Route 66 Museum

Today we started out just south of Springfield, Missouri, and traveled to Amarillo, Texas. We traveled all but a short portion on the Interstate, but it roughly follows old Route 66. You are able to drive along portions of Route 66, especially through Oklahoma. You can purchase guides to help you drive along the still existing portions of the "Mother Road", and in places the old surface is still intact. Other places it is gone completely, some places the Interstate follows the same pathway, and other places it is dirt road or dwindles to a bike path. You weave back and forth across the Interstate, and the speed limit is much slower. On a trip about 8 or 9 years ago we did drive for quite a ways along 66, but it is time consuming to do that, so today we stuck to the Interstate. We did get on Route 66 at Elk City, Oklahoma. On our last trip through we had stopped at the Route 66 Museum in Elk City, and we stopped there again today, although we only had about an hour before their closing time. We made a quick trip through.The Museum is set up to show scenes from all eight states that Route 66 ran through.

From Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, Route 66 is a cross section of the U.S. and there is something magical about it.

At least 85 percent of Route 66 is still available to be explored. It was pieced together in 1926 from an existing network of trails and unnamed roads, most of which were dirt paths at the time.

The road gained attention in 1946 when Bobby Troup sang "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" and from the Sixties TV series "Route 66".

There are many groups in all eight states who are working to save the as much of the road and roadside icons that remain. There are many books, videos, and publications available that are devoted to Route 66.

There is a certain nostalgia about traveling along any portion of the "Mother Road" and even driving a small portion can be an adventure. I think that's what Route 66 was all about--adventure. People traveled it for many reasons, but it was always an adventure.

At the same location as the Route 66 Museum, there is also an Old Town Museum depicting early Oklahoma life. There are several buildings set up with many historical items on display.

There is a church, gas station, doctor's office, general store, blacksmith shop, etc. There is also a Farm and Ranch Museum.

I of course stopped in the gift shop, and I purchased a Route 66 sign for Marty to hang in his new shop. Of course Alaska is a long ways from Route 66, but the magic stretches all the way to the Far North.