Friday, May 12, of 06 would be my
20 year anniversary on the job with my company. I thought, what
better way to celebrate 20 consecutive years of work by taking the
day off of work and going for a motorcycle ride. The weekend
weather forecast looked to be in my favor. I began to peruse
my map collection for potential 2 or 3 day ride plans. There
were several that looked appealing to me.
Later in the evening while surfing the net I was clicking through
the “My Favorites” links when I came across my Route 66 links. I clicked on them and began to browse through those when the little
light bulb burst on! Route 66. That’s it! What better
way to spend a Mothers Day weekend then on the Mother Road. I got a kitchen pass from my lovely bride and promised to be home
at a reasonable hour on Sunday to spend some of Mothers Day together.
I made a short Route 66 trip a few years ago from
Catoosa, Ok to Clinton, Ok and visited the Route 66 museum there. This time I wanted to do the entire state of Oklahoma on Route 66.
First a few fun facts.
In 1925
Congress enacted highway legislation that executed its plan for highway
construction across the US of A. In 1926 after much time and
effort spent lobbying by Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, the 2400 mile Chicago
to Los Angeles roadway plan was approved and the designation of 66
was assigned and Route 66 was born.
Route
66 runs through 8 states. The old road received its catchy nickname
in 1939 when in his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck proclaimed
her, The Mother Road.
The Mother Road has
served millions of people over the years from those migrating west
seeking a better life to businessman to vacationers traveling to the
west coast and the ocean or to the Midwest. Millions of people
have spent time and have memories, good or bad, of traveling on Route
66.
In the mid 50’s the demand for faster
and better highways pressed Congress and the interstate system was
born and the beginning of the end was in works for Route 66. By 1970, nearly all segments of original Route 66 were bypassed by
a modern four-lane highway. Even though Route 66 still exists
and is used heavily in connecting smaller towns together, Route 66
lives on mostly in the hearts and memories of old goats like me trying
to recapture a part of their own past.
Oklahoma
has done a fantastic job in keeping the old road in tact and better
than all the other states with around 400 miles of drivable roadway.
When touring Route 66 on a motorcycle you
have to look through different goggles then when riding through the
twisty’s of the Rocky Mountains or the Ozarks. There is a whole
different kind of beauty and scenery you are looking for. Sure
there are areas of beautiful countryside with rolling hills and winding
roads and awe-inspiring sunsets. But what you are looking for
are the old landmarks of the road. The old diners, travel lodges,
picnic areas. You are looking for the old amusement parks where
families would pull in after several days on the road and let the
kids have their way for an afternoon. Now-a-days we pull up
to the gas station and get gas but my Grandpa use to call them filling
stations. There are old bridges and barns and farms and quaint little
towns. These are the things you will find the remnants of along
the old Mother Road of Route 66.
I
began my tour of Oklahoma’s Route 66 at the northeast corner of Oklahoma
where Route 66 enters from Kansas and drains right into the little
town of Quapaw.
