Days 21, 22, 23, and 24: The Miata Gets Its Kicks on Old Route 66

“He’s my baby, and I’m his honey - I’m never gonna let him go.” 

"In Spite of Ourselves" by John Prine and Iris DeMent

How silly and cute is that song, In Spite of Ourselves?  Didn't even know it was from a movie until looking for a YouTube version to post here.  We definitely did listen to "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts at least once on Route 66, but the song above better represents what was on our playlist and catches the mood of our silly, carefree return trip home.  

We needed to head north to catch Old Route 66 in New Mexico for the return trip home.  We had decided to pick up Old Route 66 in Albuquerque, so we had 450 miles to cover and well over 6 hours of driving not counting stops.  So, Day 21 was mostly an on the road day.  The one thing we had heard about New Mexico was how great the Mexican food was.  We were STARVING when we got into Albuquerque.  Unfortunately, the restaurant we picked was suuuuuuper sloooooowwww, so it was hard to enjoy the food because we barely tasted it.  Darn!  We'll have to go back and try again! 

We got up bright and early on Day 22 to start our journey on Old Route 66.  The first stop was Tee Pee Curio in Tucumcari, NM.  The town was just like you hear described in any movie or documentary about Route 66.  It was practically a ghost town off the main highway with a few businesses desperately clinging to survival.  The Tee Pee Curio was a cute little gift shop shaped like a Tee Pee.  We picked up some stickers for our collection and dropped a donation into their fund for keeping the neon lit, even though we wouldn't get to see it, since we had a lot of miles yet to cover.  

We covered a lot of distance in New Mexico and made good time into Texas!  Our next stop was Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation in a farm field just outside of Amarillo, TX.  You just park alongside the road, walk a good ways out into the field, and take pictures or add your own graffiti to the Cadillacs.  No security, nothing to pay, no supervision, and the place was reasonably clean.  It was crowded enough to know it was something well-known, but not so crowded you couldn't get a clear shot of the cars.  Definitely something weird and fun to see if traveling through Texas!  

It was time for dinner as we were pulling into the city of Amarillo.  Unfortunately for us travelers, it was a Sunday, and Texas is still pretty traditional in their observation of a work-free Sunday.  The little local places we would normally like to stop were all closed.  But we were able to stop at another big roadside attraction that also happened to be a restaurant - The Big Texan Steak Ranch.  The building was huge (everything's bigger in Texas, right?).  There was an enormous cowboy statue on top of the building to draw you in.  They had a 72oz. steak challenge, and an actual 72 oz steak was under glass in the lobby for you to marvel at.  There were games and a gift shop and candy and ice cream counter.  The staff dressed in cowboy and cowgirl attire.  The food was average, but it was a fun place to stop and continue the corny sightseeing that is Old Route 66.  

Finally, we found our hotel in little ole' Shamrock, TX.  We picked Shamrock because it was about at the limit of how far we wanted to drive on this day (380 miles - 5 hours without stops), and it was home to a fantastic display of Old Route 66 neon.  As Trip Advisor puts it, "The historic Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café was built in 1936 to serve travelers along Route 66. Used as a model for Ramone's Body Art in the movies Cars and Cars II, it now serves as the Shamrock Visitor Information Center. Housing many interesting displays, there is also "Cars Corner" for the kids and grown ups alike with numerous photo opportunities. The center has an expanded gift shop and offers free coffee & tea along with free internet and encourages everyone to "sit a spell" and enjoy the ambiance of this historic icon along the "Mother Road."" There wasn't much else going on in Shamrock, TX, but the U Drop Inn at night was absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the drive!  Again, because it was Sunday, we couldn't go inside the station - it was closed for the day - but I'm sure nothing beats the view at night. 

Day 23 was a long day on the road as we crossed the wide state of Oklahoma.  However, the driving itself was a sight to see, as the landscape completely changed from dry desert to lusch green.  It wasn't even as flat as you would expect if most of your knowledge of Oklahoma comes from tornado coverage and tornado movies.  It looked a little like home!  

After passing the road signs for Garth Brooks Boulevard we were approaching Oklahoma City and ready for a break.  We found this adorable coffee shop right on the outskirts of the city called Okay, Yeah coffee and plant shop.  What a cool combination of things!  They also had a small stage for live music.  Wish we had a place like this!  The homemade poptart with homemade cactus jelly filling really hit the spot, and the coffee was awesome.  Looks like since our visit they've changed their name and are continuing to expand.  Good for them! 

We continued along through Arkansas and settled into a hotel near Little Rock.  The beautiful, lusch green landscape continued.  We grabbed a hotel near Little Rock for the night and crashed after a long day of driving.  I believe, though, that this was the hotel where we were watching Rachel Ray and discovered an amazing recipe for chocolate chip cookies that we have used several times since we came home!  On the road the next day, we stopped at a Braum's Ice Cream and Burger Restaurant.  We had seen them advertised all through Oklahoma and Arkansas and thought it was just a cheap chain.  But it turns out to be a very successful chain with all homemade ice cream.  It was delicious!  Glad we caught them before we crossed the border and ended up outside of their territory. 

We crossed the Mississippi for the second and last time on this trip, and that brought us into Tennessee.  Memphis sits right on the bank of the Mississippi River - you can just start to see the skyline in the picture above - and we were ready for one more stop before Nashville.  We found another fun coffee shop - Little Cafe Eclectic - which was located on an island in the Mississippi River.  It seemed like a really fun place to live or visit.  

When we saw the giant Bass Pro Shops pyramid from the highway, we knew we needed to check it out.  This place was MASSIVE.  It was even more of a tourist stop than our Cabela's back home.  They had live ducks in a pond in the middle that could fly just so far and were waddling around freely.  There was an elevator you could pay to ride that would take you up to the top of the pyramid to a restaurant and observation area.  And they had the usual Bass Pro Shops merchandise, but the prices were surprisingly really good!  It felt good to walk around in the AC a little while and put off the driving just a little longer.  But finally, it was time to hit the road one more time and end this drive in Nashville!