We awoke to another amazing day for weather on Route 66, it was going to be another hot day though. As a tip I say don’t ride Route 66 in summer. Today would see us journey to Clinton Oklahoma. Around 193 mile (311km) of travel so we were in no big hurry.
Once we were on the road the Rock Creek bridge was only a 15 minute ride from our motel. Looking at it now, it’s hard to believe it was part of a highway system.
Route 66 was dotted with filling stations, motels and diners in its heyday. Our next stop would be to check out the 1930 Phillips 66 filling station located in Chandler, Oklahoma. It was built in the typical type “B” cottage-style that was popular from 1927-1938. At the time of our visit it was undergoing restoration. So no photos were taken.
Back on the road it was a short drive to check out the Seaba Filling Station which was open as a motorcycle museum.
Continuing on our way we soon came to Arcadia and there are two things of interest to check out here.
The Arcadia Round Barn is a landmark and tourist attraction on historic U.S. Route 66. It was built by a local farmer in 1898 using oak boards soaked while green and forced into the curves needed for the walls and roof rafters.
- Pops restaurant is another attraction that is hard to miss with its 66 foot tall soda pop (soft drink) bottle out front. The height of 66 feet is a reference to Route 66.
After a break for lunch and fueling up at Pops we hit the road again. With our destination 100 mile (165km) away we still had more we wanted to see and do.
- A quick photo stop at Lucille’s Historic Highway Gas Station.
- A visit to the Stafford Air & Space Museum.
- With our last stop before checking in to the motel being the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. The best Route 66 museum to visit.
We highly recommend a visit to both the Stafford Air & Space Museum and Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.
The Stafford Air & Space Museum , named after NASA astronaut and Weatherford native Thomas P. Stafford. Displays include Stafford’s Apollo 10 spacesuit, and the Gemini 6A spacecraft.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is the largest museum dedicated to the history and of Route 66. If you can only visit one museum dedicated to Route 66 this is the one we would recommend.
Our motel for the night was the Ramada by Wyndham Clinton, it was old and run down, the rooms are clean though and the bed is very comfy. It has since permanently closed.
For dinner it was a short walk to the Montana Mike’s Steakhouse.
