I’ve been out driving around in Central Texas this last week and have seen some glimpses of color along the road. Not really solid color, just spots of yellow and red here and there. But, this just isn’t the best place for color anyway. It’s simple, this area lacks deciduous trees, trees that loose leaves in winter. Not based on anything scientific, but maybe half the trees in this area of Texas are evergreens.

Last year I talked about Palo Pinto County as a good place for fall drives. The area features plenty of Cross Timbers woodland and hills. A good combination for producing fall foliage splendor.

This year I want to give a nod to East Texas. I lived in Kilgore Texas for awhile, and I can tell you for sure, they have a lot of trees there. The Tyler area is nice. The Tyler Convention & Visitors Bureau web site has a map of East Texas fall foliage trails. The Rose Garden and the neighborhoods surrounding it are also nice this time of year.

The thing I like about East Texas for fall foliage is that you can pick a destination, Tyler, Palestine, Nacogdoches, Rusk, Winnsboro, and any of them are worth visiting independent of the foliage. More bang for the buck I guess. Drive through East Texas, have a great time, and also see fall foliage.

For an East Texas road trip consider Texas Highway 180, which was previously U.S. Highway 80, East from Terrell to Marshall. Plenty of small towns and antique shops along the way.

Texas State Parks offer good opportunities for leaf peeping. Dangerfield State Park is a good one for fall foliage. And talking of state parks, a new web site from Texas Parks and Wildlife Showcases CCC’s Architectural Legacy in Texas state parks. Some of the biggest attractions in state parks are the depression-era architectural works.

This year is shaping up to be a good year for fall foliage in Arkansas. I talked about some of my favorite spots in the Ozarks in last year’s foliage post. To that list you might add the Telimena Scenic Byway in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Gary and Mary Cooley have published fall foliage reports for the South Central Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri for many years. If your seriously considering a trip to the Ozarks, you should take a look at their report.

Probably too late to be good planning material for this year, but still a great read, the Goziac blog published a post about the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in early October. You might bookmark this one for future reference.

The time is ripe to plan a fall foliage drive from DFW. Enjoy your trip and post your best experiences with fall foliage here.

Thing is, I live in North Texas, and North Texas is not the best place for fall foliage.  Fall foliage viewing around here is basically a micro experience.  You drive until you find an area that presents a montage of understory colors and adjacent trees displaying their own rich colors.  When you find this, your there.  Take the picture.

I thought I would put together my list of great places to see fall foliage starting from the Dallas Fort Worth area. Not an exhaustive nor authoritative list by any means, but just recommendations based on my own experiences.

Palo Pinto County, Farm Road 4, Highway 16, and Mineral Well State Park. This is a short drive from the Metroplex. The Palo Pinto Mountains are stunning to see, for us flat-landers anyway. There’s plenty of mature forest available for potential fall foliage photo ops. Mineral Well State Park is great for camping and hiking and relaxing. Possum Kingdom State Park is also near by. For an entirely different perspective you can canoe down the Brazos River.

Tyler Texas and Tyler State Park are not that far from Dallas and Fort Worth.  A plus for travel convenience.   Tyler is a great East Texas town with plenty to see and do.  Plenty of tree-lined streets plus the Tyler Rose Garden is nice most times of the year.  Work Gladewater into your return trip if you want to do some antiqueing.

Arkansas Scenic Highway 7 starting at Arkadelphia or Hot Springs. Scenic 7 manders throught the Ouachita Mountains then the River Valley Region and onto the soaring Ozarks.  Hot Springs is quite a destination itself.  DeGray Lake Resort State Park is another great option for a comfortable stopping off point during your drive.  Heading further north, the view gets better.  beyond Russelleville the mountains and the views get big.  There are several stand out primitive camp grounds in the are of Pelsor Arkansas, Haw Creek Falls Campground, and the Richland Creek Campgrounds and Wilderness Area.  Consider this if your into primitive camping and challenging hikes.  A link for general information and locations at Arkansas.com

Petit Jean State Park is Arkansas’s first state park, featuring stunning views, enchanting woodlands laced with streams and wildflowers, and a spectacular waterfall—Cedar Falls.  The Park has several fine trails, but the Ceder Falls Trail in particular is great for foliage viewing.  A moderately tough trail leading into a picturesque valley graced by the Cedar Falls.  From personal experience I can say that this is a great fall hike.  There are hundreds of campsites, and Mather Lodge for those seeking more comfortable accommodations.

Magazine Mountain State Park is an outstanding state park on the highest peak in Arkansas. Limited camping and R.V. spaces.  Book well in advance.  Can get very cold in November and with very little warning.  Outstanding views.  Bears and large cats also live on the mountain.

I will update this article with pictures if I have time.  Constructive comments encouraged.  Where did you see great fall foliage in or near Texas?

Arkansas fall foliage report

Copyright © 2008 by Sam Fenstermacher
All rights reserved

So I had my trip and came back and wrote about it, including a little information about the Rock Cafe. My take on the Rock Cafe then was that not only was the property authentically old and storied, but the way the business was operated was true to an earlier era before national franchises dominated everything related to travel. This place was authentic. I likened it to the provenance of a collectible item.

Imagine my dismay to find out a month later that the Rock Cafe had burned! I don’t know Dawn or her husband and family, but I couldn’t help but feel bad about their loss. The Rock Cafe was operated as a family business, and I imagined the loss was personal for them.

Recently, I found a blog chronicling the clean up and restoration of the Rock Cafe in Stroud Oklahoma. This blog presents such a wonderful first person perspective on the progress of the cleanup and reinvention of the Rock Cafe. I want to share it and some other links, and also present my pictures of the cafe, taken about a month before the fire.

The blog I speak of is: http://rockcafert66.wordpress.com/

Background information on Dawn and the Rock Cafe at the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

An article on the Edmond Outlook about the Sally side of Dawn.

Last and probably least are my snapshot pictures. Sadly they document the building before the fire. But, it was only the building that burned. It can be rebuilt. The spirit of the place survives via Dawn and her family and employees.

Rock Cafe in Stroud Oklahoma

It occurred to me how Gunnar’s definition of mundane compares to interstate highway travel. On that endless ribbon of asphalt called the Interstate, everything is perfectly predictable, and boring. The Interstate it seems was built to bypass anything and everything interesting, informative or controversial. You can travel mindlessly for hours never seeing a thing of interest. Drive off at any exit to find the same fast food eateries, convenience stores and hotels you would find at any other exit on the Interstate.

Traveling on the back roads of America, by contrast, can offer up an occasional surprise. Maybe a ghost sign on the side of an old abandoned building, or a classy family-run business complete with local residents that actually talk to each other, and to you if your a willing participant.

Once while having lunch in Fossati’s Delicatessen in Victoria Texas, some of the locals struck up a conversation with my wife and I. When I told them we were road tripping through the area and interested in visiting historic properties, they told us about places in Victoria we would have never discovered on our own. Finally, before leaving the restaurant I asked for directions to Memorial Square. An elderly couple said we would never find it on our own and insisted we follow them over to the park. When we got there, they told us the history of the park, wished us good day, and went on their way.

Usually, when eating along the Interstate, the only conversation I encounter involves Super-sizing my meal.

Sadly, few of us opt to navigate the road less traveled. During a recent side trip on Route 66 in Oklahoma, I found plenty of interest. Sadly though, I also discovered that many of the mom and pop motels and old carnival style road side attractions are falling victim to decay and abandonment. Or, worse yet, in urban areas they’re being torn down to make way for more fast food restaurants and other boring franchised business establishments.

Both Preservation Oklahoma and The National Trust for Historic Preservation have named Route 66 Motels to their most endangered places list. Unfortunately, city governments are often focused on developing new business no matter what the cost to the culture and heritage of the community. An article in the Urban Tulsa Weekly described one faction of the City Council as the “build anything I want anywhere I want” crowd. I’m not an expert on Tulsa, but there seems to be a riff in the city between those who would rather tear down everything old and build new, and the other camp that would like to preserve some of the character and culture of Tulsa. This post on The State of Fort Worth Preservation by Kevin Buchanan suggests that the build anything I want anywhere I want mentality is far from unique to Tulsa Oklahoma. More likely, this is a national phenomena.

During my recent side trip on Oklahoma’s stretch of Route 66 I also found signs of hope. In Stroud Oklahoma the Rock Cafe, which was opened in 1939, is still operated as a Mon and Pop business. Locals own the business and provide local employment. Further down the road in Arcadia I found POPS. Not a historic property, POPS is brand new and pleasingly unique. You have to admire these folks for doing something different and taking the business risk that goes along with it.

What can the individual do to help save these mundane road side destinations? Get involved if that’s the sort of person you are. And, of course, we can all vote with our dollars. Public awareness and the efforts of individuals and preservation organizations are the best chance these mundane and eclectic road side destinations have for surviving for future generations to discover and enjoy.

This is a great stretch of highway. There are some historic attractions along the way, and plenty of opportunities to stop and look around. Some of the historic attractions have been polished up, but a lot of what I saw was unvarnished. Buildings and places from a bygone era should look old. Kind of like a rare old coin or piece of antique furniture: worth more in its original state. Clean the tarnish from a rare old coin, and its value is diminished. The knocks and dings are part of the provenance of the piece. In other words old stuff looks more authentic if you don’t fix it up too much.

Stroud Oklahoma

Rock Cafe Stroud Oklahoma

Rock Cafe Stroud Oklahoma

I started out in Stroud Oklahoma. The town’s old commercial district is just west of Highway 99 on Route 66. Here you’ll find the Rock Cafe, a Route 66 Roadside Attraction. The business was established in 1939, and constructed with rock unearthed during the original road construction. This is a real sweet place with an old neon sign out front. It’s still a cafe too. Some locals own the place and had their kids waiting tables, the day I was there. I love it when these places are still active businesses. [The Rock Cafe burns May 20, 2008. They intend to rebuild. More]

Stroud Oklahoma Skyliner Motel

Stroud Oklahoma Coke Sign

A little further west on 66, on the same side of the street, was a nice old Coca Cola sign on the side of an old building. Then after that there’s a little park with a gazebo and an vintage water tower behind it. On the corner of Route 66 and Highway 99 was an old motel with a classy neon sign. The Skyliner Motel, that name just reeks of the 1950′s.

Chandler Oklahoma

Chandler Oklahoma Lincoln Motel

Chandler Oklahoma is a few miles further west on Route 66. This town has several roadside attractions worth stopping to check out. The Lincoln Motel is on the main road and you can’t miss it. This is a classic 1930′s motor court. Small wooden cabins each house two rental units. The whole place is finished with dark brown paint or stain. Very rustic! Neon sing out front, too.

Chandler Oklahoma Interpretive Center

A little further down the road is the Chandler Route 66 Interpretive Center, housed in a 1930’s-era armory building on the crossroads of Route 66 and Mickey Clarkson Avenue. They have video presentations that tell the story of Route 66, America’s Mother Road.

Chandler Oklahoma Phillip's 66

In the main commercial district is the historic Phillip’s 66 Station. It’s closed but still interesting to see. On the next block is the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer History. The museum was closed and I didn’t get to visit, but you should stop in and ask questions.

Chandler Oklahoma St. Cloud Hotel

Across the street is the office of the local news paper. The St Cloud Hotel is a couple buildings down the street. Researching on the Internet, I found little about this property. it’s a National Register property and I found it on a list of endangered Route 66 hotels. Closed and in need of repairs, it has some nice old painted signs.

Chandler Oklahoma Seaba Station

Just a bit out of town is the Seaba Station. It was built in 1924 as a filling station and garage and operated continually until 1996. Today the building is still a work in progress. It houses an antique store and some sort of repair shop. This is another designated Route 66 Roadside Attraction.

Filling Station on Route 66 West of Luther Oklahoma

West of the town of Luther is a 1920′s filling station. it’s just a shell of a building now. A small sign tells the story of the place. It was built in the late Teens or early 1920′s. This was before electricity so gas was sold out of a 50 gallon drum. The building was heated with a fireplace.

Arcadia Oklahoma

Arcadia Oklahoma Round Barn

Arcadia Oklahoma Round Barn

The next major town is Arcadia. The big attraction in Arcadia, and along this stretch of Route 66, is the Round Barn. This historic barn was built by William Odor in 1898. By 1988 the barn was severely deteriorated and some time after that the roof collapsed. The owners deeded the property to the Arcadia Historical Society. A group known as the over the hill 60′s gang got involved with the restoration and in cooperation with local business and many volunteers the Historic Round Barn in Arcadia was restored.

Even on the day I visited the barn, a local volunteer was busy painting. He showed a real sense of pride in the barn and the work that had been done by the community. According to this fellow, the barn was originally built as a place to have dances and meetings. The ground level of the barn was for livestock and farm business, but the second level of the barn was a place for meetings and dances. The second level of the round barn is still a place to have a party or dance. It can be rented for a reasonable rate. The ground level is a gift shop today.

Cains Ballroom in Tulsa Oklahoma

This was the end of my Route 66 journey. It took 2 or 3 hours to travel the 40 miles from Stroud to Arcadia Oklahoma. I could have easily spent more time exploring, but I needed to be on my way. If you wanted to extend this trip by a few more hours, the ride through Tulsa is interesting. There are several landmark Route 66 attractions in Tulsa. Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa has a rich history. The stretch of the Mother Road from Tulsa to Claremore has plenty of marked attractions and would also make a good extension of the trip I describe here.

Let me know if you make your own Route 66 trip. Leave a comment or drop us an email. Most of all, if you do travel the Mother Road be sure to stop and visit with the people along the way. That’s the best part of road trip travel, meeting the locals and discovering the people and stories behind the places you visit.

Copyright © 2008 by Sam Fenstermacher
All rights reserved