Oklahoma


	Running due south from the Kansas border it’s into the open countryside and along an empty (and rather narrow) road.


	As you travel along Route 66 you run into the occasional building that has survived the decline in the road, possibly because it was well built and so could be adapted to a new use. This was a gas station / garage and now seems to have been turned into a store.


	Not long after leaving Kansas you get to a part of Oklahoma where the Interstate from the Missouri border to Oklahoma City (it misses out Kansas) is a toll road. As a result there is more traffic on this part of Route 66 than normal as the thrifty locals avoid paying. Just before you reach Oklahoma City is the town of Arcadia where a Round Barn from 1898 has been restored.


	The internal construction of the barn is amazing, this (above) is the roof which seems to be constructed of an infinite number of small pieces of timber.

I missed out Oklahoma City, another place I’d visited before, and headed for the open road west of the city. The Interstate stops being a toll road at this point and the traffic on Route 66 suddenly just disappears.

Just to the west of the city is Bethany and Lake Overholster where there is a fine example of a large steel truss bridge. The Lake is a great spot to stop and stretch your legs as there is parking and a path has been created alongside the lake.


	This clearly shows the method that was used to cross a wide river etc. with a number of standard bridge units being linked to make a sufficiently long bridge.

The bridge is still in use so it is possible to drive over it.

This gives you a sense of what the old road must have been like in its prime.


	A little way further west is El Reno and on its outskirts is Fort Reno which was first established in 1874. The fort was used for many things until it closed in the 50s, these uses included in WW2 housing German Prisoners of War. The fort is now largely an agricultural research centre but some of the old buildings are being restored.


	These are the old officers quarters which have been restored and are now the site visitor centre.


	A number of the other buildings on the site are being worked on, this is an earlier example of the Officers Quarters with the damage that needs to be repaired clearly visible.


	Further down the road is the town of Weatherford which is the home town of Gemini and Apollo astronaut Thomas P Stafford. At the airport there is a museum which is well worth a visit.


	Among the aircraft exhibits there is a replica Spirit of St. Louis.

	There are also, as you might expect, a large number of space items including engines, suits and other equipment. This is the museum built Apollo capsule replica, I was told its gold colour is to reflect how it looked during reentry.


	From now on the Interstate and Route 66 run quite close to each other. The difference in the levels of traffic on each can clearly be seen in this photograph.


	A short way further west there is the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton.


	The interior of the museum contains a variety of exhibits relating to Route 66 with examples of the type of cars that you would have found on the road. This is a mid 1950s Two Door Chevrolet Bel Air (the Two Doors are more sought after) with several tons of chrome including “hood rockets”.


	There are also areas within the museum which focus on different periods in the roads history, this is the 50’s diner section.


	In the grounds of the museum is a preserved system built diner that was delivered to you and was then erected, connected to the utilities and you were in business. It would have been fairly cramped with only five stools at the small counter. However, there was a hatch to allow take away orders to be handed out. The method of payment was also rather special.


	Also at the Route 66 museum is an example of the marker stones that it is planned will run the length of Route 66 There was an original marker stone placed at Texola in 1952 but that has long since disappeared. A new marker stone just like this has replaced it


	Heading west from Clinton you soon reach Elk City where there is another museum The National Route 66 Museum (it’s like buses, you wait forever then two turn up together). This museum has a different style to the one in Clinton and is also well worth a visit. It is part of the Old Town Museum Complex which contains various buildings from the area including a railroad station.


	A recreation of the early days of travel along Route 66. Note the water bag on the radiator to provide cooling by evaporation to make up for the minimal air flow through the radiator.


	Another museum exhibit is this motor home used by a local resident, note the opening windscreen and the water bag still in use on the radiator.


	A view of part of the Old Town Museum showing the gas station and some of the stores. There are about fifty buildings on the site, many of them containing museums on a variety of topics.


	And now for Texas

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