Day 6 – July 13, 2026 – Weatherford, OK to Tucumcari, NM

Another interesting day on the road. We started a little after 8 and the weather was perfect. We followed the Route 66 signs for Clinton, OK and more. This section of Route 66 bounces from the north to the south side of Interstate I-40 and back, and this happens quite often. It wasn’t really difficult to follow except when we ran into Road Construction. Again, the road was closed to cross I-40 so I went in I-40 West and got off at the next exit. There were several areas where they were patching the road so it was down to one lane and you had to wait for traffic, what there was. After several of these occcurances I got onto I-40 and headed to Amarillo.

We did get off whaen we arrived in Texas and traveled thru Shamroack and McLean Texas (the first 2 towns in Texas). They had some good Route 66 signs and banners and a Route 66 Museum in Shamrock. There was also a Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. I also took a picture of an abandonded gas station we passed in Shamrock, TX.

The interesting part in McLean was I was looking for a park so Kelso could walk. I turned north on Main St and the only vehicle parked was a truck, that just pulled in as we went by, in front of a bar at the north end. There were no other cars and I did not see any businesses in any of the stores fronts. Basically 2 blocks of nothing. A commentary on what effect the Interstate Highways had on some towns.

Amarillo is where the Cadillac Ranch is located. It is on a piece of property along Historic Route 66. There are 10 vintage Cadillacs that are buried front end down and at a 60 degree angle to the ground. People are allowed to spray paint anything they like on anyone or all of the vehicles. The Organizers have a trailer/Concession stand between the entrance and the cars and they sell spray paint from the trailer. I do not know what they charge for a can of paint, but probably a great money maker. Their was a guy near the gate that had key rings and several other irems which all have preserved a piece of the graffitti paint that has fallen off the cars. Families, kids and adults were just going wild spray painting and having lots of fun. The road and the concrete divider barrier near the entrance were all spray painted as well. As least nobody spray painted my car while we were there. A pretty unique place that was well worth the time to stop and see. Kelso & I did not spray paint anything.

We ran into some more road work so we hopped on I-40 for Tucumcari, New Mexico. I tried the Blue Swallow Motel for a room but they are not Pet Friendly and it is posted on their welcome sign in the drive. The Blue Swallow Motel was 1st openned in 1939 and gives the travellers a taste of accomodation from the early days, They do have air-conditioning in the rooms now. So without being Pet Friendly, we moved on to Days Inn.

I will post pictures once we have the problem solved..

The picture below is from Shamrock Texas.