Dad's Route 66 Blog

Discovering Normal Rockwell's America

Elk City, OK to Amarillo, TX

Written By: trevixan - Jul• 14•11

First thing I’d like to do is to show you where we stayed in Elk City, OK. It’s called the Flamingo Inn. Sounds like it should be in Vegas. It was really inexpensive and a very nice place to stay. It’s obvious that it has been remodeled, and they did a great job of it. Here are some pictures.

That’s us way down at the end. There is even a swing in the middle of the parking lot.

They even had a cute little cleaning cart.

The reason it was such a nice motel is because it’s obvious that it is a family operation. Isn’t that what Route 66 is all about, mom & pop businesses? I think they had three generations there.

But .. now it’s on to what I was mentioning. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In Elk City, OK is a Route 66 Museum. Now, the actual museum wasn’t open at the time because it was Sunday morning. But that didn’t matter, the outside was spectacular. They built a whole town. Let’s take a look.

They even have a bridge.

Now .. every little town needs to have a school .. right?

Here’s the first wooden house built in Elk City, OK.

And the town needs a bank.

And where do you shop? At the local General Mercantile.

The town undertaker has a nice house. He even has a business in town.

And when your hair gets long …

How do you get entertained? Hope you like opera.

There’s even local transportation.

Let’s keep in touch.

Getting back to the undertaker. I just thought this sign was weird.

Every town needs a burger joint.

That’s all for Elk City. I have a lot more pictures, but I think that’s enough for now. The next city that has something interesting is in Sayer, OK. I found this sign and just had to take a picture of it.

Couple of museums in Erick, OK. Erick, OK is the home of Roger Miller. He’s the one that sang King of the Road. Go ahead and click (or right click) on the link below.

Roger Miller’s King of the Road

Next we’re heading into Shamrock, TX. Yes .. we’re finally in Texas.

The next one is a famous landmark in Shamrock, TX. Maybe you’ll recognize it, too.

Yes .. it was used in the movie Cars. 10 points for the first one to tell me what building in Cars it was.

In McClean, TX there is another Route 66 Museum. This one is a little different, though. Take a look.

Did you know that barbed wire is called Devil’s Rope? I didn’t.

Right behind the museum is another shut down cafe.

As I was about to leave, a guy pulls up and asks if the museum was closed. This is what he was towing.

Maybe he wanted to make a deposit. Here are some more things I found in McClean.

Next door is one .. not so well kept up.

Next town is Alanreed.

This sign intrigued me.

Ok .. we’ll get back to that. Here are more shots of the outside.

Ok .. back to that Route 66 Beer. I went in and purchased a couple of bottles and Trevor and I enjoyed them to our next location. Here is the bottle.

Now, really, you didn’t actually think I would be giving Trevor a real beer, did you? :O)

Around the corner is another service station. This time it’s a Texaco station. But there’s something definitely odd about it.

I mean .. where do the cars drive in and out?

I just like the next one. Colorful, and right next door to the Texaco.

Now, remember the pictures of the cornfields? Texas landscape is a bit different.

Going into our next town, we see the famous … well .. you guess.

Ok .. the next one I cannot resist.

So .. we know where the Groom is .. but the Bride is nowhere in sight.

Now, you’ve heard of the tornadoes that have been ravaging the mid-west this year. Well, this isn’t really one of them, but it’s something that Trevor saw. I think it’s pretty impressive.

Finally we make it to Amarillo, TX. We just have to stop at a place that’s been highlighted on various food shows. Here it is.

You probably know that this is the place that has the 72oz steak challenge. I asked our waitress how often someone comes in to try it and she said usually several times a day. We were treated to a challenge while we were there. They encourage the patrons to take pictures of the event, so, I did.

We’ll get back to him later. The place is just like it is shown on those food shows. As the good boy that I am, I started with a salad.

With my meal, I get two sides. You saw one, the salad, the other was …

For my entree, I couldn’t decide what to get. They have a brisket sandwich, sausages, ribs, steak .. I couldn’t decide. So, I got three of the four. I do love sampler platters!

Trevor also had two sides. One was a salad, the other was fries. His entree was a steak. He had blue cheese on top.

Back to the challenge. With 6:43 left in the challenge, this is what was left.

Ok .. that was our trip from Elk City, OK to Amarillo, TX. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did.

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15 Comments

  1. Nina says:

    Hello you two !!!Greetings from Germany. It is so much fun following you on this whole trip of famous” Route 66″. I really like all the great pictures from the different sides youΒ΄ve already visited and have fun with all your different food stops and comments.
    Enjoy the rest of your time and have a save trip back to CA. Have fun!!! Nina

    • trevixan says:

      Danke schoen, Nina. We’re having fun this trip. It’s interesting, the first three guest books I signed were right after people from Germany. And they weren’t even the same people. All three were different.

      Thanks for posting here, post again soon.

  2. Annette Thorsen says:

    Gutentag Nina!!! Its so nice you could join “us” on this trip. Dale, it brought a smile to my face seeing you and Trevor in the window of Joes Barber shop. The restaurant you went to, is this the one where if you meet the challenge they escort you out in a wheelchair? I also had to laugh when I saw the plate of Trevor. He has the meat in front of him, his favorite blue cheese on top, what looks like a jalapeno and how much time did he have to let pass before he could dig into this highly anticipated meal before you took the shot? Take a look at his hand poised on the left top of the plate, fork in hand as he is just chompin at the bit to be released?:-) Great pics. I liked the one of the gas station that used to be downtown.

    • trevixan says:

      The Big Texan is the one that was featured on Man v. Food. They don’t escort you out on a wheelchair, that would be the Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, AZ. It’s too far south for us to go. I don’t think I’d be able to post any pictures of the “nurses” anyway. :O)

      Trevor said he just needed to have a steak. We haven’t had steak at all this trip until then.

    • Darlene Vlach says:

      Yes I too was LOL when I saw Dale and Trevor in the Barber Shop window. The picture with Trevor waiting for the transportation was awesome too. WOW the steaks are huge in Texas. Can’t imagine eating all that.
      I agree with Retha, let’s see the 2 of you in some of these pictures. Only one so far was in the Sears Tower in Chicago. ;o)

  3. Connie Wyatt says:

    I loved this entry today! I really enjoyed all the pics of the town! It was so charming! That stop at the Big Texan really garnered some good shots of a lot of meat! What a feast! Those steaks are enormous, and I can’t imagine even eating half of it! I’d be happy with the sides and feel stuffed! Can’t believe that one patron that ate all that meal! Wow! You and Trevor most likely will not have to eat again for at least 12 hours! πŸ˜€

    Connie

    • trevixan says:

      Connie, if it’s any consolation, I didn’t finish mine until later that night. I was full after the salad and chili.

      • Connie Wyatt says:

        I totally get that! Whew! I’m glad you were able to have some for later! When I was looking at the sides, I figured that they were meals unto themselves! It is not always easy to decipher that from a photo, tho! You two look to be having a great time! I look forward to your daily entries, as though I were going along for the ride! πŸ˜€

        Safe travels;
        Connie

  4. Retha says:

    Loved the “Route Beer” and the Texan restaurant. Brings back memories of when I served there many years ago. Everybody serves biscuits! They are usually so delicious. Don’t stay in Texas too long. You will need a wheelchair to get you out. That food is delicious, enormous and very fattening! Also enjoyed the museum town of route 66. Very unique. Again, great pictures. Can’t we see a picture of the two of you somewhere? I only saw your reflection in one of the shop windows. Yes, I am enjoying this trip immensely and it’s not costing me a cent! I can even sleep in my own bed each night! Thanks for the tour. Retha

    • trevixan says:

      Texas is the 2nd shortest section of Route 66. It’s about 178 miles across where we were. The shortest is Kansas. Route 66 goes through the south east corner. Only about 15 miles total.

  5. Mary Kauhi says:

    I’ll have to admit, Dale, that the meal you had The Big Texan looked absolutely scrumptious. But then, so did Trevor’s steak. Especially with the blue cheese. As you know, I love to follow those food shows and am glad to see some of the ones that have been featured.

    The pictures you’re taking are great. I’m with Annette in that I chuckled seeing the two of you in the window of Joe’s Barber shop. There have been several windows where I saw one or both of you. I had no idea that Route 66 had been developed into such roadside museum, especially of gas stations!

  6. Retha says:

    Hi Guys,

    Just watched Diners Drive ins and Dives and Guy Fieri recommends a place in Santa Fe, New Mexico called β€œZia’s Diner.” Food is organic and home cooked, everything. Great Looking food and Guy Fierie kept tasting and tasting and saying how fantastic the food tasted. If you are interested and you go near that area, it is located at 326 S Guadalupe Street Santa Fe, NM 87501. Phone number is: 505.988.7008. Or you could look them up on the web – http://www.ziadiner.com – if you decide to go, take a few pics.

    Have fun!

  7. Annette Thorsen says:

    Retha, its so nice of you to submit all the Santa Fe information.Unfortunatally, they are already in Arizona now. Undersandably, it seems Dale does not get his blog up the same night as the days activities, so they have moved on by the time we read about it. Connie, thanks for your discoveries on clicking the pictures and them enlarging. I had not tried that out either.Hubby, I was wondering if you would be interested in a California girl once you hit Santa Monica?Your wife might not object meeing you there and being on the last leg of your trip
    πŸ™‚

    • trevixan says:

      Yeah .. I can only work as fast as my tired bones and the internet allow me. Last night I gave up because I was unable to upload pictures. Don’t know why. Maybe I can continue tonight.

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