Adventures

Route 66, Oklahoma: Part 2

June 9, 2026 / No Comments

This past weekend, we finally managed to fit in a mini road trip to cover the last middle portion of Route 66 we were missing. Our travels this time took us from Tulsa to beyond Fort Reno, Oklahoma.

Tulsa

We were disappointed that it was pouring rain when we started out, but what intrepid adventurers ever let a little rain stop them? The biggest drawback was that it was hard to get good pictures.

We were tickled to spot these Uniroyal Gals and Muffler Men before we got out of town. They were all within a mile or so of each other.

(In looking up the links for these, it appears we may have missed one: Cowboy Bob Muffler Man. As hard as it was raining, it was really hard to see everything. We’ll have to look for him another time.)

The highlight in Tulsa is the new “musical road.” There’s a stretch of rumble strips on a bridge, and if you drive over it with your passenger-side tires on the blue strip, the road rumbles out the tune of “This Land is Your Land.” It is the coolest thing! I apologize for the rain in the video, but just listen for the road noise, and you will hear it.

We understand there’s a musical road in Springfield, Missouri, also (with “America the Beautiful”), so we’ll definitely have to drive up there to check that out soon. These have recently been installed in honor of the 100th anniversary of Route 66 this year.

Sapulpa

There are three attractions that caught our eye as we followed Route 66 through Sapulpa.

First was this ginormous “gas pump” tower outside of the auto museum. We thought about going to the museum, but decided Sapulpa was close enough to home (about 2.5 hours) that we could come back and do that another day.

Nearby was a historic bridge with a picnic park built around it. The current highway has been rerouted around it because it is no longer safe for vehicles. I love that they parked an old rusty pickup right there.

A little further along was a vintage drive-in theater. According to our outdated guidebook, the theater screen and the parking area were still there, but it had long since been abandoned. We were happy to discover that it has since been restored and is currently in use. We weren’t able to get a good picture angle due to the rain, but maybe we’ll fit in a show another time when we come back for the auto museum.

Stroud

As we drove through Stroud, Lyle spotted a storefront he would have liked to browse. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open. He said he was sure he could find some cool things for his garage in there. No doubt!

Ozark Trail

This section of the original highway has never been paved. It’s part of the old Ozark Trail system, which predates Route 66. It was part of Route 66 for just a few years early on. The obelisk is an original Ozark Trail intersection marker.

Davenport

This interesting parking lot with all the gas company signs is actually a bowling alley. It took us a little bit to figure that out. It seemed to be a popular spot for lunch.

The rain finally stopped, and we began to see glimpses of blue sky through the clouds.

We liked the Lincoln Motel motor court. We weren’t sure if it is still in use, but we decided it probably is.

Chandler

This cute little service station appears to be under renovation. Hopefully, the bathroom will have a door on it when they get done.

Wellston

Naturally, we had to stop for a photo op at the giant pushpin Midway Marker, which marks the halfway point of Route 66 in Oklahoma. (I thought maybe it was halfway for the whole of Route 66, but no, that spot is in Texas.)

Arcadia

This right here is a Historical Building. Yep. That’s what the sign says: “Historical Building.” Lyle thinks it was a gas station. Maybe. I noticed the fireplace on the back wall. What I didn’t notice at the time was the little sign by the door. If I had seen that, I would have jumped out and gone over to read it. But I didn’t. So I don’t know.

The Arcadia Round Barn was one of the most interesting stops of the day.

The ground level is a rustic gift shop and museum…

…while the loft can be rented out for special events.

Oklahoma City

We passed the state capitol building as we traversed The City.

We went a block or two out of our way to find this “giant” milk bottle I had seen in a brochure or something. The “giantness” of it was somewhat of a let-down. I was expecting it to be taller than a building, not perched on top of a little bitty building. We had to laugh.

Bethany

We passed SNU, where my mother attended back when it was Bethany Nazarene College.

Yukon

Something tickled my memory as we approached Yukon. I saw a sign that said it was the birthplace of Garth Brooks, and another sign that said it was the Czech Capital of Oklahoma. I hadn’t known either one of those fascinating tidbits, so that wasn’t it. I finally remembered that one of my cousins used to live there. I think. Maybe?

El Reno

West of Oklahoma City, the old Route 66 mostly follows I-40. We had been on that part before, but we chose one of the earlier configurations to follow out through the country to travel a little further west. The open prairie isn’t as interesting as the clusters of small towns, so after 45 miles, we turned around and headed back.

Thus concludes our Route 66 adventure. We’ve covered it all now, except the last little piece from Needles, California, to LA. We aren’t expecting to ever complete that. You never know, but at this point it’s doubtful.

Previous Route 66 Adventures:

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