No Man's Land Regional Park

  There aren’t any designated camping spots in this small community park. Either of the two parking lots are okay and we also saw a fifth wheel parked in the grass by the baseball diamond.

The park has a dump station and potable water, a skateboard park, picnic tables, restrooms, and picnic tables.

   The parking lots are large enough for any RV. Park  36.67618, -101.46932

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

  General Phillip Sheridan, who fought for the Union in the Civil War, was appointed head of the Department of the Missouri in 1867 by President Grant with orders to keep the Native Americans living on the plains under control and restricted to reservations. His tactics included harsh treatment of woman and children, destruction of villages and food supplies, and unrestricted killing of buffalo.

   On November 27, 1868 the 7th U.S. Cavalry, led Lt. Col. George Custer under Sheridan’s command, attacked the sleeping village of Cheyenne Peace Chief Black  Kettle. The village was the western most of a series of winter camps along the Washita River and relatively isolated. The men in the village attempted to hold the soldiers at bay while the women and children fled to safety but many were captured and held as hostages. Custer and his men began marching towards warriors from the other villages who had been gathering on the nearby hilltops. Fearing that the women and children would be harmed the warriors retreated which allowed Custer’s troops to retreat back to their camp and supply train.

  Black Kettle and his wife were killed along with village men, women, children although an exact count is a disputed matter. Custer lost 21 soldiers. Native Americans refer to the action as the Lodge Pole Massacre which seems a more appropriate name than the Washita Battle.

  The site includes a visitor center, a paved loop trail, and a 1.5 mile grassy trail to the village location.

       

  The visitor center is accessible. The paved trail is accessible but, due to grades, wheelchair users may need assistance.

The visitor center parking lot is large enough for RVs. The Washita trailhead lot is small but RVs can be parked in the grass along Route 47.  Battlefield  35.61617, -99.68677

Washita National Wildlife Refuge

  The accessible, paved trail is short at only 1/3 mile long but it  loops through several different habitats of meadows and forests to a boardwalk view of the wetlands. We did not see many birds or animals but the insects were out in great numbers.

  The refuge has a 22 mile auto tour route and another short trail. We did not do either of these.

The parking lot is large enough for any RV but the entry road is narrow and hard to spot. The trees have not been trimmed lately so  large vehicles will brush against the branches.  Refuge  35.63837, -99.28219

Lucky Star Casino - Hammon

     RVs can be parked in the long spaces on the southern edge of the lot. There’s also a large gravel lot behind the gas station which may be an okay parking spot. The casino closes at 2am on weeknights which did not affect our parking overnight.

  The card and money slots are easy to reach. The chairs are fairly easy to move and the employees are always ready to help. Casino   35.63902, -99.3577

McCubbin's Transformers

                        

   Reasons to travel the backroads – very little traffic, slower speeds, interesting scenery, and giant Transformers! We spotted Optimus Prime guarding the parking lot of Mike McCubbin’s body shop at the eastern edge Stillwater, OK and immediately turned around to get a closer look.  It is amazing! The story is pretty interesting too.

    Mike McCubbin was impressed by a huge Transformer statue outside of a museum in Missouri so he ordered two from Thailand, one for each of his body shops. They arrived seven months later but quality of the statues was disappointing. Mike spent the next nine months grinding, welding, sandblasting, and rebuilding to make them reflect his high standards and to delight every little kid and Transformer fan.

                 

   It’s easy to get close to the statues but they can also be viewed from your vehicle.

   The shop on the east side of Stillwater has a small parking lot.  Anyone driving a large RV should park a bit west at the gas station. The shop on the west side of Stillwater has a pull through lot. It’s also possible to stop on the frontage road.  Transformers  36.1158, -97.03227

Route 66-Sayre and Erick

The Beckham County Courthouse, built in 1911 in Sayre Oklahoma, appeared for about 30 seconds in the background of the movie “Grapes of Wrath”

  The Western Motel with it’s original neon sign is still in business.

  The Stoval, built in 1950, is no longer a theater but the sign has been nicely restored

                     

   Even though it was bypassed by I-40 in 1975 ( the last section of Route 66 in Oklahoma to be bypassed) Erick refuses to die. Every year the town hosts a Roger Miller Festival to honor it’s most famous hometown boy. We were familiar with Miller’s song “King of the Road” but that’s all so we visited the tiny Roger Miller Museum on the corner of Roger Miller Blvd and Sheb Wooley Ave. (yep, the guy who wrote “Purple People Eater” also lived in Erick!) We were surprised at the number of songs Miller wrote, the number of albums he recorded and the number of awards the received. And we even knew some of them like “Chug a Lug” and “England Swings”

  There’s not a lot going on in Erick so there’s plenty of parking along the side streets. A walk down Sheb Wooley Ave. is an interesting experience. Sandhills Curiosity Shop is covered on the outside with signs and filled on the inside with all kinds of stuff that Harley and Annabelle Russell collected. Nothing is for sale but tips are welcome. Harley and Annabelle loved entertaining visitors with songs and jokes. Sadly Annabelle passed away in 2014 but Harley still opens the shop occasionally.  It was closed when we passed through but the woman at the museum said we could try knocking on the door of his house. We didn’t. I think now that we should have.

        

   Most of the buildings along Sheb Wooley Ave. are closed so we peeked in the windows and found several of them we’re brimming with things. This one appears to be filled with both vintage items and garbage.

        

   The owners of the Bonebrake Hardware closed the store in the 1960s leaving everything in place. The city is hoping to acquire the building and turn it into a museum. They’re also in the process of opening the 100th Meridian Museum across the street from the Roger Miller Museum on a regular schedule rather than just by request.

  Watch for the West Winds Motel on the east edge of town. It was built of wood and stucco in the Mission style but the now trees block a good view of it.

Map

Route 66-Canute and Elk City

     

 Tiny Canute was bypassed in 1970. A few signs are all that is left of the businesses that served Route 66 travelers for years.

 A few miles down the road Elk City, with a larger population and more diverse economy, fared much better. The community and the road are both celebrated in the National Route 66 & Transportation Museum. A recreated town and a farm and ranch museum are located on the same site and included in the $5.00 admission. It’s well worth the price but even if you don’t like museums at least stop to see the grounds. Walking the grounds and peeking in the windows of the old town displays is all free of charge.

 Displays in the museum buildings range from a large collection of Popeye memorabilia to antique furniture.

 

 Most of the buildings in old town are false fronts with window displays and can not be entered.

         

The Farm and Ranch Museum has collections inside the buildings and on the grounds.

A large kachina doll made of oil drums and scrap metal by Johnny Grayfish stood in front of the Queenan Trading Post which closed in 1980. The kachina was refurbished in 1990 and now stands at the entrance to the Route 66 Museum.

 Most of the museum is accessible. The second floor of the Victorian house in old town is not accessible. Some of the boardwalks in old town have steps and no ramps.

 Small RVs will fit in the lot if backed up over the grass. Larger RVs can be parked across the spaces.

 

The 17 story Parker Drilling Rig #114 built in the mid 1960s was one of the biggest rigs at the time. It was built to drill deep shafts for atomic bombs which were test-detonated underground. It was also used for conventional oil and gas drilling. It was moved to Elk City and reassembled in 1991 as a tourist attraction.

                  

  Elk City Lake Park, located a few miles south of the city, has a nice camping area with electric and water hookups where visitors can stay for four nights at no charge. :-) Update 2023: no longer free. $15.00 a night.

We didn’t need the hookups and stayed in a different parking area  so that we had a good view of the lake.

       

       Map

Route 66-Weatherford and Clinton

  The Stafford Air & Space Museum is named after Thomas Stafford who was born and raised in Weatherford. Stafford was a Air Force officer, a test pilot, and a NASA astronaut who went into space six times. The museum has a nice tribute to Stafford plus a small but amazing collection of airplanes, space craft and related artifacts.

  The museum is accessible.

  The parking lot is large enough for RVs.

          

  This Cherokee Trading Post east of Clinton is a a relative newcomer in a chain of seven trading posts owned and managed by four generations of the Wilson family.

  Built in the 1950, the Glancy Motel has been completely renovated which included restoring the cool original sign. The Redland Theater is no longer in operation but it still has a great sign.

    

 McLain Rogers Park was built between 1934 and 1937 as part of the the Civil Works Administration which provided employment for out of work citizens during the depression. This Art Deco arch with original neon lighting is at the east entrance of the park.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton takes visitors on a trip through time along Route 66 with exhibits and artifacts from different decades.

   A restored Valentine Lunch System diner with a complete interior is located outside on the museum grounds. The little diners cost $5,000 in the 1950s and came with a grill, counter and stools, ready to be unloaded, set upon a concrete slab, and be operational within hours.

  The museum is accessible.

  RVs can be parked across the spaces but the lot is not very big so parking will be limited on busy days.

The Y Service Station and Café is now a car dealership but still looks much the same as it did when it was built in 1937.

   

  We stayed overnight in the Lucky Star Casino which offers free parking with electric hookups in the overflow lot. A security guard will probably met you as you pull into the lot and show you where to go. There are two electric panels with multiple outlets located in the far north and south corners of the lot. The lot is very sloped but we were given permission to pull into the ditch and were fairly level.

  The casino is down the hill and across a street. Non accessible SUVs and shuttles provide pickup and drop off service. The casino is accessible.

    

     Map