Officially Half-way!

Today we officially crossed the half-way point of Route 66, in Adrian, TX.

There is a little cafe called Midpoint Cafe that we wanted to go to but unfortunately it was closed by the time we got there. Instead we went next door and met the lady who was the inspiration for the character Flo in Cars. We didn't realize this before the trip, but the story of Cars was created from Route 66. All of the characters are real people that the creators met along way, as are trucks and cafes. It seems as if each little town we visit has some connection. Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK was another inspiration for a cafe and the owner for the a character Sally Carrera. The trucks came from Gallena, KS.

But backing up a little. After melting our way to Tulsa, OK, we continued to melt our way to Clinton, OK.  Breakfast was at a cute little mom-and-pop diner, complete with red leather seats. We had oatmeal pie at the Rock Cafe in Stroud.

We chose to circumvent Oklahoma City because it would have involved stop-and-go traffic which is no fun in 100 degree weather wearing motorcycle gear.  That was a good decision because it brought is to Clinton earlier.  We wanted enough time to look at the Rt 66 Museum that they have there.

They have some great exhibitions describing the creation, and then fall of Route 66 as the first continuous paved road from Chicago to Los Angeles.  As cars became more prevalent in the beginning of the 20th century, people could drive farther and faster, increasing the need for continuous roads that were paved, as opposed to dirt roads. Route 66 was created to fulfill this purpose, connecting existing pieces and passing through lots of small towns, giving it the nickname "Main Street of America." With more people traveling farther, more gas stations and motels were needed as well. Many have been kept up over the years and you can stay in the motels even now. We have tried to stay in original ones when we can. However, with the creation of the Interstate system to make everything even faster, a new highway was built pretty much parallel to Rt 66, but bypasses all of the small towns. This hurt the economy of the towns because they did not have nearly as many travelers passing through.  Now many organizations are in place dedicated to restoring the Route to closer to what it was. People still live in these small towns, and they love to share their story with the travelers (like us) coming through. Every single one of them has been so incredibly nice and friendly.


Thursday was a long day of riding (304 miles), from Clinton, OK to Tucumcari, NM, passing straight through Texas. In Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, Route 66 follows I-40 pretty closely. As we continue west, the landscape gets flatter and the roads get straighter. We were able to go many miles without making any turns.  Some interesting points from today include a Redneck Castle, Bug Ranch, Cadillac Ranch, and the Blue Swallow Motel.

The owner of this Redneck Castle was quite a character. We pulled up to a house with tons of signs outside and this older man wearing overalls comes out and invites us inside. It is filled with signs, guitars, old artifacts, anything. He calls himself a packrat, not a collector. We talked to him for a little bit, and then he sang us his version of "Get Your Kicks on Route 66."

We had lucked out with the weather so far in terms of no rain, but today we got caught in a little shower. It was almost over before we could even get out our rain gear. As we were filling up on gas for the last little part until Tucumcari, it started sprinkling again but we waited that one out for a few minutes. We could see it raining in the direction we were headed but lucky avoided getting wet.  As soon as we checked into the motel and put the motorcycles in the garage, went into the room and closed the door, it started downpouring-the kind you can hear on the roof. We were very lucky not to have been caught out in that. We finished off the evening at the Lizard Lounge, enjoying their signature Blue Swallow Margherita.

The owner of the Blue Swallow Motel took a photo of us and posted it on Facebook!