Some places are worth two visits

Happy Friday, Reader!

We said our goodbyes to the Texas panhandle and rolled into Oklahoma, where the wind means business and the spring storms are showing off. I’ll be honest, work totally hijacked my week, and I am itching to trade my laptop for some fresh air and open highway.

But let’s talk about the good stuff! Here’s what the Texas panhandle served up for us.

The U-Drop-Inn After Dark

The U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas at dusk, with green neon lights glowing against a dramatic orange and purple sunset sky. — The U-Drop Inn, Shamrock, TX. The neon came on just as the storm rolled in.

We cruised past the U-Drop Inn earlier in the day, and I snapped a few photos in the afternoon sun, but I just knew I had to come back. That Art Deco beauty with its neon trim? It was made for nighttime.

So back to Shamrock we went as the sun started to dip. I wandered around during golden hour, chasing that perfect angle and getting my camera ready for the magic. I had big dreams of catching some cool car light trails, but the wind and a fast-moving storm had other plans. Sometimes you just have to roll with it and let the sky steal the spotlight.

And wow, did it ever deliver! The clouds soaked up the last bit of orange, and the neon glowed green against a sky full of drama. The U-Drop Inn has been making travelers hit the brakes since 1936, and standing there with the wind whipping and the light changing every second, I totally understood why people still can’t resist pulling over.

Some places just call you back another look, and the U-Drop Inn is definitely one of those spots.

A row of graffiti-covered Cadillacs buried nose-down in a flat Texas field, with visitors adding their own paint in the afternoon sun. — Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX. Spray cans welcome.

These ten Cadillacs have been hanging out on this ranch since 1974, and let me tell you, the layers of spray paint are so thick you almost forget there are cars under there. The best part? Watching total strangers show up with their own cans of paint and just go wild. No rules, no ropes, no 'please don’t touch.' Just a bunch of grown-ups letting their inner kids loose in the middle of a wheat field. My kind of roadside fun!

An abandoned motel and cafe in Glenrio, Texas, with faded pink signs still hanging above graffiti-covered walls under a wide blue sky. — Glenrio, TX. The sign still stands. The town doesn't.

Glenrio is perched right on the Texas-New Mexico line and used to be a hopping little stop on Route 66. Then I-40 showed up and, just like that, the crowds vanished. The old motel and cafe signs are still hanging on, the buildings are still standing (with a lot more graffiti), and everything is slowly melting back into the landscape. Wandering through felt less like sightseeing and more like flipping to the last page of a book that never got finished.

A restored cottage-style Phillips 66 gas station in McLean, Texas, with three bright orange vintage pumps lined up in front of a tidy brick building. — McLean, TX. Someone has been keeping this one pretty for decades.

This cute little Phillips 66 station in McLean is one of the last of its kind, and you can tell someone really cares for it. The pumps are painted bright orange, the brick is spotless, and the whole place looks like it’s just waiting for someone to pull in for a fill-up. I love finding these old stations still looking sharp. They’re easy to miss and even easier to lose, so I always make a point to stop when I see one.

A man walks down the painted center stripe of Route 66 toward a midpoint welcome sign in Adrian, Texas, with wind turbines visible on the flat horizon. — Adrian, TX. Jody walked the line. 1,139 miles to go.

Adrian, Texas is smack dab in the middle between Chicago and Los Angeles, 1,139 miles each way! Of course, we had to celebrate with lunch at the Midpoint Cafe, a classic stop for hungry road trippers. Jody worked off his Route 66 burger by walking down the painted center line toward the welcome sign, and I caught the moment on camera. It’s one of my favorite shots from the day. Halfway there, and the adventure was still going strong.

Two painted Minion sculptures dressed as a cowboy and a hippie sit on a bench beside an Old Route 66 sign in Vega, Texas. — Vega, TX. Nobody asked. Nobody had to.

I definitely did not expect to see a cowboy Minion with a lasso on Route 66, but that’s exactly what Vega, Texas, delivered. There are two of them, just hanging out on a bench by the Old Route 66 sign, grinning at everyone who drives by. After ghost towns and history lessons, a couple of goofy yellow Minions were the perfect way to end the day.

One Thing Worth Knowing

The Texas stretch of Route 66 runs through small towns, and lodging options are thin. If you're planning to drive it, do your research before you leave. We ended up dry camping at Rosita Flats OHV area for the night, which was dusty, noisy, and not exactly our scene. It was fine, but it was also a good reminder that knowing what kind of environment you can actually sleep in matters as much as knowing where the next great photo stop is. A little planning goes a long way out here.

Oklahoma has the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the country (432 miles), and we’re planning to take it slow and soak it all in. If Route 66 is on your bucket list, I’d love to hear what you’re most excited to explore along the way!

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