Established as Fort El Reno in 1874 as part of U.S. Army efforts to subdue the Cheyenne, El Reno (pop. 16,212) later saw duty as a POW camp during World War II; more recently it earned a measure of fame as the site of a motel seen in the offbeat road movie Rain Man. (In the movie, the motel was in Amarillo, but the “real” one, called the Big Eight, sat along old Route 66 at the east edge of El Reno.)
For hungry road-trippers, another place not to pass by in El Reno is Johnnie’s Grill (daily; 405/262-4721), at 301 South Rock Island, famed since 1926 for its Fried Onion Burgers. On the first weekend in May, Johnnie’s cooks up the “World’s Largest Hamburger,” a 750-pound behemoth.
East of El Reno, all the way into Oklahoma City (OKC), old Route 66 runs along the north side of I-40; in places it’s a three-lane road, with a dangerous passing lane in the center. The last real town beyond the OKC suburbs is Yukon, hometown of country crooner Garth Brooks and of a giant “Yukon’s Best Flour” grain mill, whose huge sign lights up the night sky and draws shutterbugs off the highway.
