Detour Pit Stop #111: Pops 66 Soda Ranch, Oklahoma, USA
Driving can be thirsty work, but this sensational service station on Route 66 will satisfy even the most dehydrated driver.
The Mother Road runs for more than 2,400 miles, coast to coast from Chicago to Los Angeles, so you’d be well-advised to stock up on fluids, both for your car and its occupants if you’re taking this classic American road trip. And at Pops 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia, Oklahoma you’ll have no problem doing both.
It’s impossible to miss Pops 66, with its 66-foot tall neon-lit bottle visible for miles in any direction, promising to quench any thirst. Pull in, fill your tank with gas then step inside for a bewildering choice of more than 700 different sodas, beautifully displayed in brightly-coloured ranks and all chilled to perfection. The art of aspartame, a celebration of sugar.
In amongst every mainstream brand you can imagine you’ll find all manner of unusual artisanal fizzes from buffalo wings to chocolate-maple-smoked bacon and butterscotch root beer to name but three.
There’s also a diner serving a standard road-side fayre of hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches – all to be washed down by a bevy of beverages, of course. Opened in 2007 Pops 66 is just under 800 miles from the start of Route 66 in Chicago. Even if you’re going all the way to LA you won’t be parched again if you make a pit stop at Pops 66.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Service STation
NAME: POPS 66 SODA RANCH
ROUTE: Arcadia, OklAhoma, 73007
COUNTRY: USA
Driving can be thirsty work, but this sensational service station on Route 66 will satisfy even the most dehydrated driver.