Picking favorite stops along Route 66
TULSA — Michael Wallis tried to come up with his top 10 favorite attractions along Route 66.
“Couldn’t do it,” he said. “I tried. Here’s the list.”
Then, he showed a handful of pages in a notebook filled with attractions, both natural and created, along with restaurants, shops and “good old-fashioned tourist traps with rubber tomahawks.”
Wallis wrote the wildly popular “Route 66: The Mother Road,” which has sold more than a million copies since it was released in 1990.
The longtime Tulsan, a native of St. Louis, remains a highly sought speaker and expert on all things Route 66.
However, he simply can’t narrow it down to a top 10 list.
“There are literally hundreds and hundreds of places and people all along the road that I think are must-see,” said Wallis. “I’m often asked how long it will take to really see Route 66. I’m not exaggerating when I say it takes a lifetime.”
However, Wallis has several suggestions for those wanting to experience Route 66. Luckily, for Tulsans, two of the top suggestions involve Tulsa.
“The first thing I tell people is to do the road in segments,” said Wallis. “Pick out a segment of the road and spend a few days or a few weeks, whatever time you’ve got. Take your time. Be willing to pull over and see anything you think is interesting.
“Most importantly, talk to people. Talk to the truck drivers. Talk to the shop owners. Talk to the cooks. Talk to the other people on a trip down the road. The best thing about Route 66 are the people. It is amazing.” If you live in northeast Oklahoma, Wallis says “you are very lucky. You are in the heart of the road.”
His two suggestions both leave from Tulsa. One is to drive Route 66 from Tulsa to Joplin.
The other suggestion, requiring at least a week, is driving Route 66 from Tulsa to Albuquerque.
“Those are great drives, both of them,” said Wallis. “You can make them as long or as short as you want. But both of those have incredible things to see and do.”
Some of the most popular stops on Route 66 are located between Tulsa and Joplin.
The Blue Whale is near Catoosa. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore “is a very, very popular stop for folks doing Route 66.” There’s Totem Pole Park near Foyil “and a lot of folks love to stop at Clanton’s in Vinita for the calf fries.”
There’s the Coleman Theatre in Miami and Mickey Mantle Boulevard through Commerce, hometown of the baseball legend.
There’s only 13 miles of Route 66 in Kansas, the shortest stretch of any state on the road, but it is considered one of the best-preserved stretches of Route 66. There are three alignments of Route 66 through Joplin including Bonnie and Clyde’s Garage Apartment, The Westport Lodge and many other attractions.
“If you are in a hurry, you can always hop back on the super slab (Interstate 44) in Joplin and come on back to Tulsa,” said Wallis.
There are far too many attractions to mention on the approximately 650 miles from Tulsa to Albuquerque.
However, there’s little question “that some of the best-known landmarks
on Route 66 are on this stretch.”
Those would likely include Tucumcari, made famous by the “Tucumcari Tonite” billboard campaign, and the Big Texan Steak Ranch (free 72-ounce steak billboards) in Amarillo.
However, Wallis points to the variety of littleknown stops. Even before you get out of Tulsa, there are a handful of must-sees in west Tulsa. Ollie’s is one of Route 66’s best-known restaurants, as is the Rock Cafe in Stroud. Two attractions are near Arcadia (Round Barn and Pops 66). There are all sorts of Route 66 landmarks across western Oklahoma,
several Route 66 museums and a dozen or more “can’t miss” stops across the Texas Panhandle.
Albuquerque, much like Tulsa, is packed with Route 66-era buildings and signs.
“Much of the road is still available to drive from Tulsa to Albuquerque,” said Wallis. “Whenever I think of a segment of the road, I always think of something on another segment of the road.
“I’ve been asked to do lists of things to see and do on the road. But I don’t want people to limit themselves. The beauty of the road was the experience. Get out there. Stop where you want. Take it all in.”