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On Route 66. Clinton, Oklahoma.

Our driver, Sammy. (whenever we stop he climbs right up).

We stopped on our way across the country in Clinton, Oklahoma and wanted to see the Route 66 Museum. One of many along the way west. We were traveling I 40 west which at times actually becomes Rt.66. The old road is at times way to narrow, too twisty or too dangerous for a large RV so we stay, as many do, on the Interstate.

Route 66 was called the Mother Road because it was for once allowing people to travel away from the despair of the Dust Bowl that was happening in middle America during these years. The weather had changed and the drought dried up their farms, killed their crops and they needed to now go to the "promised land" to the west where they could rebuild their lives. A very difficult time for these families.

A lot of the artifacts in the museum were things that we actually had as children so it was really a hoot to relive some of this. Phone booths were common for us when we would go into a corner drug store to get an ice cream cone or a lime rickey for, are you ready?, 5 cents. Of course we had to take a photo. During the 1940's it was a challenge for college kids to see how many could actually fit into one of these booths. (Before my time guys..lol) The wooden booths later were replaced with aluminum and became outhouses for drunks. You never wanted to use a phone booth unless it was an emergency. URGH.

The Soda Shoppe.

Popular in the 1950's, they were a place for teens to come and hang out and have sodas and ice cream, play music and dance. If you ever saw the TV show Happy Days then you know what a Soda Shoppe is like. The time was of innocence then or if not, we never heard anything different. Just look at that jukebox! 25 cents would get you 5 plays. Swing, jazz and a bit of rock n' roll since it was just beginning to change the sounds we heard.

A 1940's auto and I feel awful because I didn't write down the model. It had the scratchy beige interior cloth covering on the seats which I remember from the car my Dad had when I was able to stand on the back seat and hold onto the back of the front seat. Yes, I was probably about 2. (ok, stop counting...it would have been 1949...:-0 ) Knowing my Dad's taste in cars back then it's probably a Chevy or Buick.

And here's our time!! Hippies, love, peace and rock n'roll. Long hair, bell bottom jeans, anti-establishment. Then the Viet Nam war. Why didn't we learn from the other wars? Another blog.

The people lived simple lives and this is a home made "guitar". Our son makes them from cigar boxes and the sound is amazing.

The next few images are from @gettyimages , stock, and show the actual region and the desolation that the people dealt with. The photographs are @originalworks by me.

This image was taken from the Rt. 66 Museum of Clinton, Oklahoma site to show you where we were and the area that I am speaking about.

Dust Bowl images from @Gettyimages
Map of 1940's from http://www.okhistory.org/sites/route66

Hope you enjoyed the adventure.

Warmly,
Sheila
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