*NOTE: Five years ago I began a journey across the country with Thiel, a dear friend of mine. I was moving from Chicago to Long Beach, California, and she agreed to make the drive with me. I present my journal of that journey on the corresponding day that it was recorded five years ago. Enjoy reliving this adventure with me!
Day 8: January 10, 2014
Onward! We left Edmond, Oklahoma and drove through Oklahoma City, snapping photos of a big roadside milk bottle from back in the day.
True to form, we got lost soon after and it took us at least an hour to get ourselves back on track. We passed through Yukon, Oklahoma, hometown of Garth Brooks, and this is where the Midwest gives way to the West. There were vast open stretches of road. The sky was clear and blue and it was almost 60 degrees. There has been no trace of snow on the ground for the past two days and we welcome that wholeheartedly. Most of the time we were the only car in sight in either direction.
Most of the day was spent driving, and the old road was pretty straight, so we made decent time…when we weren’t lost. I think doing this one time is enough, as it’s so confusing to keep up with a road that doesn’t officially exist any more that it can waste a lot of time trying to figure out just how in the world you’re suddenly off course and on a dirt road in the middle of what is probably someone’s ranch. Yes, folks, we plunged off pavement at least twice with no warning. That’s a treat.
In Elk City, Oklahoma, there’s the National Route 66 Museum, which was pretty large and looked really cool, but we didn’t have time to stop. This has already taken a lot longer than I’d anticipated due to the weather hazards we had to endure at the beginning of the journey. Must! Press! On!
There was one stretch of road for a few miles in which the oldest part of the road ran parallel to the roadway that’s currently in use. It was overgrown and so fascinating to me that I pulled off and we walked along it for a little way, making some pictures.
I reflected on how many people had driven that old pavement on their way to California, possibly following a dream of stardom or just wanting to start a new life somewhere else, as I am, and how quickly things can change. It’s less than 100 years since the original road was in use and nature is already reclaiming it. In a few more years it’ll be lost completely. Oh, life….
After this we trundled into Texola, which is basically a ghost town. There are several buildings still standing in ruin. It was later in the day and the sun was starting to go down, so it was a good time to visit this place. After dark I think it would have been creepy.
Entering Texas, we passed the U Drop Inn, an art deco former roadside stop that now houses the Shamrock, Texas Chamber of Commerce. Driving after dark, our instructions told us to go to a town called Jericho, which was nowhere to be found on the atlas or any other map we consulted. We backtracked and, just on a hunch, I pulled over where there was a historical marker and it told us we were at the Jericho Cemetery. No town anywhere to be seen but apparently there’s a cemetery near there that exists from when the town did. We turned down the road across from the marker and it was unpaved, but eventually emptied out onto pavement again. We zoomed on down a really straight stretch for several miles until suddenly we were confronted with signs that the road was going to dead end in a half mile. Thanks for the warning! We had to backtrack yet again, and realized that had we read far enough ahead in our turn-by-turn instructions that we would have turned about nine miles back.
We made it to Amarillo and stopped at a fast food taco place for dinner. We’d hoped to go out on the town, as it was Friday night, but we were super tired and just wanted to get a place to stay for the night, so we went on the hunt for that. There were tons of motels around, but the area of the city with the highest concentration of them was a bit seedy, so we went across town and finally found a place to lay our weary heads. As it turns out, our room was right next to an on-site laundry room! Jackpot!
P. S. Breathe-Rite Strips didn’t work so well last night.
