The Great Mikegration

Cover Photo: Embracing the spirit of Route 66 in Afton, OK

Adventure Map Days 4-7

Day 4: 05/10/23

• Today’s the day we head to Route 66!!
• Since we were up late last night we ended up getting a much later start this morning than we had planned on so while we were some delayed it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. We had our hotel breakfast, hopped in the car, and started driving to Mammoth Spring State Park right which is right on the Arkansas/Missouri border. I felt so bad for Evan as it was a beautiful drive in spots but she had to stay looking down for most of the journey finishing up a project. Fortunately I was able to help her out by periodically spotting a yellow car and yelling out “No tag back”…..she was not amused. Lol
• Arriving at Mammoth Spring State Park around 10am we took a quick walk around, looked at the lake and the old dam located there. Both are right behind the Visitor Center which was very clean and nice. Several muskrats were swimming in the lake much to our viewing pleasure. Them and the ducks had a whole thing going on while we were there! The whole area was very pretty and several people were coming and going during the short time we were there. Admission was free. Evan and I thought the area was pretty enough to warrant an extended stop next time we were in the area.

• Having stretched our legs it was back in the car to keep on driving. About halfway to our next destination we stopped in Houston, Missouri which is located in Texas County for a cup of coffee. We thought this was pretty funny as we had started our trip from Houston, Texas. We weren’t impressed with the coffee and don’t recommend the stop at Mean Muggin Coffee Bar. It could have just been us not liking the taste of the local water but it wasn’t for us!

• Moving on from Houston we drove on up the backway to Devil’s Elbow Bridge. This was a really beautiful drive of smaller, windy roads that made for a fun drive. By now Evan was done with work and could enjoy all the views and fun. Driving across the bridge was fun but I have to say a little anticlimactic as I don’t know what I was thinking but reality definitely wasn’t it! There is a reason why it’s called the Devil’s Elbow Bridge and it is interesting. Give it a look up. As a fun side fact it was the only curved bridge on Route 66 when it was built 100 years ago in 1923. We did a quick spin through the community and then headed on out. Be aware that the Route 66 road was pretty bumpy around here. No big chuckholes or anything like that in the road but lots of unevenness and general overall bumpiness in the road surface.

• Our next stop was just up the road a few minutes and one we got a great laugh out of since we are both basically kids at heart. The one and only; the world Uranus Fudge Factory in the town of Uranus. This is a pretty interesting and fun spot with quite a bit to see.

• They have the world’s largest belt buckle at 10 ft 1.44 inches tall and 12 ft 4.45 inches wide. It’s officially a Guinness World Record and was achieved by Louie Keen at The Funkyard in Uranus! Don’t forget to say hi to the Uranus Pickers who are performing by the buckle!

• Loved the old police car whose mission is “To Serve and Protect Uranus”. Don’t miss going into the jail for your mugshot and some other photo ops.

• They have a fun circus sideshow that you should go to. It’s only five dollars and a lot of fun. Plus if Kat is there she will do a sword swallowing for you. Not going to lie. It kind of freaked me out to see her just so casually do it right in front of us. I didn’t take pictures inside the circus sideshow museum as you need to go see it for yourself. It’s a window into quite a bit of interesting history and such.
• After we went through the circus we headed on into the Uranus Fudge Factory where we were promptly greeted by the unified shout of “Welcome to Uranus” by all the employees. I bet we heard that at least ten times the short amount of time we were there. I think you would either love or hate working here. Not for sure there is much room in between here. Basically anything you can think of that involves the word Uranus is here in any context you’d care to think of. I will say we had a great time! Also, the fudge is really good here….even if it does come from Uranus.

• Leaving Uranus we hit the road to start our drive to Springfield, Missouri. We waved at the world’s largest gift store on the way but stayed on I-44 and didn’t make any stops as we wanted to get to Springfield as soon as possible since we were wanting to spend a lot of time in the Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildflife National Museum & Aquarium.
• Since Evan is a big lover of aquariums it was a no brainer that we went there first. The aquarium was voted the best in the world for several years and it lived up to our expectations. Things were a little off though as there was a terrific downpour just as we were driving into town. Once we got into the aquarium they told us that lightening had struck them and knocked out several of their lights and they were working on getting them restored. From our perspective it wasn’t a big deal. You should note that it’s forty five dollars for the basic admission and you should really plan to spend several hours here. The exhibits are well done and there are a LOT of them. You won’t be disappointed. I took a LOT of pictures and finally decided I was done taking pictures and just wanted to walk through and really enjoy it to the fullest. So…I’ve posted a lot of pictures but know they don’t even start to do this place justice.
• Once your are done with the aquarium it’s time to go through the Museum portion. This is also huge and will take quite a bit of time. You could really make a whole day of your visit if you wanted to given the amount of exhibits and how well done they are. There is a lot of walking involved so wear comfortable shoes. We spent about three hours going through the aquarium and museums but could have easily spent more time.

• From there we went on to what I call the shark room. The main light in the aquarium was still out however it was still impressive!

• Moving one room over we had a change of venue that I’m ashamed to say made us a little hungry.

• Not sure how to introduce this set of pictures…maybe under the sea with Evan and me?? I’ll let you come up with something better.

• Speaking of hungry. Piranha anyone?

• Evan’s favorite…They are beautiful!

• Walking on there was so much more to see. They had it all it seems.

• Of course being Evan and I we had to have a little fun. I think she was a little more at home in Jaws than I was.

• Who doesn’t love seashells!

• The grand finale at WOW was Evan feeding the stingrays.

• About here is when I stopped taking pictures because there was a lot of museum left. I only took a couple more that I’ll share with you.

• Finishing up at WOW we drove around to Bass Pro (it’s all connected but WOW closes down at 7pm, it was raining and we didn’t want to have to walk around the block in the rain. If the weather is nice you can just walk it or cut back through WOW if it’s early enough.

• This is the holy grail of Bass Pro stores. It’s so huge it’s difficult to describe or comprehend. If they don’t have it I’m not for sure you’ll find it anywhere. We headed into Hemingway’s there to get some dinner as we had skipped lunch and were very hungry. We got the bison meatloaf, bison burger, and duck jalapeno poppers. All the food tasted great and it was fun to sit there and eat while you could watch the fish swim around in the aquarium.

• After we finished eating we walked around the Bass Pro store and looked at their firearm and archery exhibits. Pretty incredible! There are so many pictures you could take of so many incredible achievements that people have made and sacrificed for. Here are just a few. Very few I might add. Howard Hill wrote a book called Wild Adventure also. I think I’m going to get a copy and give it a read. It looks fascinating.

• After that we bought a couple items we discovered we couldn’t live without and then braved the rain to drive a couple blocks over to the Angler’s Lodge Bass Pro Shops to spend the night. It’s across the street from WOW so a great location to spend the night if you’re going to go there or be late from going through it. Cost wasn’t bad as we paid about $140 for a double queen bed and a complimentary bag of gummy worms. The rooms were comfortable, clean, and quiet. They are promising a great breakfast in the morning so we’ll put that to the test in the morning.

Day 5: 05/11/23

• Woke up after a quiet nights sleep and felt refreshed. They lived up to their promise of a good breakfast at the lodge. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, and more. Made for a welcome change especially as we have a jam packed day ahead of us!
• Out the door and onward. First stop of the day was Fantastic caverns. Trust me, you can’t miss it. There are bill boards up everywhere about it and I have to say that it’s worth it. It’s a cave tour that they take you on by a jeep drawn tram so no walking. Ideal for many people and pretty novel. I’d never done a cave tour like that before so I didn’t know how much I’d like it but it was well done. The cave was discovered in 1862 by John Knox’s (a farmer) beagle dog chasing something down a hole which turned out to be a cave. John didn’t want the cave to be used by the Union or Confederate governments so he kept the cave’s existence a secret until 1867 when the war was over. He then put an ad in the local paper for someone to explore the cave. Springfield Athletic Club volunteered to help explore and all 13 of them were women unknown to cave owner. He was surprised when he opened the door and they were all women that were experienced spelunkers. True story! In fact you can still see their names in the cave where they signed them.
• I think my only critique of the tour would be that they used internal combustion engines on the trams they used. I’m assuming they plan to switch over to electric at some point and just haven’t done it yet. I wouldn’t let that stop you though. It’s a really neat 55 minute tour.

• Here’s some pics from inside the cave to reward you for your patience on those epic pics above.

• Leaving Fantastic Caverns we drove from there to over to 2215 W Chesterfield Blvd., Springfield, MO to see the World’s Largest Fork by mass. It’s 35 feet tall and weighs approximately 11 tons. The worlds tallest fork is in Oregon and is 37 feet tall. The fork is hidden behind some buildings on the main thoroughfare so you have to drive around the building to find it. You’d think at 35 feet tall you wouldn’t have to but you do!

• Leaving the fork we felt like we could use a little coffee so we stopped at Classic Rock Coffee in Springfield for a quick cup. Good coffee!
• Next stop was Gary’s Gay Parita on Route 66 in Grove, MO. It’s a restored gas station and it looks pretty sharp! Stopped in for the obligatory picture and off we go!

• Leaving there we drove on to Red Oak II. Red Oak II is a recreation of Lowell Davis’s childhood home town of Red Oak. Yes, you read that right. Hometown not childhood home. Red Oak is no longer there so Lowell preserved, moved, and restored the original Phillips 66 gas station, general store, school house, blacksmith shop and more. It’s a really neat place that has you stepping back in time when you walk through the “ghost” town.

• Driving out of Red Oak II we had to take a picture in Carthage at the gas station as we drove by.

• Starting to feel a little peckish we decided to do a sit down meal at The Pie Safe in Carthage, MO. Evan had the chicken pot pie while I had a roast beef sandwich. We split the blackberry pie for desert. The chicken pot pie was the all star winner by far and I happily nabbed some of it for my culinary delight. The blackberry pie needed a touch more blackberry but it was very good. It tasted like they had used a sugar cookie dough shell for the pie; I’ll have to try that one day. The roast beef sandwich was well….a roast beef sandwich. I think I’m just going to start ordering whatever Evan orders as she seems to be having better luck than me on this trip. While we were waiting for our order I stepped outside and took a couple pictures of the county courthouse across the street.

• Having a good meal in our tummy we headed over to the World’s Largest Small Electrical Appliance Museum located inside JR’s Western Wear Store in Diamond, MO. We parked and went into the store (great western wear store by the way) but couldn’t find the door. We finally had to ask and we about lost our mind when the girl pulled a clothing rack to the side and opened up a hidden door. She said the door was normally open so not to get to excited but I choose to think differently!
• I have to admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect here but I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never seen so many toasters, coffee pots, and oh so much more before. We ended up spending about 30 minutes here before we left and could have easily been there for much longer. It made me stop and think for a minute as I remembered using several of the items on display when I was a kid growing up. That’ll take some therapy to help with!
• Take a look at the pictures. If you want more information go to www.WorldsLargestSmallElectricalApplianceMuseum.com

• Leaving the appliance museum we drove over to the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO. It was a little out of the way but we had heard so many good things about it that we didn’t think twice about the few extra minutes. I personally am not into Precious Moments however I was very impressed with everything. The grounds were spotless and all the employees were wonderful (and happy to be there). It’s a beautiful place with a wonderful story and made me have more than one tear in my eye.

• The chapel is amazing. Mr. Butcher has done an amazing job with every detail. He has painted so much personally in the Chapel and designed the hand-carved doors, the iron gates, and stained glass windows. He is dedicated to his dream of delivering a gift of thanksgiving to the Lord.

• Next we were on the road to Route 66 Mural Park in Joplin, MO. We had stopped in the parking to get a picture but there was a group of bikers already there that were going through one at a time to get their pictures so we had to be fast on the camera trigger as they were waiting for no man or camera! I think we did pretty good for the split second we had to work with.

• One very quick snap later as we didn’t have time to waste on our very busy day we were on our way to Joplin History & Mineral Museum that just happened to have the National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum inside it as well as an old miniature circus set up. Pretty snazzy getting several museums for the one stop. I like it!

• Our main reason for the stop was the Cookie Cutter Museum which we thought was pretty cool. I didn’t realize they used to make them by hand by wrapping tin around spokes that used to make the mold. Very time consuming! They earned every cookie that got! They had several modern cookie cutters to the side and you could take one for free if you wanted and yes we did, thank you very much. We also bought an Iris cookie cutter for a Mother’s Day present which was well received several days later. The displays were very interesting and I learned a lot. I never realized there were so many types of cutters and in 1750 the Tinsmiths were making backed cookie cutters for the colonists here. Don’t confuse this for the first cookie cutter as they had those way before this is just the first ones they started making in what would be the USA.

• Leaving the museum we drove to Cars on the Route in Galena, KS where we found some cars from the movie Cars and a few other cool sites.

• There was several other neat things to see as you drove through town however the one I liked best was the American Flag made out of license plates.

• Moving on our next stop was the Rainbow Curve Bridge built in 1923 and the only remaining Marsh Arch Bridge on Route 66. I couldn’t decide which picture I liked best so you get both of them.

• And on we go to the Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center. Entertaining stop as there was an older gentlemen there that had a trick knee that would let him turn his foot backward. He had been on Jay Leno. Several fun stories later we were back on the road to..
• Dallas’ Dairyette in Quapaw, OK (don’t speed around here we were warned!) for a chocolate shake and something I never knew existed; corn nuggets. My gosh those things, the corn nuggets, are tasty. I never knew I liked them so much until I stole some from Evan.
• Hi fiving myself on my newfound food like we drove through Commerce to Dairy King to get some of their famous Route 66 cookies but they were closed. Not sure what was going on as it was about 3:50pm when were were there so I assume something happened much to our chagrin.
• Feeling the burn of no cookies we hung our head low and headed on towards Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger in Miami, OK. The lobby wasn’t open and there were a couple cars at the drive-in so we headed on and will try to get a coffee mug next time we come through.
• One VERY important fact was the two yellow bicycles we saw in Miami and Ms. Evan doubted my word so we had to drive around block to prove it to her which was quite the ordeal as it involved one way streets, schools, and all the rest but it was worth it! It fit in well with the yellow motorcycle I had spotted earlier today.
• Further on we went with a smug feeling in my heart to Buffalo Ranch truck stop where there was a stuffed buffalo, a long line to check out, and no more real buffalo but we still got our action shot!

• Leaving Buffalo Ranch with no buffalo we made a quick roadside stop in Afton to take pics of funky Route 66 place. It was well worth the time as we got Evan’s dinosaur photo here that is on the top of the page. Here’s some other pictures from here. I really liked this place. They had a little bit of everything and a whole lot of something!

• We weren’t really hungry but the pie famous Clanton’s Cafe was just up the road so we had to stop to try the pie. After much deliberation and help from the lady sitting across from us we picked the lemon meringue and coconut cream pie. The coconut cream pie was the winner for us. The lemon meringue was to “solid” for our liking although it was still good as we managed to power both slices down. To full!!!!!

• Next stop involved a going past and turning around stop since I missed the turn the first time to get to Pryor Creek Bridge or Chelsea Bridge in Chelsea, OK. It was built in 1926 and is the only unaltered example of the modified pratt through truss design in the state of Oklahoma. It’s one lane so wait your turn to go through if there is oncoming traffic!

• Driving on into the town proper of Chelsea Route 66 we did a quick stop to walk through the Pedestrian Underpass. It has different murals painted on the walls for you to look at when you walk through and there are many more murals than what I took pictures of.. Definitely worth a stop. The truck is obviously not underground in the tunnel but sitting next to it but I thought it made for a cool picture so here it is!

• Looking at the clock we realized it was about 6pm and we still had places to go so back in the minivan and off we go to Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park. Everything was closed when we got there but we wandered around and took a few photos. There are eleven objects on the 14 acres as well as a building. We only took pictures of the large totem. It actually was a group effort as one of the neighbors was coming out of their driveway, stopped, and asked us if we’d like our photo’s taken. Thanks again to him!!

• Keeping in the Route 66 spirit we drove to Kong’s Korner for our pic. I will admit to being disappointed here. Don’t k now if I had it in my head it was going to be life sized or something but it just didn’t resonate with me. Judge for yourself.

• Driving on down Route 66 we passed by the furthest Inland port in the USA in Catoosa and then stopped at the Blue Whale in Catoosa, OK. The Blue Whale was built by Hugh Davis in the early 1970’s. I’ll post a picture with the rest of the history in it for you to peruse.

• Relentlessly driving onward we made it into T Town or Tulsa around 7:30pm and starting driving around to catch some of the sites. I think we did pretty good. We were hoping to catch some of them with their lights on but weren’t able to either because it was to early or in one case the lights didn’t seem to be working.
• We were especially proud of the Tulsa Route 66 landmark picture we got as we drove around the circle about 3 times snapping pictures hoping to get a good one. I think we did alright although we were a little dizzy at the end!! A small price to pay for a cinematic masterpiece!

• We managed to catch the Desert Hills Motel at dusk but no lights on yet!

• The Golden Driller never disappoints. Funny aside, when Evan and I were there taking his picture some random guy pulls in and starts talking to us about him and that he thought the Golden Driller should be more like Michael Jackson in Thriller. I have to admit we were pretty intrigued. He zipped on his way and Evan and I were looking at each other thinking about the magic that is Route 66! Never disappoints! This is the way on Route 66.

• We drove on by the Circle Cinema but the lights weren’t working so we headed on over to Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 where the lights were working. Love this guy and all his supporting staff. Everything was already closed for the night but we got some great pictures!

• From Buck Adams we headed over to Boston Avenue United Methodist Church with it’s art deco, cool look. It’s an amazing building.

• Our Hyatt Regency hotel was just down the street a bit so we drove around downtown for just a few minutes before we decided to call it a night and check into the hotel. We stayed there on points so yeah team for that that. Valet parking was $30 so no team yeah for that park. Overall though, the Hyatt was very nice and well worth the $30 and points. I’d stay there again next time I was in Tulsa. It had a really good vibe.
• Even did a little bit more work and then did rent application paperwork (with a frowny face) and ate gummy worms to help assuage the pain.
• I think Evan was a little edgy though and not just from the application pain. Oklahoma gets a lot of bad weather and tornadoes so when you check in the hotel gives you a sheet of paper telling you what the procedures are in case of bad weather. Nevertheless it didn’t stop us from getting some rest and I thought it was a very informative touch as well as very safety conscious so it was much appreciated.

Day 6: 05/12/23

• Wow. What a great nights sleep. Quiet, peaceful, comfy beds; it was great. Only issue we had this morning with the hotel was the coffee machine was broken so when I went down to the front desk to tell them they gave me two free coffee coupons to use at the coffee house next door. Talk about customer service!
• Also, no tornados or bad weather so that’s always a plus!
• We walked a short distance from the hotel to the Center of the Universe and clapped. This is a mysterious spot where you stand on a circle and any noises you make are echoed back to you much louder. There are NOT any teleportation circles here! We both stood in the circle and clapped and it was true! Weird acoustics but cool.

• Having clapped ourselves happy we walked on back to the hotel and checked out so we could get some breakfast at Tally’s Good Food Cafe,

• Evan had Smart Bomb and I had the Three egg omelet with grits. All the food was great and the Smart Bomb was exceptionally good; it’s what I’d order next time I’m in town. Hash browns with diced ham, bacon, sausage, onion, green peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms, tomatoes, & cheese. Topped with (2) eggs (any style) & served with toast make it a winner any day of the week!
• The best food of all though, just in case you’re still hungry and if not maybe start with it, is the homemade cinnamon roll. It’s a giant cinnamon roll the size of a dinner plate and it tastes fantastic! Right amount of sugar, cinnamon, and baking make this magic. Evan and I shared and loved every bite.

• Rolling ourselves out of Tally’s we drove over to the Philbrook Museum of Art. FANTASTIC.. Evan found a book in the gift shop she loved and when her and the salesperson were talking the book Evan told the salesperson about one of her favorite books and convinced the salesperson to stock a book it so they could sell it. It was a pretty neat.
• The Philbrook Museum of Art is just a fantastic place to visit. They have extensive formal gardens on the immaculate grounds while the house itself is a museum. There are some really cool exhibits on the grounds as well. This place isn’t to be missed. Here are some pictures of the grounds. Make sure and get tickets ahead of time and get there early so you have plenty of time to look around. Something for everyone here.

• Here’s my favorite photo. I don’t know how they did this building (it’s called Slumgullion and is a full-scale log cabin) or make sure it stays waterproof but it is amazing. I loved the Bug BNB above also as I thought it was such an original idea and execution.

• We wanted to visit Decopolis before we left town so we left the museum and drove on over to it. It’s right next door to our old friend Buck Atoms so it was an easy sell to me.
• We were both disappointed in Decopolis as we were thinking it was more of a museum type store than what it was. It also had so much Disney stuff inside it! If you walked in with no expectations or were younger I think you’d have a blast here. We just were expecting the wrong thing. I did like their history of Tulsa timeline though as that is pretty amazing on how quickly the town changed to a metropolis. The airport at one time being the busiest in the world was mind blowing!

• From Decopolis we walked back over to Buck Atoms and looked around in the gift shop however we didn’t find anything we wanted to buy so back on the road for us and over to Route 66 Historical Village.
• We ended up staying at the Historical Village for only a few minutes. We got out looked at the train and the Red Fork Centennial Oil Derrick (the tallest in America) and we were back on our way. It looked like you could drive part of old 66 by the museum and we thought around but you can’t so we got to back up some. Also the building was closed so there’s really nothing to do here except what we did. If you love old trains you’ll love this stop! They also have a giant Tulsa Route 66 emblem you can take your phot with however we didn’t.

• From the Historical Village we drove about two and a half hours over to the Oklahoma Frontier Drug Store Museum and apothecary garden in Guthrie. This is a super cool old drug store museum that is stuffed to the gills with old pharmacy stuff from way, way back in the day. They even had some old time remedy books and a little bit of everything else. Right next to it was the apothecary garden because you used to have to grow some of this stuff. It didn’t always come in a bottle to count out! Make sure you click on the pictures and zoom in on this. You’ll be amazed at what you see.

• Leaving the museum and garden we walked across the street to Ricks Fine Chocolates & Coffee where Evan got a cherry blossom latte which was really good. I was wishing I got one of them! She was a sweetheart though and gave me half of it to pour into my coffee so I’d have a fun drink also. One thing that I thought was neat was they had it set up where you could roll dice for your drink option; type, flavor, etc. I really like this as when we were in Washington last year we’d ask for the funky everywhere we would go. That meant give me whatever you like the best and let me guess what it is. A pretty neat way to keep your coffee choices fun in my opinion!

• Fortified with our coffee we drove on to John’s Place at 13441 E Old Hwy 66 for a quick stop. We were in a huge hurry by now so we just looked around and took a quick pic from the outside and then back on the road.

• Leaving John’s Place we headed on Route 66 to Arcadia Round Barn located in Arcadia, OK. The original barn was built in April 1898 by William Odor. It fell into disrepair and was restored in 1992 by Luke Robinson, community workers, and local businesses. I loved the ceiling on this barn.

• Finishing our exploration of the barn we drove maybe a mile up the road to Pops 66. Pops 66 is the place to go when you need a soda but don’t know what kind it is. They have about any kind of soda pop you can imagine in any flavor. We split a burger with pulled pork, bbq sauce, on a jalapeño cornbread hamburger. After much deliberation I had a mint julep soda while Evan had a marionberry cream soda. Again, she won. The marionberry was pretty good. I think if the day would have been hotter my mint julep would have been the winner but wishes….you know the saying….

• We didn’t spend as long at Pop’s as we’d have liked because we needed to get to Oklahoma City to catch a couple museums before they closed. Gotta say that Evan blind sided me with this one but overall it was if not the best, one of the best stops on the entire trip. What is it you say? The American Pigeon Museum.
• The American Pigeon Museum had more information on pigeons than I ever dreamed. I never realized how many different types of pigeons there are and how competitive the competitions get. The use of the pigeons for sending messages in World War I (and before and after) was incredible. It was like nothing I imagined. Evan lost her mind when the woman working the museum told her she was putting the pigeons up for the day and asked her if she wanted to watch. Evan really lost it when she let Evan touch the pigeons as she was holding them. It was one of those “wow” moments. I don’t remember which type of pigeon each one was but here they are along with a lot of historical war info. Some of the pigeons in the war were true war heroes and recognized as such!

• Before you ask the pigeons are kept in the cage to prevent them from flying away. Not all pigeons come home to roost. (Yes, I’m proud of working that in here). They are very well taken care of so no worries on that front either. Without further ado here are the stars of the museum.

• With Evan having a broken heart we had to leave so they could close down for the night. Fortunately we had one more stop to make at the American Banjo Museum in OKC.
• Again, gotta say; never realized there was so many types of banjoes or the history that went with them. I tried lots of pictures but had a really hard time getting any good ones. There are several different era’s of banjo music. I didn’t take pictures of all the different eras but hopefully there is enough for you to wet your appetite for further research. Worth the stop.

• Fun, educational and most importantly Evan got to try and play the banjo. I think she may have a new career after many, many, many years of practice. LOL

• Lots more to do in OKC however we were trying to head on down the road to be closer to home for tomorrow’s drive so we headed on down to Ardmore for the night.
• We booked us a room and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Ardmore, OK. Nothing wrong with the hotel but we didn’t sleep very well as they had very starchy sheets and I was continually waking myself up every time I moved.

Day 7: 05/13/23

• Early morning today to finish up strong. We were up at 6:15am to drive to Durant to see the World’s Largest Peanut.
• Ok. we were DUPED! This is NOT the world’s largest peanut and we should have done a lot more research on this before we drove out of our way to see it, however since we were there here’s the picture to prove it.

• Leaving our peanut comments behind us we hulled out of there and shelled out the cash to drive to Denton and visit The Chairy Orchard.
• The Chairy Orchard is just one of those fun stops. A couple of neighbors go together and did it since they couldn’t do anything else with the lot (the lots in a flood plane). Pretty darn cute! I love the Lemon Tree.

• Leaving the Chairy Orchard behind we drove on down to Argyle to a coffee shop that I had seen several years ago, taken a picture of, sent to Evan, and told her how cool the place looked and I wanted to go there. Years later I still hadn’t been but she remembered and took me there.
• Kimzey’s Coffee Shop in Argyle, TX has a cool shape like old time fairy tale coffee house. It’s a beautiful place that has had a lot of thought put into it. They food and coffee are both good here. We got a huge kick just out of walking in the door.

• You’d think we would be full by now after everything but nope. Evan had researched out WOW Donuts and Drips. It’s a shop in Frisco that has some really good artisan donuts. We bought a few and immediately sampled them when we got in the car. The flavors we picked were Blueberry fritter, cinnamon sugar cronut, sticky bun with toffee sauce, strawberry coconut mochi, and a biscoff donut.

• Adequately sugar powered we drove over to TrainTopia (Museum of the American Railroad) in Frisco. It’s located inside the Frisco Discovery Center.
• TrainTopia is a 2,500 square foot model train exhibit that features the American Southwest as a backdrop. My pictures aren’t very good but it’s what you get cause it’s all I got. In all seriousness it’s a fun place. You go on a scavenger hunt to locate certain items on your checklist and some are pretty hard to find. The set’s are very well done. The lights in the exhibit change from day to night mode every 15 or so minutes. Shoot, even the traffic lights in the models change from red to green. It’s very well done!

• Leaving TrainTopia we tried to stop by Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum but it was to busy as it’s inside a restaurant and we didn’t feel right going in just to look at toilet seats and leave; especially at lunchtime with a crowd.
• Getting back on the road it was a pretty uneventful drive the rest of the way home and we made it there by 4:30pm to celebrate an early Mother’s Day so I’d say that counts a victory! Much like my success at completing the Big Five in the yellow vehicle game; airplane, boat, trailer, motorcycle, and bicycle, It was a successful hunt and a good trip for dad!
• The next day as an ode to our trip and turtle crossing the road game I engaged in a all out race on my morning walk from a worthy competitor. Cute “Chariot’s of Fire” please…

• And with that seared into your eyeballs I’ll bid you ado until the next time. Remember to go and make your own adventure!