We started our eighth day on the Mother Road in Oklahoma. That original concrete pavement is the best! All those suckers driving I-40 just don’t know what they are missing. The one thing that is clear about Oklahoma is that nothing is open early on Sundays. The Route 66 Museums in Clinton and Elk City were closed, though there were many people like us checking out the exteriors and taking some photos. We met a group of guys from Rome who are travelling 66 on motorcycles from Tulsa to Las Vegas. There are some real ghost towns (or nearly ghost towns) near the border of Texas. Canute was virtually deserted, as was Erick, but Texola is truly deserted, except for the only modern building in town, the church. Everyone still living there had to be at Sunday morning church service.
Welcome to Texas! It was cool to see that sign and know I am getting closer to Glenrio (we visit there tomorrow) but we have many Route 66 towns to visit first. The U-Drop station in Shamrock does not disappoint. McLEAN is also a virtual ghost town, although there are definite signs of life if you know where to look. We also visited Alanreed then it was on to the infamous Jericho Gap.
Jericho became famous in legend and folklore after Congress authorized Route 66 in 1926. Its passage through Jericho added prosperity with several gas stations, stores and a motel built to serve the travelers. The stretch of highway between Alanreed and Groom which went through Jericho became known as the "Jericho Gap" because any rains caused the dirt roads to turn into black-gumbo-mud becoming almost impassible to the vehicles of the time. Nearby farmers made a good living with their teams of work horses pulling the travelers from the mud holes. Legend has it that the enterprising farmers hauled water at night to dump in the mud holes to prolong their source of income.
In the 1930s, Route 66 was moved one-half mile north, by-passing the town and spelling doom for its future. Today, Jericho is a ghost town, with one occupied home amid scattered ruins, cement foundations and piles of junk and the “Jericho Gap” is not recommended as part of any main Route 66 tour.
We are the “Dudes on the Mother Road” and we weren’t going to let anything stop us from driving that stretch of dirt road! There was no rain, and the dirt alignment was in good shape. I do not recommend this alignment for the casual explorer, especially if the road is wet. Mike and I saw plenty of ruts in the road and one can still get stuck in two to three feet of mud!!
We travelled through Groom and Conway before making our way to Amarillo. There are so many former/current motels, gas stations and cafes in Amarillo. We briefly drove by the Triangle Motel, but I could not tell how the restoration is going or if it is still being restored. It would have been cool to stay at the oldest motel on the Mother Road! We ate dinner at the famous Big Texan Steak House and watched someone beat the 72oz steak challenge!!!! Tomorrow we hit Adrian and the Mid-Point Café, as well as Glenrio and then New Mexico!
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