Pacific To Atlantic - Day 6 - Route 66

Dec 28th 2008, Sunday.. late night
RoadTrip Diary - Day 6 - Route 66 Towns

Missed wake-up alarm.. again

Overall plan for the day was to drive thru historic route66 and visit small towns.. and once its dark, cover some distance thru I-40 as much as possible..

Left Amarillo Texas, around 9am.. lil bit cold, but no winds.. 32F

Visited Cadillac Ranch.. we were looking for it previous night, but didn't find it.. The place is another Route66 oddity.. It has 10 Cadillac cars - from 1954-1964 - nose down buried in ground.. lot of visitors had marked their impressions on these cars thru spray painting.. so they are indeed colorful.. these cars are placed in an open plain, so no obstacles near horizon.. view was nice.. none of thees cars have any engines inside.. but car tires are still in okay condition..


Groom Tx - Has a huge christian cross.. It is advertised as Tallest in Western hemisphere :).. At the base of the cross, they have carved "14 steps" showcasing last few moments of Christ's life.. The town of Groom itself seemed religious.. it had too many churches lined up

After watching those "14 steps" and so many church buildings had bizarre thoughts of religious practices.. some of these christian practices are completely illogical, senseless.. In Hinduism, treating objects in "nature" as holy seems lil bit practical.. atleast to understand the importance of nature.. any way all other rituals are senseless again.. hmmm Atheism.. Good thing that Sitaram was driving :) !!

Mclean Tx: It is an official headquarter of Route66 association. Town preserved like it was from old days. First street has route66 banners. Philips 66 gas station showcased 19 cents/gallon. Lot of desolated gas stations across main street are kept as it is.. completely rusted..Texas shaped motel was still standing at outskirts of the town.

Left Texas and entered Oklahoma around 1:27pm CST

Texas was all open plains, yellowish in color.. Oklahoma was same when entered, but after Elk City, became greenish plains

Sayre OK: is indeed an old historic town that shows "Grapes of Wrath" in OK.. Currently northern town is well established, while southern is still maintained in older state.

Elk City OK - Had "Tex Mex" lunch at "Taco Factory".. crappy food.. everything else was closed.. Visited Route66 National museum.. its a official national museum for Route66.. they have reestablished elk city from old days in this area.. steam engine.. drill tower used in oil wells.. Philips 66 gas station with 22 cents/gallon.. hmm..3 cents expensive than Mclean TX..

Oklahoma City was indeed a drive-thru for us.. I-40 freeway has instructions/signs on the actual road itself..

Drive towards Fort Smith had plenty of roadside trees, first time in our roadtrip after visiting desserts in UT,NM or Great plains in TX.. Had a feeling of Pune-Kop NH4 drive... Infact western side of OK state was all green plains, while eastern side of OK state is full of trees and rivers.. surprised with so many small rivers we crossed.. South Canadian/North Canadian river , Arkansas river etc..

Also, at one point, elevation was around 500ft above sea level :)

Hit Arkansas state border around 8:30pm CST

Had Nice dinner at Big Jake's at Fort Smith.. the delicacy "Queso Flames" was indeed delicious.. It also had unlimited "Peanuts in Barrels" like Santa Barbara pier restaurant..

To cover up distances, we dragged ourselves to Little Rock.. Reached around 11:30pm.. Too tired.. Motel6 in N Little Rock is final touchdown for tonight.

This additional miles covered will surely helpful.. When we started planning for tomorrow, En route Memphis, decided to go thru Missisipi state, across Missisipi river... one more state in our calculation :)

We drove a lot today.. 630miles.. but it was enjoyable.. had lot of discussions with Sitaram and Meha.. Israel. Jesus Christ. Palmistry. Politics in Kashmir. Good old school/college days.. bollywood actors, sholay.. Astronomy-Sirius.. bla bla !!

Today's drive: 630 miles.. longest stretch of the roadtrip
States: TX, OK, AK

Total Miles: 2360 miles in six days
Total States (9) : CA, NV, UT, AZ, CO, NM, TX, OK, AK