Jace's Summer vacation 2025 Part 3 - OK and TX

Heading further west, we find ourselves in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Our research indicated that they had a great interactive Science Museum in town, and a Cowboy Museum that shouldn't be missed.

It also had a Safelite shop that could replace our shattered rear window.

So first things first, get that window replaced. Had an early appointment I had made a few days earlier so that the window could be ordered in advance, and the technician got right to it. He wasn't hopeful that he could get all the glass removed from between the outer and inner layers of the rear hatch, but he said he'd try his best. Apparently some Jeep models have a very limited access to that area. Got it back about 40 minutes later, and he told me that I had one of the Jeep models where the access was better than most, and the annoying rattle of glass moving from the bottom of the hatch to the top when opened was virtually gone!

Job 1 is done, so now it's time for Jace.

The Science Museum was everything as advertised, and more. Completely built from the ground up to appeal to kids, and everything is interactive, so it's hands on all day long. Jace enjoyed climbing, making air flow, making electricity and lighting up a series of bulbs that went from floor to 60-foot ceiling. Water experiments, tornado creation, riding out an earthquake, plus a planetarium to view the stars. He didn't want to leave, and neither did we, but there were still things to enjoy – like the pool back at the RV resort.

 

Six degrees of Jace. Different time lapse views all at once.

 

Oklahoma and North Texas share a bit of Americana; that being the old Rt 66 of fame and fortune. Much of it has been paved over by new Interstate highways, but some of it still exists. One place near our campground wasn't part of the original Rt 66, but it was created in it's image. Pop's Soda Shop hearkens back to the days of Rt 66, with plenty of neon lights, typical grill food and shakes so thick you think the sides of your head are going to collapse in on each other when you use a straw. It also has more than 100 different flavors of soda pop made by dozens of vendors you never heard about before in their expansive refrigerator.

 

It doesn't look like we were all having fun, but we were!

Just a fraction of the soda selection at Pops. All very unique flavors, too!

Wasn't quite dark enough to get the full lighted effect, but you get the idea.

 

I have to admit that I wasn't sure how Jace would take to the Cowboy Museum; frankly, I wasn't sure how I would take to it. But it turned out to be a great afternoon for everybody. Real-life cowboys and their lifestyle were featured, but also TV and movie western cowboys had their own display room. There were quizzes on various western themes such as famous western sidekicks (both real and on-screen). We did pretty poorly on that quiz, but we just about aced the quiz on western TV theme songs. In the gift shop, we bought Jace on of those kids cowboy hats we used to wear long ago for just $10, and it turned out to be the best $10 we spent on the entire trip! Hardly as day has gone by on the vacation where he wasn't wearing that hat.

 

Restored Wells Fargo stagecoach

Jace in Cowboy Jail.

Out front wearing his new cowboy hat.

Oklahoma gave way to Amarillo, Texas, again with some Rt 66 stops in mind, but frankly, it was a disappointing side of the trip except for one stop. We stayed at the Big Texan RV Resort, and it was nice enough (especially the large bounce pad they had), but the Big Texan Steakhouse it was associated with did not meet expectations. After all, when in Texas you expect to get premium quality beef, but their filets were substandard; we get better at every Texas Roadhouse we eat at. The only real plus was our waiter, Caleb, who absolutely adored Jace and treated him like a king.

The Cadillac Ranch nearby – a waste if time. Frankly, our resort had a better display of painted, half-buried cars up front. The old Rt 66 shopping “district” was one street taken over largely by biker bars (fully occupied in the morning) and tattoo shops. Pretty scary, so we passed right by it.

 

Our RV resort had a much better painted car display out front!

Cadillac Ranch was pretty lame.

The only good stop in the Amarillo area was Palo Duro Canyon, America's second largest canyon. It doesn't have the colors and depth of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it still has some breathtaking views. What's really nice about Palo Duro is that you can drive down into it, dropping 800ft to the canyon floor. There are a few campgrounds in the canyon as well, but I can tell you from driving the descent down to the canyon in a car, I wouldn't want to take our motorhome down that road!

Beautiful vista at the top of Palo Duro Canyon

Jace and I ventured onto the Big Cave Trail for a relatively short (and mercifully easy) climb into a very large cave, where of course Jace encountered the only dog in the cave who had also made the hike with his owners.

Dog in the cave? Of course Jace is going to find one!

The view before Jace and I hiked up to the cave.

Our next destination in Jace's summer vacation was going to prove to be a problem – a big problem. But that's for my next post.