Will Rogers to Tucumcari

I think we are moving fast but The bearded one is acting like a homing pigeon. Here I go again, falling behind. Route 66 is not an easy thing to do. While Cmor is zipping along, This poor little monkey has books and maps and the ipad and the literature we pick up along the way, piled all over the place. The signage for 66 is sadly missing in lots of places. We are trying to be purist and do the entire thing. It is often very confusing. There occasionally are two or even three routes to choose from, depending on years and rerouting. We usually try to take the earliest ones. This has meant we are sometimes in hard to find places. Lots of times we are right alongside the freeway and when there is nothing to see on our road, it is tempting to think about that other road, but we are often going just as fast. There have been quiteafew"discussions "  about where to turn and we often have a bit of a problem finding lodging off the hwy. But the majority of the time it is really fun. Lots of wonderful old buildings and incredibly interesting people to talk to. I will let some pics speak for themselves to help shorten this. We started out Monday visiting the Will Rogers memorial to see his stTues and tomb. It was 1/2 mile from our camp. Very beautiful. I sometimes get frustrated when the sun is in the wrong place or a tree or somethimg is in front or back of what I want to shoot but I love my new camera and am happy with most pics.
On to the Blue Whale. We had watched a set of five movies about route 66 and love actuLly seeing the same things in actual life. Went to the Cherokee Nation visitoe center. . In Tulsa we stopped atagreat sculpture titled, East meets West. Very detailed. Even a smashed bug on the radiator, key in the ignition and floor mats and tire details. Found a bridge which Cmor was to tall to cross but was layered with brick paving. We went to the Rock Cafe for Lunch. I had jagerschnitzel and spaetzle. I am trying different things but I still prefer bananas. The owner Dawn Welch was the inspiration for Sally the Porsche in Disney's Cars movie. John Lassiter did drawings for toy story, hanging on the walls, and used the cafe building for inspiration for the movie,. The bathroom walls and hallways are covered with signatures. and Graffiti. Is it still called grafitti if you have permission?  Went to see the
Round Barn. The upstairs roof looks like an upside down basket.
Tuesday found us in Yukon, Ok, Garth Brooks home town. We went to Fort Reno, where I posed on an old cannon for Tom. We went around to see some of the original buildings. Next The Ok. Rt. 66 museum. Really done well. It was devided into eras and you could push buttons to hear music from those times. Cute little diner outside that was the same size as Cmor. Learned that gas in 1935 was 10 cents a gallon, and the average was 15 mpgs. That eant the cost for the 2400 mile trip was $16.00. That shocked Cmor. Across the street was the Trade Winds Inn where Elvis stayed 4 times. You can stay in his "shrine" room for $100.00 a night. Forgot to mention we crossed the yellow Pony bridge,
named for the pony trusses. In the Grapes of Wrath movie, Grandpa wasburied at the end of this bridge. Saw abig retired oil well and the courthouse from Grapes of Wrath. I think I will have to get
that movie. On to The Bonebreak Hardware Store in Erick. The Bonebreak family decided to retire in 1960 and moved away, locking the doors and leaving everything exactly as it was. You can look through through the windows and see everything, covered with thick layers of dust. I think it would be fun to poke around in there. Finished up the day at the Tower Building. Camped one block away
so I could takepics in morning. Sun in wrong place again.

I can't believe how many streets are paved with bricks. I wonder if there are any brick factories I can visit? I sawsome giant guns nd discovered they are grills. Then across the road to .The Slug Bug ranch. Very colorful. More grafitti.Next was the RV Museum. Really fun to see how Cmors relatives looked. The most fun was to find one just my size and then to see the Robin William's bus from RV.
Again a food stop. Someone is going back to the Walmart for stretch pants! We went to the Big Texan Steak Ranch. It is home to the 72 oz steak. If you can eat the whole thing, including all the fixins in under an hour, it is free. If not, it is $72.00. I had a Bison burger. Still trying new stuff, still preferring bananas. The Big Texan motel next door has a swimming pool shaped like Texas. Nextstop, Cadillac Ranch and a hike thru the fields. 103*. But it was worth it. Lots of people spraying designs, Art? I was a very smart monkey and stayed on the upwind side. Nextstop Roarks, oldest hardware store on route 66.  Midpoint was interesting. The owner of the cafethere was the inspiration for Flo in the Car Movie. 103 still and when the bearded one saw the sign he fell to his knees and said we can't have spent 13 days going 1300 miles. Someone in the group explained that was only if we had gone straight which is impossible for Cmor to do. So here we are in Tucumcari New Mexico . Our Hostess says it is supposed to be 114* by Saturday. Hopefully we will be long gone. Okay, finished for now, hugs from Jr.