Part 1 – Oklahoma to New Mexico
This is Part 1 of our West Route 66 Road Trip that we took in July of 2013. Part 1 includes our experience from Oklahoma, through Texas, all the way to New Mexico and some of our favorite stops along the way.
If you have not already please read our Overview of our West Route 66 Road Trip so you better understand why we took this amazing family adventure!
We hopped in the car and hit the road. Our first stop was the giant pop bottle a Route 66 attraction rightly named POPS in Arcadia, Oklahoma.
After enjoying the giant POP bottle and trying some interesting Soda Pop drinks we continued west until arriving in Shamrock, Texas.
In Shamrock, Texas there is the U-drop Inn also know as the Conoco Tower Station. It also inspired Disney Pixar Cars and they based Romone’s Paint and Body shop off of this location.
I was excited to stop in Amarillo to check out the Cadillac Ranch, where multiple old Cadillacs are buried part way and sticking up out of the ground and all covered in spray paint. If you have seen Disney Pixar Cars they based a ton of their imagery on Route 66 attractions and some of the rock formations throughout the film reflect the look of Cadillac Ranch.
In the midst of the heat and long driving my car first started having overheating issues after visiting the two Route 66 landmarks. I thought I was lucky to find an auto mechanic who looked over my car. He did not fix a darn thing, and charged me more money that I expected. But the car was still operational, and it was night so the heat was not as bad on my vehicle. We continued west because we had too much fun planned to let a little car trouble stop us. We were young, brave and on a mission.
We arrived in Albuquerque New Mexico where we got a hotel room for the night.
Thanks for reading! Please comment and let us know what you have enjoyed seeing on Route 66.
Continue to Part 2 of the West Route 66 Road Trip! Where we take a turn of Route 66 and end up at the Grand Canyon!
