On The Road - Day 7 - Tulsa to Weatherford

Saturday 12^th May

Oh boy another late departure this morning but at least we have managed to get further across Oklahoma than we thought.  No breakfast, just coffee and some fruit we have with us.  I have a number of places to see today and the first are at Sapulpa. 

We have been enjoying all the surprises this old road has to offer, they just keep on coming. 

Now is probably a good time to mention that despite doing quite a bit of research, every day there is either a new  challenge or an unexpected piece of history popping up.  Years ago we thought driving Route 66 was just get on the road in Chicago and drive it all the way to LA. Now I can understand why many people plan this trip for months or years.  However I must say that I am glad we haven’t overplanned as we really are loving the surprise packages.  This trip is like no other we have ever done – more orienteering I guess.   Finding all the old buildings, getting our mindset back to those glory days and wondering why things went so terribly wrong for so many people.

We are seeing a very different side of America and I personally am feeling some closure and a certain degree of sadness also.  For such a vibrant past this wonderful old road gave this country, the future has not been so exciting.  On a positive note however, there are many people working very hard to preserve the Old 66 and the number of tourists that are drawn to this great road is increasing constantly.  Supporting those in business along this route is extremely important……  And so I digress.

Salpulpa- here we found another neat surprise with great photo ops: the Happy Burger – I am not a big burger fan but that cute little burger bar really got my taste buds working; the restored Trolley car and caboose; and more great murals one in particular-  the little nurse for little ills – Mentholatum, sounds to good to be true!

A short side trip along the very bumpy Ozark Trail sections took us to a beautiful 1925 iron bridge paved with bricks.  We pass an old drive-in and through some picturesque tree lined sections and under an old railroad dated 1925 (The Frisco Railroad)

We missed the giant Penguin – cant’ win ‘em all.  I can only guess we took another wrong turn. 





However back on track quickly and into Bristow and Depew - a beautiful little town with clever murals - very peaceful - could we say deserted?  No just no-one around today. 





Next stop  Stroud and the Rock Café – a beautiful old sandstone building that burned down in 2008 and we were so pleased to see it had been rebuilt as we were starving and I was hanging out for a burger – it was the best mushroom/swiss burger I have had.  Also of note of course is its feature in the movie Cars.

How did we miss this earlier – two towns sitting side by side – Chandler and Warwick – our friends Jenny and Bill’s two sons names.  How about that!!

The feature of the day was the restored 1898 Round Barn in Arcadia – a magnificent structure and the interior of the roof is an remarkable display of workmanship.  There were a group setting up for a wedding – how romantic it looked.

Bethany 1924 overholster bridge a four span stell truss with one pony truss at each end.

Bethany is also home to beautiful murals.

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Yukon is hometown of Garth Brooks

The surprise of the day was the Pop Bottle shop called Pops. It sells over 400 different sodas. As we came around the corner busily taking photos, Nev says “I’ve been here before” – eventually he recalls installing power supplies within the bottle way back in current Technology (Richmond) days. Amazing. Naturally we had to go in and purchase a couple of bottles of ‘pop’

South Canadian River 1933 Pony Bridge features 33 steel pony trusses at 3.944 feet long.

Lucille's old restaurant in the live over Today we are not taking any chances and settle for Holiday Inn Express in Weatherford – right beside Lucille’s.  Lucille's original restaurant on 66....

Turns out Lucille, who passed away in 2000, was awarded many awards for her dedication to Old 66 and she was known as the Mother of the Mother Road.  We had a great dinner in the newly built replacement restaurant . 

Rest easy Lucille all is in good hands!

A few old signs.....