Stage 05 · Mon · Aug 10
The Panhandle
Oklahoma City, OK → Amarillo, TX
West of Oklahoma City the land runs out of excuses. Trees thin, the wind picks up, and the road settles into the long, dead-straight rhythm of the high plains. Clinton and Elk City keep two of the best museums on the whole highway; Sayre's courthouse played a cameo in The Grapes of Wrath. Then Texas: Shamrock's art-deco Conoco tower glowing green at dusk, McLean's tiny restored Phillips 66 station, and the eerie steel skeleton of the Britten leaning water tower. Groom's giant cross and the halfway marker at Adrian bracket Amarillo — where ten Cadillacs stand nose-down in a wheat field, spray cans rattle in the wind, and the rally plants its flag for the night.
The stage map
5 waypoints on this leg — tap an icon on the map for the story. Peak 3,678 ft.
What to watch for
- Neon & motelsU-Drop Inn, Shamrock — the art-deco Conoco tower glowing green at dusk
- Roadside oddityCadillac Ranch, Amarillo — ten Cadillacs nose-down in a wheat field, spray cans welcome
- Route 66 loreOklahoma Route 66 Museum, Clinton — the road's story, told properly
- LandmarkGroom's leaning water tower and the 190-foot cross you can see for miles
- Roadside tableThe Big Texan Steak Ranch — home of the 72-oz steak challenge