We did not spend much time in the core of Oklahoma City, but what we saw of the surrounding area and the suburbs, have nestled themselves into the rolling forested landscape, and mostly disappear from view.
Driving out the west side of OKC, our first photo op stop was Yukon. The town was actually named after the Canadian Territory. (and it sits in Canadian County..!!) Flour mills were the mainstay of this town..
Continuing west on 66…the next town is El Reno…the ‘Crossroads of America’ where Rte 66 crosses the Chisholm Trail. It took a bit of searching to find out what the crossroads was …..the Chisholm Trail was one of the major cattle driving trails…..and crossed the Mother Road at El Reno.
….just outside El Reno we followed a chunk of the old road to find a tribute to the ‘mufflermen giants’……. an art installation by John Cerney…the scavenger hunt continues
Next stop…Clinton OK……boasted a route 66 museum and visitor centre, handily located at a suitable interval for a lunch stop….and a wander round the museum (to the tune of…..yup…..”Get your kicks…on Route 66″)
Crossing into Texas, the landscape changes quite distinctly….. Texas is flat. .!!!
First town across the border is Shamrock…with all the expected Irish references in the town…LOL……but…we had to pull over to snag some pictures of the U-Drop-Inn Cafe and Conoco Tower station (of Cars fame..)
Groom Texas…..claim to fame …the leaning tower….!!! AH yes, the leaning tower of Groom, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
….and this is indeed the road to…….
Our campsite was at the less than impressive Sod Dawg RV park….Although it had our three essentials, especially power for the A/C, calling it desolate makes it sound far more welcoming than it was in real life.
Where we were treated to the most amazing thunderstorm that evening just as the sun set…..the land is so flat you can see the storm coming forever…then just as it hit Amarillo…it divided, half went north, the other half went south of us…Incredible sky….
We tried to take a side trip to Palo Duro Canyon State park…..but the rainstorms in those few days had completely flooded the area and all the hiking trails were closed. One of the largest canyons in the U.S, it’s known as The Grand Canyon of Texas, where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed….maybe next time….
Extra Pix
OsteoPraxis on the road 