Is this the way to Amarillo?
The weather today has been perfect. We’ve had hot sun with a stiff cool breeze all the way through Oklahoma and Texas which has been greatly welcome after the pouring rain that forced us to use the Interstate through part of Missouri.
We set out from Oklahoma City for Amarillo at about 10 o’clock after a breakfast of sausage and melted cheese bagels with maple syrup waffles, and hit the mother road headed west. We had several stops in some small towns that were very run down and had seen better days prior to the interstate arriving and cutting off all their trade, which reminded me of the Disney film “Cars” which is what inspired us to book the trip in the first place!
One of our stops along the way was the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma which has been the highlight of our day as it showed the story of Route 66 from the 1930s through to the 1980s when the highway was removed from the US numbering system, all accompanied by the soundtracks of each decade. We also stopped in Elk City to visit the museum which also had a Route 66 section and one of the largest Route 66 emblems ever created (see my flickr photos).
We arrived in Amarillo this evening and decided to visit the Big Texan Ranch, home of the 72oz steak challenge. If you can eat the entire steak in under 60 minutes you get your meal for free. I opted for the 8oz sirloin and struggled to finish that!
Tomorrow we are heading to Tucumcara, New Mexico where we will be staying in the famous Blue Swallow Motel. Come back soon and check out our progress.
