And on the Fourth Day

Though not well-rested, we headed West. We stopped at two museums, we did a little geocaching (meaning that Gwen tolerated me doing a little geocaching), and we eventually made it to Amarillo in time to take in a baseball game (or, at least the first 7 innings of it). We adjusted our schedule hugely on day 4, largely because we'd lost 3 hours to the storm on the day before.

So, we started our day at Fort Reno in El Reno, OK. Sadly, we weren't able to get in to the buildings because of our early departure, but we walked the grounds, read the signs, and Gwen learned what fire ant mounds look like.

One of the fun things about this trip is that we often run into the same people along the way. At least on the same day of travel. On this particular day we ran into a couple from Britain driving a car with Illinois plates. At one vintage gas station along with way the husband commented about how one can one see so many "garages" before they lose all interest. From then on he became "unimpressed Brit". We followed them for a while, and then they followed us. Eventually, they went on their own way.

Even though they didn't want to see any more petrol stations, they didn't take the opportunity to stop at attractions that weren't ancient gas pumps, like the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. It was a really good museum: very informative and well done displays. Each room taught about a different decade. There was a geochache hidden outside the museum that we couldn't find. This was the first time I can remember Gwen actually active helping on a search. It didn't go well. Not for want of trying. I've been trying to find one cache in each state of the trip. That way Gwen doesn't get too frustrated with me.

This day was hot. I mean record-breaking hot. And in Oklahoma that means well above 100 degrees F.

So... the next stop was for Ice Cream. While Braum's ice cream wasn't part of the Route 66 experience at the time of "The Grapes of Wrath", it certainly has been a part of our trip. The stores are everywhere. We pulled into one in Elk City and had sundaes and a root beer float (It was National Root Beer Float Day, according to Gwen's calendar).

Cold food accomplished, we headed across town to the National Route 66 Museum, which was a bit of a disappointment after the one in Clinton. But, it is part of a complex of historic buildings, so we learned a bit about Oklahoma and pioneer history, railroad history, and the like.

Our plan was to stop at the U Drop Inn in Shamrock, TX for lunch. We were a bit late. We got there in time for a late lunch. But they've not been serving food there for at least a decade. Whoops! We did get photos. And chatted with a lovely lady who gave us travel recommendations.

Our last road stop of the day was at the Slug Bug Ranch.  It is just outside Amarillo.  It is an homage/parody of Cadillac Ranch, which is just on the other side of Amarillo, and would be our first stop of day 5.  A few VW Beetles stuck nose first into the ground and covered with spray paint.  That's it.

Finally, we reached Amarillo. We got ourselves to the baseball stadium, where the Amarillo Thunderheads were playing the Laredo Lemurs. Much of the game was not of note. But, interesting thing to me: anyone in the box seats had wait service. Our waitress was very friendly and recommended a couple of items that were wonderful. The BBQ sandwich was delicious, and the Smothered fries may have been the biggest and best thing I've ever eaten at a baseball game... steak fries, BBQ Brisket, and nacho cheese. Wow! Much of this experience was low-quality (difficult to reserve tickets, no ball caps for sale, no scoreboard at the game... the most minor of minor league games), but their food was wonderful. We only stayed until the close of the 7th inning because both teams were outright terrible, and we were exhausted.