Route66 Texas – PROTEIN PALACE

18 June 2013: Day 35 of 43 – Clinton, Elk City, Texola OKLAHOMA, Amarillo TEXAS. 

Route66: Day 6 of 13. 

Overnight in Amarillo TEXAS. 

Period 565km, Route66: 533 for 2,070km, Total 13,659km.

Oklahoma has the largest stretch of driveable Route 66 roads of all the eight states – 432 miles (695km). This is what we learned at the classic Route 66 Museum in Clinton OK. We crossed the famous “Pony Bridge” to get here, yes, the one that grandpa got thrown off in the novel “Grapes of Wrath” that coined the term “Mother Road” for Route 66. The museum officially quotes the length of the ORIGINAL Route 66 as 2,448 miles (3,940km) – nowadays it varies depending on which parts you choose to travel since additional sections were built in addition to the original.

Construction of Route 66 started in 1926 with $150million ($1.7b In 2012 dollars) and 800 miles (1,288km) was already paved leaving 1,648 miles (2,652km) to be upgraded or built as new. Route 66 was completed in 1937. Cyrus Stevens Avery (1871-1963) was the Chief Engineer of Route 66 and thereby known as the “Father of Route 66”. Route 66 was instrumental in getting goods and for the migration of new European immigrants to the west. John Steinbeck captures in his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, what most people believe is the

spirit of Route 66: the path of escape, renewal and hope, “the main migrant road”, “the road of flight”. Apparently tens of thousands of people used the road to seek a new life in fabled California – divorcees, breakups, escapees and of course migrants. Route 66 was also critical in World War II for the transport of troops and supplies to the Pacific for the war against Japan. Most Route 66 business were established and boomed during these times in order to accommodate and feed the troops over such a long distance. This continued with a new era of family travel in the USA.

It is sad and lonely to see these business broken down and abandoned as you travel the route today. The beginning of the end of Route 66 came when Dwight D Eisenhower experienced the “autobahn” on a visit to Germany and decided that one two-lane highway was simply not going to cut it for an economy that was on-track to become the biggest in the world. Using the war as a driver, Eisenhower commissioned the “National Highway System of the USA” to start construction of the present day “Interstate Highway System” in 1956 which completed in 1991 and by 2006 had reached 46,876 miles (75,440 km)!!!

By 1985 the last of the Route 66 roads officially ceased to exist on maps and signs. Route 66 is also credited for the invention of a specific system of roadside sign-post advertising known as “Burma-Shave Signs” from 1925 to 1963, reaching 7,000 signs across America. This involves conveying a message using several signs spaced apart on  the roadside. Most Route 66 fans agree that the car that most people used to travel Route 66 during its heyday for holidays was the 1967 Ford Mustang GT – 356,271 were made at a cost of $2,461 ($16,694 In 2012 dollars).

This is why I hired a Mustang to “honour” the nostalgia of this great route. Speaking of cars, the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, a short drive further downstream featured displays of the actual cars used by migrants and holiday makers. It also had a complete replica of a typical town main street at the height of use of the Route. These museums are run by not-for-profit trusts with fans as members and from donations and very limited state grants. The highlight of the day was the ghost town of “Texola” in Oklahoma on the border with Texas. There was tumbleweed literally rolling across the main road with most buildings boarded up and some old cars rusting. Out of the blue I spot the aptly named and functioning and open “Tumbleweeds Café” which is rare on Route 66.

Inside Bubba Gump met the owner, Mercelle who is also an artist specialising in the painting of cattle skulls – she showed us some amazing pieces – they actually look like the painting subject until you realise they are a skull!!! Mercelle also cooks a mean Jalapeno Burger and Peach Pie. She is originally from Virginia and has been living there for 5 years. There are approx 20 farmers in the area so she totally relies on passing fans to make a living – a lonely, almost monastic existence! Amarillo (pop 253,823) is really like a support centre for cattle and wheat farmers.

There is nothing much downtown for the tourist. The main offering of Amarillo is “protein” – steaks steaks and more steaks. Bubba Gump paid homage  to this fine tradition and visited the very famous “The Big Texan Steakhouse”, est 1960 and famous for its 72oz (2kg) Rib Eyes. If you eat one of these, along with a huge baked potato, Caesar salad, 3-prawn cocktail and chocolate cake within 1hr then the $72 meal is FREE!!! On average 50 people a week, try this and only 5 succeed!!! Klondike Bill, a professional wrestler, downed two of these complete meals in one sitting in 1963 and holds the record.

The oldest person to succeed was a 69 year old grandmother and the youngest person was an 11 year old boy!!!On 24 March 2008, World Hot Dog Eating Champ, Joey Chestnut consumed this meal in just 8min and 52 sec!!! By comparison a 500lb (227kg) Bengal tiger ate the steak in just 90sec. You can view and touch the steak in a special display at the entry and trust me – it is positively HUGE! I decided to go for a 1kg Rib Eye and Bubba went for a 500gram – the biggest he has ever had in his life. We both polished them off without much effort but we were full. What a place. Inside a huge wooden warehouse, hundreds of people seated on chunky wooden tables with cow-hide chairs, antler chandeliers and cattle and deer heads hanging on the walls. Waiters walk around in full cowboy regalia – a terrific steak and dining experience and this place was easily a “protein palace”!!!