Route 66 - Day #10
Monday, April 20, 2026
First stop today was the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, OK.
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Myrtle here was the welcoming committee.
The museum had two buildings with tributes to Route 66 and transportation in general.
This exhibit was a tribute to the Steinbeck novel, The Grapes of Wrath and the 1940 movie starring Henry Fonda. However, the Joads traveled in a 1926 Hudson Super Six touring car outfitted into a “truck” and not a 1928 Ford as depicted here.
In addition to the two main exhibit buildings, they also had a “transplanted” village with a number of original buildings which were apparently moved to this site or re-created de novo and outfitted in period appropriate furnishings. You can only look in the windows of these buildings - can’t enter them.
Here is the town doctor’s office.
The one-room schoolhouse.
The rodeo is a huge deal in these parts of Oklahoma. They even have an entire upper floor of one building just for the local history of rodeo. We breezed through because that is completely foreign and lost on Lisa and me.
You can go into the General Store buidling and it was outfitted as it would have been back in the town’s early years.
A panoramic view of the museum’s buildings and grounds.
The exhibit on cotton harvesting even had real cotton bolls. I can’t recall ever actually being able to see a raw cotton boll in person before.
A colorful group of real comfortable looking old tractor seats.
The prohibition era moonshine still.
Back on the road, we passed some more vintage Route 66 neon at classic motels.
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I had been telling (read hear “warning”) Lisa of the Sandhill Curiosity Shop and the character that owns this place - Harley. I had seen it on several Route 66 YouTube videos, so I had some idea what to expect. However, it was still shock-and-awe to actually walk in the place.
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Immediately upon entering Harley’s place, we figured he must either A) Have a pet skunk, or B) He was hitting a big old blunt reefer. Well, since he snuffed out his joint when we walked in, we figured there was no pet skunk to be found!
Here is Harley holding what he claims to be the first ever Route 66 road sign in the state of Oklahoma. We have absolutely no way to confirm this, but didn’t care to challenge Harley on the authenticity of his claim.
As for his “Curiosity Shop,” it is best described as a hoarding situation with some loose connection to all things Route 66.
Harley insisted he take a photo of the two of us. He didn’t have the steadiest of hands, so this is a little blurry in the dark shop.
Regardless of how strange it may seem, Harleys shop warranted a Route 66 landmark sign as a site worth seeing. These signs are found all along the route at places which are considered important places to stop and visit.
Harley insisted that when we left we needed to drive around the block to see his house as well. It appears that hoarding is more than his livelihood - it’s his life!
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Just a few blocks away was Sams Town. You start to get the feeling the entire town of Erick, OK may have a screw or two loose. The place was closed when we were there, but you could still walk around and see the outside and grounds. Part “art” instillation and part (the larger part) random craziness.
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Sams Town did offer a Jail to photograph. And, seeing as how penal institutions have inadvertently become the overarching theme of this adventure, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Because the idea of incarceration has caught on this trip, we next stopped at the one-room jail in Texola, OK. Finding this little gem, we noticed we really didn’t belong there. It became a bit of a realization that had we experienced car trouble we may never have been heard from again. “You ain’t from around these part is ya…..”
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And just like that, we have arrived in our fifth state of the eight on the route - TEXAS!
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This is the unmistakable architecture of the Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe in Shamrock, TX.
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The U-Drop Inn Cafe.
Inside the cafe.
Elvis apparently ate here in the corner booth immediately to the right of where I am standing to take this photo. However, because people were sitting at that booth eating I couldn’t really take a photo of the infamous “Elvis booth” without it being weird.
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In downtown Shamrock, they have this little out of the way spot they call Blarney Stone Plaza. Here, they have an actual piece of the Blarney Stone from Ireland.
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The Magnolia Station in Shamrock, TX.
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View through the window.
What kind of a NERD would seek out a barbed wire museum…..Me!
Yup, that’s right, and entire museum dedicated to barbed wire. Wait until you see what’s inside.
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First of all, this building is massive. Although the majority of it is dedicated to barbed wire, it does also have a Route 66 tribute with many original artifacts from the history of the Route. This is a mock-up of a period appropriate diner along the route.
They also have another small section dedicated to the “Dirty 30s,” which focuses on the dust bowl and great depression which both hit this part of the country at the same time with severe economic impacts and hardship. For me, this small exhibit was the best part of the whole museum. However, because it was made up of mostly reading and photos, it didn’t really lend to taking any meaningful images.
As for the barbed wire part of the museum, well…. there was a whole lot of barbed wire!
Here is an exhibit showing how different types of barbed wire were spliced together when a break was repaired or a new segment added.
This “wheel” is made up of segments of barbed wire. Each one is different and they all have a name and have been patented by someone. Now, notice how many there are that make up this ONE wheel.
Now, take a look at how many of these “wheels” there are in just this one segment of the museum. You get the idea, we are talking a whole LOT of barbed wire.
Here, a close-up of the white labels attached to the end of each strand on the “wheel” describes the name of that particular type of barbed wire, and patent number, etc….
Who would have EVER thought there could be this many types of barbed wire. I will never be able to look at a barbed wire fence in the same way again.
This exhibit featured different types of post hole diggers. Lisa and I discussed how much work would have gone into digging the endless miles of barbed wire fencing posts we have seen in this part of Texas. I mentioned to her that in today’s age all they would have to do would be to go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy a truck-load of post holes…. Not sure if she believes me or not!
Restored 1929 Route 66 gas station.
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Super Service Station in Alanreed, TX.
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This old grain elevator on Historic Route 66 in the middle of nowhere in the Texas panhandle has nothing specifically to do with the route itself. However, I just loved the way it looked and how, like the route itself, belongs to a time that has clearly passed.
From ChatGPT:
The Leaning Tower of Britten along U.S. Route 66 near Groom is a quirky roadside attraction deliberately tilted to mimic Italy’s famous tower. Built as a playful marketing stunt, it surprises travelers with its dramatic lean, making it a memorable photo stop and a classic example of Route 66’s eccentric charm and humor.
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Next, we stopped at the Giant Cross in Groom, TX. Not specifically Route 66 associated, other than it happens to be located along the historic route. This is primarily a religious pilgrimage site for some, and for others a quirk of the Americana found along the route.
From ChatGPT:
The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Groom is a towering 190-foot monument visible for miles along U.S. Route 66 and Interstate 40. Built in 1995, this 19-story steel cross draws travelers with its dramatic scale and surrounding displays, including life-sized Stations of the Cross, making it both a religious site and iconic roadside landmark.
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The place is very well maintained and quite nicely done really.
The stations of the cross are depicted in life size statues circling the base of the giant cross.
Our final stop for the day was at a place I have been looking forward to since I started researching this adventure. The BIG TEXAN. I was so excited to finally get here and eat a Texas steak that I will show you my balls!!
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Here they are!! These are literally my balls!! Well, not my own balls, but the balls I ate at The BIG TEXAN. These are Rocky Mountain Oysters - and they are NOT seafood. In case you have never heard of them before, they are deep fried bull testicles. I have always heard them talked about, but had never seen one - much less tasted one - and I was NOT going to let this opportunity pass me by. Well, I am going to tell you, they are quite good! They come with cocktail sauce for dipping, and they taste almost like a little tougher consistency deep fried shrimp to be honest. Despite Lisa’s absolute LOVE of shrimp, she completely refused to even try one. So, I got to enjoy my balls all by myself tonight!
Inside The BIG TEXAN.
From ChatGPT:
The giant cowboy-themed dinosaur statue.
It’s part of the restaurant’s over-the-top roadside attraction style. The dinosaur is usually decorated with cowboy boots, a hat, and Texas flags, fitting the place’s larger-than-life, kitschy Route 66 vibe.
Like the huge bull statue and the famous 72-ounce steak challenge, it’s meant to grab attention and make you pull off the highway—classic Mother Road showmanship.
