Editor’s Note: Following are links to Route 66 articles that first appeared on our U.S. Long Cuts blog. We are merging U.S. Long Cuts with Midwest Wanderer, adding a “Beyond the Midwest” menu.
Kicks on Route 66
Oklahoma
Beyond the Midwest: National Route 66 Museum, Elk City, Oklahoma
We expected to see the National Route 66 Museum. What we got were four museums in one:
- National Route 66 Museum
- National Transportation Museum
- Old Town Museum
- Farm & Ranch Museum
The National Transportation Museum keeps to the nostalgic Route 66 theme. Here you’ll find vintage cars cut in half. Slide behind the wheel or in the back seat and watch classic movie trailers at a Route 66 Drive-In theater.
Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.
A vintage trailer, motorcycles and an airplane are displayed, as is a 1917 fire engine complete next to a fireman’s pole. I was tempted to slide down the pole until Skip reminded me that I’m still getting over an ankle injury.
I’m not sure how the Popeye collection fits in with transportation, but it’s fun.
The National Route 66 Museum was the highlight for us, as we followed the road from Chicago to California.
The Old Town Museum is made up of several buildings, some facades and other full buildings that have been moved to the site.
Move room to room in a Victorian home to see dioramas and displays of early-day western Oklahoma, Native American culture, military and rodeo history.
I thought the old perm machine looked more like the woman was being electrocuted.
I’ve been to farm museums before, but the Farm and Ranch Museum includes displays I’ve never seen before, like a colorful tractor seat collection and a barbed wire collection.
We spent over an hour in the complex but could have spent at least double that time to see everything. What a bargain at only $5 per person ($4 for seniors, AAA members and children 6-16; free for children 5 and under).
The National Route 66 Museum Complex is located at 2717 W Highway 66 in Elk City, Oklahoma. Check the web site for hours.
Photos by Skip Reed and Connie Reed
Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie
Other articles that may interest you:
A Nostalgic Stay at the Route 66 Rail Haven Motel in Springfield, Missouri
Pontiac Oakland Museum, Pontiac Illinois: Auto Nostalgia along Route 66
Oklahoma’s Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque Offers Rotisserie Chicken as Alternative to Fried