Day 3: Stroud, OK to Shamrock, TX – 250.9 Miles of Main Street Parades, Route 66 Royalty, and Texas Hail
Happy 250th Birthday, America! July 4th kicked off with another beautiful morning. We grabbed some coffee, strapped the gear down, and rolled out with a mission: find the office of Jerry McClanahan—the author of the definitive EZ66 Guide for Travelers—to say hello and drop a group challenge chip on him. Unfortunately, we couldn’t track down his exact spot, since our road captain lost his EZ66 Guide yesterday, so we pivoted and hopped back on 66 to hit the famous Arcadia Round Barn. Built in 1898 by William Odor and beautifully restored by the community in 1992, it’s an engineering marvel you have to see in person. We also cruised right back past Pops in the daylight to catch a glimpse of the giant soda bottle under the morning sun.
Parades, Mascots, and Patriotism
Our next target was Iron Nation Harley-Davidson in Edmond, but the holiday gridlock had other plans. The entire town was locked down for their July 4th parade, forcing us to detour. We ended up weaving our bikes through all the tiny, tight neighborhood side streets to bypass the parade route. Once we finally broke free and visited the dealership, we rode just down the road to spot “Edmond”—the town’s mascot, which is a massive blue fiberglass hippo statue.
Rolling into Oklahoma City, the State Capitol building framed the horizon right in front of us. Completed in 1917 and fully restored in 2022, its old Greco-Roman architecture is absolutely stunning. While downtown, we also hit World Harley-Davidson; they were closed for the holiday, but we checked in and snapped our mandatory dealership porch photos.
The absolute best part of riding on Independence Day was seeing the raw patriotism radiating from these small towns. Local businesses went all out:
- Heavy Machinery Displays: Fire trucks with extended ladders, construction cranes, bucket trucks, and bulldozers were staged along the road, all flying massive American flags.
- Sea of Red, White, and Blue: Entire residential yards were completely blanketed in small flags. It was an incredible sight to take in from the saddle.
Over the Canadian River and Visiting the “Mother of the Mother Road”
Leaving the city, we crossed the historic Lake Overholser Bridge in Bethany—a beautiful old iron truss bridge that carried the original 1926 alignment. From there, we roared through Yukon (the hometown of Garth Brooks) and pushed on to El Reno. We stopped for fuel, grabbed a case of water, and snagged the literal last bag of ice in the store to pack the coolers before pointing the front tires toward Hydro.
Just outside Hydro sits Lucille’s Service Station, an iconic slice of Route 66 history. Built in 1929, it’s one of only two remaining two-story gas stations left on the Mother Road. Lucille Hamon ran this place for over 60 years, helping countless down-on-their-luck travelers, earning her the legendary title “Mother of the Mother Road.”
[ Lucille’s Service Station ]
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[ ] [ ] | Historic 1929 | [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] | Two-Story Craft | [ ] [ ]
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| [Gas Pumps] |
Just across the dirt from the station, a family had a small pop-up tent set up. A sharp young entrepreneur named Colin was working hard selling hats, coins, and t-shirts. He eagerly invited us over, so we signed his guest book, talked shop, and bought a few items to support his hustle. Before we left, he drew us an awesome picture of a dragon and signed it for us—a great piece of road memorabilia.
Chasing Miles and Meeting Travelers
We stopped for a late lunch at the Boomerang Diner in Weatherford, then did a drive-by of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum (which we had toured back in 2020). From there, we tracked a very old, incredibly bumpy section of original concrete through Canute.
During a fuel stop further down the pavement, we struck up a conversation with a rider from Raleigh, North Carolina. The guy had logged an insane 750 miles yesterday alone. He told us he didn’t have to be back at work until July 20th and was just planning to burn gas and ride the entire time. Respect.
In Elk City, we rolled up to the National Route 66 Museum complex. It was closed for the holiday, but we will definitely catch it on the flip trip. We walked into the yard, slapped a Stator Haters sticker on their outdoor map, put one on the door, and took a look around the grounds.
Next was Erick, Oklahoma, where we rode through to see the honorary street signs for two local legends: Sheb Wooley (who wrote the classic wacky tune “The Purple People Eater”) and the great Roger Miller.
A Private Tour with Route 66 Royalty
We rolled up to Harley’s famous “Sandhills Curiousity Shop” in Erick, fully expecting it to be closed. But as we were standing out front, a car pulled right up to the curb—and sure enough, it was Harley himself! He asked if we wanted to come inside, and we gave him an enthusiastic hell yes.
This was Tyler’s first time meeting the legend. Harley unlocked the door and gave us free rein. Tyler even got to hold the absolute first historic Route 66 shield sign ever erected in the state of Oklahoma. After hanging out and swapping stories, we took a big group photo with him out front. We threw the cameras on and did a slow cruise directly in front of his house, down the alleyway, and back past his shop to capture video of his fantastic, massive collection of vintage signs.
Crossing into Texas: Dust, Hail, and Neon Reflections
Leaving Erick, we worked our way toward the Texas border through Texola. Once a bustling, thriving railroad hub, it’s a near ghost town today—a stark reminder of how fast these towns withered when I-40 bypassed them.
As we crossed the state line and closed in on Shamrock, Texas, the horizon went black. Severe lightning split the sky to our right, the wind whipped up fiercely, and the temperature plummeted. I guess Blake’s afternoon rain dance actually worked!
We beat the storm to the Western Motel in Shamrock and checked in. With it being the Fourth of July, our dinner options were limited to Taco Bell, McDonald’s, or an Indian Fusion place. We opted for the golden arches. While we were sitting inside eating and recapping the day, the sky opened up. Thunder cracked, rain poured, and then a heavy barrage of hail started hammering down. We watched out the window, praying for a break in the storm, and as soon as a small gap appeared, we jumped on the bikes and made a dead sprint back to the motel rooms.
Fortunately, the cells cleared out quickly. As the skies calmed, the brilliant art deco neon for the famous U-Drop Inn Café flickered to life down the street. We fired up the Harleys and moved them into different positions around the historic structure, capturing incredible nighttime photos with the vibrant green and red neon reflecting perfectly off the wet asphalt and puddles.
All the while, a neighbor just on the other side of our motel started putting on a massive, steady, professional-grade fireworks display. This guy must have spent thousands of dollars, shooting off massive aerial shells into the dark Texas sky to celebrate the 250th. It was a hell of a show to end the night.
250.9 miles under our belts today. Kickstands up at 7:00 AM sharp tomorrow. Texas Panhandle, here we come—we should be making New Mexico by nightfall!
For a 360 view of the intersection of Sheb Wolley Blvd and Route 66, click here https://cloud-va.insta360.com/share/va/430K7V4x7A7Z5X467492704256 Sheb Wolley wrote the One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater, was an original on Hee Haw and composed the Hee Haw Theme Song.