Route 66 memories.......anyone?

[Prunepicker]

I remember when the Cadillac Ranch was only three Cadillacs and they were
still their original colors... My dad could never get over why someone would
ruin a perfectly good Cadillac.

I remember the Big Texan Steak house when it was just a quaint little
restaurant on Route (I 40) 66. Their specialty of the house was Steak but
they always served you Cowboy Stew with Hot Cornbread... Cool place to
go... It burned to the ground in the middle to late 70's and thus the new
Big Texan steak house emerged...

The Cadillac ranch was moved west about 20 years ago.

You're right, the Big Texan was cool before it became a tourist trap.

Somewhere in New Mexico, maybe near Gallup and on 66 of course, was a
house that was converted into a restaurant. It was the first place I got to
order a steak! It was a sirloin for about $2, with all the trimmings of
course. I don't think I ever knew the name of it. We ate there a few times
before I-40. Dad would pull up and we'd all get out.

[Prunepicker]

In response to my last post...

After several private messages with Gen64 we determined that our family
did stop at the 'Big Texan' on our trips to Californy, where the prunes and the
raisinettes play... That was before it became the 'Big Texan Tourist Trap'.

Making it to Amarillo, TX in 5 or 6 hours on 'Route 66' was about right for
lunch. We'd leave before dawn and see the Yukon Mills sign lit up!

[papaOU]

For some reason Route 66 and Texass makes me remember Shamrock. Other than going through I don't remember stopping there. Maybe just a landmark to a kid that designates where we were at that moment, what's next and how far to the end of the trip....

I never remember asking my folks or my kids asking me "Are we there yet?"

I remember several times driving late into the night, waking my wife for her shift, going to sleep and waking with the car stopped and unfamiliar scenery abounds and asking, "Where the hell are we?" Find out she drove 50 miles and pulled over to take a nap.

[grantgeneral78]

For some reason Route 66 and Texass makes me remember Shamrock. Other than going through I don't remember stopping there. Maybe just a landmark to a kid that designates where we were at that moment, what's next and how far to the end of the trip....

I never remember asking my folks or my kids asking me "Are we there yet?"

I remember several times driving late into the night, waking my wife for her shift, going to sleep and waking with the car stopped and unfamiliar scenery abounds and asking, "Where the hell are we?" Find out she drove 50 miles and pulled over to take a nap.

haha 2 funny

[papaOU]

For some reason Route 66 and Texass makes me remember Shamrock. Other than going through I don't remember stopping there. Maybe just a landmark to a kid that designates where we were at that moment, what's next and how far to the end of the trip....

I never remember asking my folks or my kids asking me "Are we there yet?"

I remember several times driving late into the night, waking my wife for her shift, going to sleep and waking with the car stopped and unfamiliar scenery abounds and asking, "Where the hell are we?" Find out she drove 50 miles and pulled over to take a nap.

The sad part is it happened more than once........

Another doozy was driving stop to eat in Alamogordo, N.M. I drove us to the highway to leave town and said, "Stay on this highway." Dozed for some time and was awakened by the feel of the car slowing down. Look ahead nothing. Looked to the left and the right, nothing. I mean no cars, no towns, no cattle, nothing. "How far back is the last town we passed through?" Reply, "I don't know".....time is 10:00am Sunday morning in who knows where only to hear her say, "We need gas." After a few minutes of nervously, panicky driving we pull into Ft. Sumner. Had to wait 2 hours for a gas station to open. Dang lucky it was not Old Ft. Sumner. Noting there but the Billy the Kid Museum.

[OkieInTexas]

When I was at Southwestern State at Weatherford we used to go to a place called Lucille's to buy beer, I think it's still there. It was a gas station kinda early or old time quick stop place.

I stopped at Lucille's once and had a sandwich. Bought a coffe mug that said Lucille's Route 66 on it. Nothing there now except the building, unless someone has finally tore it down.

[Generals64]

I stopped at Lucille's once and had a sandwich. Bought a coffe mug that said Lucille's Route 66 on it. Nothing there now except the building, unless someone has finally tore it down.

************************************************** **********
When I would go with my dad there was a Truck Stop in Shamrock, Texas
They served the biggest and best Burger in the State of Texas. Now I can't argue because it was about the size of the plate and had 1 pound of Fries. To a young guy with Burgers on his mind this was cool.....last time I went through there the building was there but the winds had been boarded up many, many years ago....

[Prunepicker]

When I would go with my dad there was a Truck Stop in Shamrock, Texas
They served the biggest and best Burger in the State of Texas. Now I can't
argue because it was about the size of the plate and had 1 pound of Fries.
To a young guy with Burgers on his mind this was cool... last time I went
through there the building was there but the winds had been boarded up
many, many years ago...

Was it a Standard Oil or Chevron?

[papaOU]

Was it a Standard Oil or Chevron?

How about it being a Shamrock station.......

[Generals64]

How about it being a Shamrock station.......

it was a shamrock station......The worse Car accident I have ever seen happened on I-40 just west (1/2 Mile) of the Shamrock exit coming from the West. It was COLD, Snowy and there was ice everywhere.....Two 18-wheelers got into each other and jack-knifed....another jack-knifed and slid into them and a car full of a family (right after Christmas) hit that truck and another truck loaded with Plywood hit the back of the car completely crushing it beyond recognition. Plywood went everywhere and so did Christmas toys and presents.....I am usually one to stop and help but just couldn't on this one....too gory....

[phinzup]

Boy this thread does bring back the memories.....

As a youngster I made several trips to California and back on old 66. It still amazes me how narrow that road is is many places (what is left of it of course).

Here's some of the memories I have.

Window stickers/decals on the car from every place visited.
The two headed lamb and rattlesnake places.
The canvas water bag hanging on the outside of many cars.
Dad trying to plan the trip so as to cross the desert at night.
The Petrified Forest.
Having to drive through EVERY town on the route.
Waking up in the back seat and smelling the gas fumes when dad stopped to fill up.
Very little to listen to on the radio back in the day. No Sirius/XM/Ipod/DVD player/etc.
The Burma Shave signs.
Playing the games with the letters and numbers on license plates/billboards.
Make a stop and then the Ford would vapor lock.....would be a while before it would start again.

Oh....Lucille's building is still there, but it is closed now. I made a trip to Elk City last week and saw it there.

[papaOU]

How about attempting to drive through New Mexico during a sandstorm?

One year the day before we were to leave my aunt's in Tucson, I was riding one of their horses. It threw me and ran over the top of me stepping on the middle finger on my left hand. Went to hospital. It was broken and the finger nail was torn out below the cuticle. Jerk nail off, splint and a large white bandage. Doctor said if it began to hurt just hold it up and the throbbing would ease. Return trip home of full of pictures of me at Old Tucson, Petrified Forrest, Painted Desert, and other places flipping the big white bird.

[grantgeneral78]

How about attempting to drive through New Mexico during a sandstorm?

One year the day before we were to leave my aunt's in Tucson, I was riding one of their horses. It threw me and ran over the top of me stepping on the middle finger on my left hand. Went to hospital. It was broken and the finger nail was torn out below the cuticle. Jerk nail off, splint and a large white bandage. Doctor said if it began to hurt just hold it up and the throbbing would ease. Return trip home of full of pictures of me at Old Tucson, Petrified Forrest, Painted Desert, and other places flipping the big white bird.

Yeah my dad was telling me when we came from California across the desert you actually had to roll the windows up to keep cool, with no A/C. He reffered to the windows being down as a blow dryer in your face at 60 mph.

[Prunepicker]

Yeah my dad was telling me when we came from California across the desert
you actually had to roll the windows up to keep cool, with no A/C. He
referred to the windows being down as a blow dryer in your face at 60 mph.

In the olden daze the cars had those vent windows that helped. If you kept
the windows up, you'd cook yourself. Dad got one of those window water
coolers.

[grantgeneral78]

In the olden daze the cars had those vent windows that helped. If you kept
the windows up, you'd cook yourself. Dad got one of those window water
coolers.

I seen one of those on a car a while back looked like a missile launcher on a apache helicopter!

[USG '60]

In the olden daze the cars had those vent windows that helped. If you kept
the windows up, you'd cook yourself. Dad got one of those window water
coolers.

I remember when they first came out. It was so amazing.

Since repairing the AC in my truck would cost more than it is worth, I'd give my left nu# to have one now.

[RealJimbo]

Ahhhh, Route 66.

Yep, I've been in the round barn. There's a gift shop downstairs and a party room upstairs. Our daughters threw us a 25th anniversary party there in 1997 after it was rebuilt. Great place for parties.

A lot of interesting features to Rt. 66 in Oklahoma. The blue whale in Catoosa, (there are plenty of postcards with pictures of that pool with kids swimming in it in the old days.)

The old tourist courts were always interesting to me. In Chandler, the Lincoln Inn (?) is still there and has been kept really nice over the years.

How about the right angle the highway takes in Bristow, through a little residential area?

We've eaten BBQ many times at Dan's BBQ in Davenport. Good eats and a good place to meet in between OKC & Tulsa.

The Rock Cafe in Stroud has been rebuilt since it burned down a good while back. My dad once drove trucks for Fleming Co. for a living and often stopped at The Rock Cafe to eat. He's been gone since 1986. He also said there was a hill out west of El Reno on 66 that was really long and very hard for those old gasoline-powered trucks to get up.

I remember driving out 66 by Weatherford during the fall and seeing cotton wrapped around the barbed wire fences untiil they looked 4 inches in diameter. The wind seemed to always be blowing out that way and it blew the cotton right out of the cotton wagons on their way to the gin. Guess that's why they located the wind generator farms out that way.

Question: did that little community just west of Chandler ever amount to anything? There isn't much left there now. I forget the name of it. It is right on the curve and there is an old red brick garage or machine shop left there.

I still have fond memories of trips on the 2-lane before the super slabs came about. Interestate highways may make travel more efficient but they sure killed many a small town.

More later...

[papaOU]

[QUOTE=RealJimbo;252281]Ahhhh, Route 66.

The old tourist courts were always interesting to me. In Chandler, the Lincoln Inn (?) is still there and has been kept really nice over the years.

We've eaten BBQ many times at Dan's BBQ in Davenport. Good eats and a good place to meet in between OKC & Tulsa.


Question: did that little community just west of Chandler ever amount to anything? There isn't much left there now. I forget the name of it. It is right on the curve and there is an old red brick garage or machine shop left there.



My Dad's family are from the Lincoln County/Chandler area so we went there often but never stayed at the Lincoln Inn. On my bucket list.

It is almost the only business left in Davenport and Dan's is worth the trip. Still get messed up traveling west on 66 where they have straightened the highway instead of having the sever curve in front of the service station in Davenport.

I think the town you are thinking of is Warwick. Dad says it never amounted to anything and I can't find any historical info concerning the place.

People are unaware how big Chandler was for many years. All types of manufacturing in that town. In the 1960's we were still going there for dental appointments.

[grantgeneral78]

Here is that video we were talking about at the get together PAPA......GUYS CHECK IT OUT! Will Rodgers at his best he was amazing!
YouTube - ROPIN' FOOL (1922) Will Rogers Reel 1

[kevinpate]

One of my fav travel stories. We'd been married a couple of years and were headed to the northeast section of the country. We started out at 6 pm and after a bit, lovely caught herself some sleep for a few hours.

I pulled into a late night McD's for a potty stop, woke her up, decided we get a snack and if she was up to it, she could drive a few and I'd sleep a bit and then take the wheel again.

She was still a bit drowsy as she entered the ladies room. She asked a group of teens in there what state she was in. She later told me they told her she was in Tennessee but as they exited, one friend commented to another "wow, I thought you were messed up! Even you know what state you're in."

my very straight laced lovely dinna find it near as funny as I did, which just made it even funnier.

[BB37]

Wow, lots of memories.

We made a trip to San Diego in '63; my folks, my brother and me, and my grandfather, to visit my uncle (dad's brother) who was in the Navy stationed at Coronado. Seems like right after we crossed into Texas we started seeing roadside signs with a picture of a rabbit and "xxx miles." We saw those signs all across the Tx panhandle, New Mexico and Arizona. Finally, somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Arizona we drove up to the Jackrabbit trading post. I remember thinking, "that's all? (I was only 9, and not cynical)"

And yeah, we got suckered into buying one of those canvas water bags and hung it on the front grille. Never used it again -- that bag hung in the garage for years until it finally rotted.

I also remember those 50-yard long, painted roadside signs for Whiting Bros. gas stations. Those also were scattered along 66 through the panhandle, NM and AZ.

We went south at Flagstaff, and stopped for lunch in Yuma. Got out of grandad's air conditioned Olds and stepped into a blast furnace.

[hagrid]

My family made the trip from L.A. to OK on Route 66 between 1958 and the early 60s at least 10 times in my early childhood. We have a lot of great memories from those trips.

As a small child, it was the greatest adventure in the world. We always crossed the desert outside Needles, CA during the night time. I remember once it was 87 F at 2 AM. We rarely, if ever, stayed in motels. My parents always pulled over and we slept on the side of the road. We would get to know other cars on the trip. And seeing OK tags was always a welcome sight while traveling.

Some highlights include seeing a tornado somewhere in NM. We pulled over to some people's house and they let us come inside their house when the hail came down right after we saw the tornado. I remember they were two old white ladies. Very prim and proper. And I was about 4 years old. They asked us lots of questions about what tribe were we and they had a lot of Indian artifacts in glass shelves. They were very nice people. I thought they were rich people.

I remember our car breaking down, and some old man stopped and helped us. Then after our car was fixed we got on down the road and later my Dad stopped and helped the same man when we were driving on black ice. It was the middle of the night when we stopped to help him.

I remember sitting in the car watching the snow flurries for what seemed like hours while they worked on his car. I remember my Dad and that man lying beneath his car for a very long time. I was very proud of my father for recognizing that man's car and stopping. It was like a miracle to me at my young age. But I think people were like that in the old days. I mean people helping each other out in times of need.

Most of all I remember my Dad bringing a large folgers can, because he would not stop for us to go pee!

We used to laugh at the tourist signs too. The shaver cans. For some reason, my parents never stopped at Stuckeys. While my cousins remember Stuckeys as a mainstay of their Route 66 trip.

[Generals64]

Does anyone remember the name of the filling stations along Route 66?....Whiting Brothers.............Big Yellow signs .........The signs are still out along the road in Arizona but now they are Love's or some other chain....

[Generals64]

well, the 66 Bowl sign was supposed to bring $30,000.00...Brought $3,900.00 ...still too rich for me...

[papaOU]

66 Bowl had one of those items you never forget. They had a bar with a window to sell beer to bowlers. Posted near the sign: Yes! we have both pitchers and pictures of beer.