Day 3 started with me waking up at the Best Budget Inn in Carthage, Missouri and heading to the front desk to check out. At the desk, I met the owner and she was asking me about my trip. She asked if I had been to downtown Carthage and if I had seen Red Oak II. I did drive the downtown area the night before, but I did not know of this Red Oak place. It wasn't in any of the Route 66 literature that I had read prior to the trip. She said, "Oh it's only like 2 miles from here and you must go. It's amazing." With a build up like that, how could I say no?
She was right, it was just two miles away and absolutely amazing. Long story short, there was a local artist/sculptor, Lowell Davis, who built a whole town on his property. Many of these structures were brought here from his hometown of Red Oak, which was situated 26 miles away from Red Oak II. He passed away last year, but the property was free to tour and check out. So I parked my car and walked around. The buildings on the property were absolutely amazing. Below are some pictures I took.
I had an absolutely great chat with Lowell's wife in the art studio and even bought a book for my girls that he wrote and illustrated on chickens. It looked like a really fun book. This place is a must visit when on the road in Missouri. It really is a true gem and I'm so thankful the woman at the motel pointed me in this direction.
Next up was driving through Galena, Kansas, part of the 13 or so miles of Route 66 that goes through Kansas. This town is famous as it is the inspiration for much of the movie Cars. So as you would expect, they have a bunch of cars there that look like the vehicles in the movie Cars.
I really wanted to meet the owner of Gearhead Curios in Galena, but he was out of town, so I only got a picture of the outside of the gas station he's restoring.
After a short stop in Galena, I headed down Route 66 into Oklahoma. First stop was Picher, Oklahoma, a superfund site and ghost town. I remember Picher from when it was hit by a tornado back in like 2008. It destroyed any remaining houses there and was the death nail to the town.
Being in a ghost town like that is very eerie. However, I did stop and get some snaps.
After Picher it was off to Commerce, Oklahoma, where Mickey Mantle was born. Commerce is a town that was built around mining during pre-World War 2 years to get zinc and lead. Since I was passing through, I figured I would stop at the house Mickey Mantle lived as a child. It was a pretty small house.
I also got to see the Mickey Mantle statue in town.
There's a famous location on Route 66 called the Dairy King. I stopped there to get some ice cream, as I was hungry and hot. They have food, but the dining area is really small.
Across the street from the Dairy King is the Hole in the Wall Gas Station. It is a pretty well-known location on Route 66. I couldn't believe how small the actual gas station building was. It truly was a hole in the wall.
I headed to Miami, Oklahoma afterwards and just planned on heading through town.
However, I was told to stop at the Coleman Theater in Miami. I'm glad I did. It was an amazing theater. I ended up getting on a free tour (donations are greatly appreciated) and got to check the whole place out. It was such a beautiful, well built theater for being in the middle of the country and not an area known for cultural attractions. However, it was built for the mining elite back during the mining boom just north of Miami and was a popular place for Hollywood to visit and perform at back in the day. This is a must stop location on any trip down Route 66.
After leaving Miami, I went to the Blue Whale of Catoosa. This is another Route 66 landmark that I've wanted to go to. It's just outside of Tulsa.
After the Blue Whale of Catoosa, I went to the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum. It was closing at 4:00 p.m. and I wanted to make sure I went. So I skipped the attractions in Tulsa and went straight there. I'm glad I did as it was a very nice museum with lots of great cars. Plus they had a giant gas pump there that you can see from all over.
After going to the car museum, I went back to Tulsa. There I was able to go to Buck's Cosmic Curio and see another giant. I picked up a really nice coffee mug from there. Here is where I saw my second giant on the trip. I also went to a toy store across the street from Buck's that was amazing. I wanted to buy everything there, but didn't have the room to carry it on the road trip.
After that I was hungry, and went to the Mother Road Market. I went to a place called Umami Fries. I got a bulgogi fry bowl. It was nothing short of amazing. That market was pretty cool and a place I would definitely recommend going there while on a road trip. So many food choices for everyone!
After eating dinner, I went to see the giant Golden Driller statue and headed out on the road again. This was my 3rd giant on the trip. Unfortunately, I couldn't get too close to him as there was a lot of construction taking place there. Next stop was Arcadia, Oklahoma.
I have been to Acadia before and really enjoy visiting the round barn and Pops. This time the round barn was closed, but I got a picture of this beauty. If you ever get a chance to stop in the barn though, it is amazing and beautiful.
I went the Pops afterwards and picked up my usual six pack of soda. I'm not much of a drinker of soda, but when in Acadia, I always stop at Pops and buy soda. I got flavors that I like to drink such as grape, birch beer, orange, cherry limeade, and strawberry. I drank the orange from Route 66 sodas out with Pop's iconic giant soda bottle.
It was a long day with a lot of sights. I needed a place to stay for the night. El Reno was the right distance and the Days Inn motel that I found there was at the right price. So I drove over there and spent the night after another long day in the car.
Beginning Location: Carthage, Missouri
Ending Location: El Reno, Oklahoma
Total Driving Miles: 317 miles
Favorite Things I Did Today:
- Visited Red Oaks in Carthage, MO
- Toured the Coleman Theater in Miami, OK
- Ate Bulgogi Fries from Umami Fries at the Mother Road Market in Tulsa, OK
This is my favorite day of pictures!! Feel like I can almost reach out and touch so many of the sites!!
ReplyDelete