Northeast of Oklahoma City, one of the state’s best surviving stretches of Route 66, known locally as the “Free Road,” runs for over 30 miles along the north side of the turnpike, passing by horse and cattle ranches as it rolls across the red earth. The first stop along this idyllic rural cruise is the old highway town of Arcadia (pop. 320), which holds a recently restored round, red barn built in 1898. The ground floor of the much-loved landmark is now a mini museum and gift shop (405/396-2761) selling some highly collectible original Route 66 memorabilia. Across the highway, the Hillbillee’s Cafe (405/396-8177) offers homespun sustenance all day long, in an old Route 66 car repair shop.
The old road runs east from Arcadia along the north side of I-44, crossing under the freeway near the town of Chandler. Near the undercrossing, about four miles west of Chandler, stands a metal-roofed barn emblazoned with a photogenic “Meramec Caverns—Stanton MO” sign.
Chandler (pop. 2,842) itself is one of the most pleasant old Route 66 towns in Oklahoma; it stands out for a number of good reasons, not least of which is the classic Lincoln Motel ($35; 405/258-0200), at 740 E. 1st Street, along old Route 66 at the east edge of town, still as neat and tidy as the day it opened in 1939—two dozen two-room cabins, each with an American flag and a pair of yellow lawn chairs for watching the world whiz by.
Continuing east, old-roads fanatics will probably want to follow the winding alignment of Route 66, which continues along the south side of the turnpike for over 40 miles. On the west side of Stroud (pop. 2,758; “Home of Daneka Allen, Miss OK 1999”), check out the Rock Cafe (918/968-3990), at 114 W. Main Street, a Route 66 relic built in 1939 out of paving stones from the original highway and still churning out its better-than-average roadside fare.
East of Stroud, old Route 66 zig-zags back and forth along the freeway for the next 25 miles, through Sapulpa and into Tulsa. One stop to keep in mind, Russ’s Ribs (908/367-5656), at 233 S. Main Street in the brick-paved heart of Bristow, is home to some of the best $3 BBQ sandwiches on the planet. A full slab will set you back around $15, and Russ also makes some excellent deli sandwiches and “family packs” with all the fixin’s for a roadside picnic.
Between Bristow and Tulsa, old Route 66 snakes back and forth beside I-44 for a dozen miles of eye-blink small towns and abandoned motor courts (most of them built of local rocks). Near the east end of this stretch, three miles west of bustling Sapulpa, the circa-1921 Rock Creek Bridge is a reminder of what the old roads were really like: 120 feet long yet only 12 feet wide, the truss is rusty but the bridge still stands as a proud reminder of the original 1920s Route 66. Across the bridge is another evocative reminder: a drive-in movie theater, now closed but with the screen and the fan-shaped parking lot still intact.
