It was a slow start to the day, not in any real hurry to get on the road. The Cubs won’t be in town until the 11th, so I got some time to get to Chicago. So I’ll be taking my time as I progress through Missouri and Illinois.
The first town I came across today was Yukon, OK. A sign as you enter town lets you know I have come upon the hometown of country legend Garth Brooks. I change my phone over to Garth Brooks’ greatest hits as I roll through town. I looked over the history and see there is a Garth Brooks Blvd that connects Route 66 back to the Interstate. Back in the 90’s the Yukon water tower had painted “Home of Garth Brooks” on the water tower as you come into town, in bright red paint. Oklahoma is really proud of its hometown heroes, as I said. A shared claim to fame. I wanted to get a good photo, and drove around town for a bit. Finally, I found a position at a truck stop just across the interstate.
My next stop comes as I round a bend, I see a sculpture that resembles a soda bottle. In the giant building with a huge glass window, I can see hundreds of glass soda bottles lining the shelves against the window. The place is called Pop’s. It is a soda specialty pit stop along Route 66. I am a fan of sugar cane cream or root beer soda. In Seattle, we have Jones Soda, I was introduced to it by my high school girlfriend.
Pop’s had Jone’s which I’m guessing in Oklahoma is a novelty, rare find. So i wanted to get something new. The sodas that filled the coolers were sorted by color. brown-rootbeet, clear or red – creme soda, blue – bubblegum, orange – duh, and so on. The entire spectrum of the rainbow in a sugary drink in a glass bottle. There is a diner inside the shop. I pop up to the bar, sitting on a padded round stool. I asked for a float. I can get a root beer from the fountain or use one of my bottles. I grab one of my cream sodas from my 6-pack carrying case.
The rest of my day was spent driving through small Oklahoma towns. I drove through Oklahoma City without much notice. You pass the capital building are pretty much in and out. As I was getting to Tulsa, I noticed a sign “Tee-Pee Drive-In.” Now, the only drive-ins I’ve seen on the trip have been burger joints. I turn on my blinker, I figure maybe I can get some photos of an abandoned drive-in. To my surprise, this place wasn’t abandoned at all, and the gates were open. I saw a couple of cars parked inside. I pulled to the side of the road and looked up the Drive In. There is a movie playing tonight, “Steel Magnolias,” as a tribute to the late Dolly Parton.
I had planned to drive through Tulsa and stay a town over. Another pivot of the plans is to live in the moment and enjoy the experiences. I had not eaten yet so I looked up a BBW place in town. I wanted to get BBQ before I leave Oklahoma, since I didn’t get any while in Texas. I go grab some ribs and head back to the drive-in. Dolly Parton is playing on the speakers as I pull into my spot.
I took a walk around, grabbed some popcorn, I had an hour and a half before the sun fully set enough for the movie to start. The last drive-in I went to was to see Freedy Vs. Jason in Montana 20+ years ago with my sister . I really wanted to go to a drive-in on this trip and thought about that today as I was driving. I thought it would be hard to have that line up, as I would have to find a town showing one as dusk was approaching. So in a world of no coincidences, only fate, the stars aligned for me today. The extra time I had gave me a chance to eat and write in my journal before the movie started. The movie is about to start and I need to wrap it up. Tomorrow is Kansas for a quick minute, then into Missouri.
