived at The famous Munger Moss Hotel that has not changed in decades (I think the T.V. in the room had eight channels. No hair dryer. No frills. But for less than $60.00 a night, it was clean and safe.) We unloaded our overnight bags and went in search of a place to have dinner. We found a great Italian restaurant in a strip mall just a few miles from our hotel. We also drove through a carwash next to the gas station close to our hotel, tops up, of course. Driving around in shiny convertibles again, it felt like we’d all just washed our hair.
12. On the way to St. Louis, we drove to Cuba to see the murals on the sides of their buildings. Lunch at The Lewis Cafe’ was exceptionally good. Arriving at the beautiful Magnolia Hotel for our last two nights, we were a little sad, for we would no longer be needing our walkie-talkies. Since we planned to Uber our way through town, and would no longer be following each other, as St. Louis was the place we knew we would be parting ways. Our friends would soon be driving all the way back to South Alabama, and we would be heading to West Virginia. While in St. Louis, we enjoyed a Cardinals baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, arriving at the stadium early enough to be gifted with four of the 10,000 free jerseys handed out that night.
13. Our last day in St. Louis was spent touring Forest Park, the Worlds Fair Pavilion, driving through The Loop (via Uber) and having delicious salads and sandwiches at Pickles Deli. The guys had a business meeting that afternoon they had to attend on their laptops, so Paula and I walked around the hotel and found a souvenir shop. We all enjoyed an early dinner at Charlie Gitto’s on The Hill that evening, a fabulous Italian restaurant that was highly recommended. We all took our left-overs in cartons to-go, and refrigerated them in our rooms to pack the next day in our coolers to take home. The food was just as good when we got home.

None of us will ever forget how it felt being on the open road, and how traveling to places we’d never seen before made us feel. Free, alive, and savoring the journey. And it was so much fun with friends!