DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Day 4 part 2....

After a refuel & a quick map check, we headed for Jericho. It's a nice small town, but there were a few police cars around, & I didn't want to draw anymore attention to myself & lack of license plate; so I headed out on old Route 66. Some of the ghost towns are a bit of a drive off the interstate, but they are worth seeking out. The climate is so dry, they just sit there, preserved, fading more with each passing year.

I found Glenrio. It looked like this section of Route 66 had long since disappeared. I headed up desolate road to a dead end & found another old relic of the highway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMDbh-V2cw

Covered in signs pretty much threatening a savaging by dogs, I still managed to check out what was left of the old pumping station & store.



Another scan of the map, & I decided Shamrock would be a good place to head for, with a couple of towns in between. I retraced my steps, & carried on towards McLean. Spotting a sign for a museum, I decided there was time to take a look. There was a massive section devoted to...... barbed wire; & at the other end, a very cool reconstruction of a '50's diner. I had trouble getting served though.



Some of these Route 66 shrines are pretty amazing; run by volunteers & kept afloat by donations. I felt really humbled when having chatted with the lady in the museum, she asked me to sign her visitors book, & told me I had been the only person in that day.

I stayed on the old highway, as it was definitely more fun to drive than the interstate. It wasn't long before I found Shamrock & another Route 66 icon.





Shamrock is on the Texas-Oklahoma border, & having been in the seat for over 5 hours, I decided Elk City would be a good place to head for to find a motel. You know when you turn up somewhere & think perhaps you could do better? Well, that's how I felt in Elk City, so I just got back on the road, & headed towards El Reno... another 86 miles east.

Now, in El Reno, there are tons of motels, ranging from the lowest budget, to quite decent, & I decided to go for something mid range, doing my usual of popping into reception & asking:

"Hi, do you have a room for the night?"
"No ma'm, there are no rooms in El Reno tonight."
Bearing I mind, I'm pretty tired by this stage, I hadn't quite taken in the meaning of what he was saying...
"Umm, ok, does anyone have a room that you could recommend?"
"No ma'm, there are no rooms in El Reno. Everywhere is booked out for the next few months, you may want to head to Oklahoma City."

I could just feel my batteries draining as it began to dawn on me I'd have to get back in Gloria & carry on driving. It turns out, there is a drilling program in El Reno, for oil & natural gas, & all the rooms, that's right, every single one of them, has been booked for the workers. There really were no rooms, at all, in El Reno.



30 miles, 30 minutes & I could be in Oklahoma City. It was getting really late..... You know sometimes, when you just have to dig deep, focussing on that pinprick of light in the distance just to keep you going....

Now here's a tip: Every big city has an airport, & each airport has two sides to it. The passenger side & the cargo side. If you are on a budget, & not too fussed about the view (because airports have such great views, don't they?) then head to the cargo side. There, you will find all the same motels, with slightly less frills, but a lot cheaper. Don't be put off by all the big trucks either, remember, these guys just want a good nights sleep; so there's no danger of drunken warring couples at midight who are then arguing again at 4am when someone has mislaid the wallets & travel documents.There will be no slamming doors or honking horns in the middle of the night; & there is no shortage of free coffee & donuts in the morning.

Day 4 we covered over 400 Miles in about 7 hours

Great story! Brings back a lot of memories.
Fryardds put me on to this thread. He was my driving partner for our trip out west in those photos that he had posted. Looking forward to doing it again someday.

Looking forward to the next installment!

I love this thread!! What a brilliant story so far...

Day 5....
& I was tired.... So I went downstairs for my free coffee & donuts, then sat with Gloria whilst she warmed up & took a look at the map.

The map, by the way, looked like something a friends 10 year old could have drawn, I quite liked its simplicity, it made decision making a lot easier.... I'm not suggesting for one minute that I may be indecisive, but I did struggle over whether to have the donuts or waffles.



Anyway, I had a quick search for things to do around Oklahoma city, & one Route 66 icon I decided was worth checking out was (allegedly) a massive milk bottle on top of a grocery store. I don't know why, but I like over sized advertising paraphernalia. I've always fancied having one of those massive ice cream cones you see outside newsagents; don't worry, I'm not thinking of attaching it to Gloria's roof or anything daft like that....

It meant doubling back towards Yukon, but, I had time on my hands, I'd made pretty good progress across America, so far. A bit of driving around, & bingo, there it was, the not so massive, but fairly large milk bottle.



Mission complete, I was sitting in Gloria, checking out the maps again, when I noticed a guy, & someone who could have been his Dad sat next him, across the street in his Range Rover gesticulating at me to wind down my window.....

"Beautiful car!!"
"Thank you!" Big smile, I always enjoyed it when anyone complimented my car.
"I have a '67..."
"Really? Where is it?"
"Down that way, about 5 blocks....."
"Can I take a look?" I mean, it'd be rude not to ask.... wouldn't it? I must hasten to point out, I don't make a habit of randomly going off with complete strangers to an unknown location to check out a motor that may, or may not exist...
"Follow me."
So I did.

About a 4 minute drive, & we arrived at his place, which was a classic car warehouse & shop. Now, this place was pretty cool, he had a Cadillac, convertible GTO, a couple of Austin Healeys & of course, the Porsches.





The '67 was soon to be on it's way to Switzerland, the bodywork was peppered with pock marks having been caught in an intense hail storm. It was solid otherwise, despite looking a lot like a golf ball... The other Porsche had been his wife's professors at college, & was semi-dismantled, or in a state of semi-restoration, depending on which way you look at it. But what this guy really liked though, was Morris Minors, & there was a lovely little left hooker sat in his warehouse.



I pumped him for a couple of cups of coffee & some info on where to go next. Lunch in Arcadia at a place called Pop, was his suggestion, so that's where I headed for next. Now this is where my sat nav went a little bit bonkers, driving me round & round & round again. It was like ground hog day; the woman pushing the shopping trolley filled with rubbish I kept seeing on my circuits, probably thought I was a complete mentalist. Eventually, I just drove onto a main road, ignoring the sat nav & looked for a sign that was headed east. I picked up Route 66 fairly easily after that, & headed to Arcadia.

There is a large round barn in Arcadia that is a Route 66 landmark, so I stopped & took a look. I can confirm, it is indeed a big round barn.

Jude, nice road trip story & pics as you promised and one of the things I also like about a good road trip is the random people you meet along the way, the stories they have and their generosity of spirit; something you've captured here. Nice to be reminded that all over the world there are nice people who are happy to help.

BTW, I've also had the "every room in town is booked" experience in the US and it's usually when you least expect it

Fantastic trip Jude. Thanks for sharing your experiences through wonderful prose and great photos. Keep them coming as I am looking forward to hearing further about your travels, especially my Midwest. Oh yeah, Fryardds, cornpanzer, and I along with a few other early 911 buds have put a few miles coast to coast on various trips. There is nothing like a road trip with friends in early 911s!

Had a great chat with Jude today and I'm delighted to say that we plan on running a longer version of the travelogue in CP, with more pics, more detail – more inspiration! Quite a tale, by all accounts! But then what else would you expect of someone who lists their occupation as 'Aviatrix'?

I hope the story here does not stop....

DeRRis wrote:I hope the story here does not stop....

Don't worry..... I know the posts are a bit sporadic, but I'll keep posting until the end of the story. I just put the words down when they come into my head...

I'm really glad you are all enjoying it, I had an absolutely brilliant time.....

This is a great tale and inspiring too. Looking forward to the next instalment...

Good on ya. Drive like the wind! And remember to stop for chicken soup in Albuquerque

I've been known to stop by tlg once or twice....

Something that our American friends do really, really well.... is a burger. Time for lunch, & I doubled back a mile or so, to find Pop. I'd driven past it earlier, not realising, it was the place I was looking for. It's really modern, & all the windows are lined with bottles of... Pop.



Pretty cool for a lunch stop...



After I'd sampled yet another awesome burger, I headed back into Arcadia to try & pick up the old Highway again. The scenery had changed quite dramatically again, leafy & autumnal now, I'd left the desert behind. It's funny how the autumn light sometimes catches something we see every day, giving it a new spin...



I was sat in the forecourt of a deserted shop, minding my own business, checking out a map gain... A knock at the window. I have to tell you, I was so engrossed in working out where I was, & what I was going to do next, I almost jumped out of my skin...

Hmm, another cop.
"Afternoon, ma'm"
"Hello"...... best Queens English, big smile......
"You aware you have no tag, Ma'am?"
"Yes, in fact, I have a Federal citation for it from Nevada" the paperwork was buried under my 'supplies' in the passenger footwell.



Now this cop, again, was really nice..... Whilst I explained my circumstances, he was taking phone calls, sorting out his evenings social life, & dinner the following night. Every passing car tooted him, & he waved. I was guessing he was pretty popular round these parts.



In between the phone calls & general chitchat, he was radioing HQ, just 'make sure for peace of mind' my peace of mind apparently, that I hadn't bought a stolen car, because I would be really upset if I got the port in New York, only to discover I couldn't take her home.


I have to say, not only was he really nice, but really helpful too. I just disapointed his name wasn't Rosco P. Coltrane..... Having put both our minds at rest.... he took a look at my map & sent me on my way with some suggestions of places to check out....

Places on the hit list today after Arcadia were: Chandler, Stroud, Kellyville, Tulsa, Miami & Joplin MO. I was aiming to get to Joplin & stop for the night. The old highway, on this section of the drive, is pretty slow, at times windy & a bit pot-holey, so we just took our time, as there was no agenda to get anywhere too fast. I got to Tulsa around rush hour, so I circumnavigated the city, & found a quiet motel on the outskirts of Joplin. It's not exactly a 'destination', so I wouldn't recommend it as a place to visit, a such...

Day 5 miles covered were about 270 in the seat for about 5 1/2 hours....

Sounds like there was a bit of "catch and release" going on with the cops.

You should mail that first guy in Nevada a fruit basket...

Bonus points for the Limonata pack and the duck tape coffee cup holder.