Memorial Day Weekend

This past Memorial Day Weekend we took a trip down the turnpike to Oklahoma City, where we spent Friday and Saturday, and then came back on Sunday on the stretch of Route 66 between OKC and Tulsa. It was too hot to go camping, and I really don't have much desire to camp in Oklahoma anyways (although the Ouachitas would be a cool place to camp if it's not hot). Friday we went to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OKC, where I had been once as a kid, probably 20 years ago or so. A lot has changed since then, as the museum has expanded greatly. As a student of American west history, I have been wanting to go to this museum for some time. I would also love to work there, even if it meant living in Oklahoma City (at least for a little while). It's a great institution and we enjoyed our visit. Much of the museum is off limits to photography, so I only took a few pictures. Saturday we hit the outlet mall in OKC; no pictures needed of shopping...Sunday we drove back to Tulsa on Route 66. I'm a sucker for Americana, and one of my dreams is to someday drive the entire length of Route 66 from Chicago to LA. I've been on other sections in Oklahoma, as well as in Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico. Someday I'll drive the whole thing in one trip. First stop was at POPS in Arcadia. POPS is a gas station with a giant pop bottle beckoning tourists to stop and fill up or try one of the over 500 flavors of soda pop available at the station. We all got a pop (except for Carter, who was sticking to milk on this trip) and just enjoyed sitting out by the giant bottle for a while. At night the bottle lights up with various colors. More info on POPS can be found here: http://route66.com/28.0.html. We also stopped to take a snapshot of the famous Round Barn in Arcadia. Someday when we don't have an infant we'll have to go inside. We ate lunch in Stroud at the Rock Cafe. This is one of those timeless Route 66 icons. The character of Sally Carrera in the Disney Pixar film Cars was based on the owner of the Rock Cafe. Many celebrities have eaten here, and the restaurant was featured on Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The Rock Cafe survived a fire in 2008 and continues to feed weary travelers along the Route. We stopped to check out an old stretch of Route 66 between Stroud and Bristow and then made our way back to Tulsa.