Patricia Montgomery

MCLEAN, TEXAS

The sun was dropping on down when we arrived at McLean. In the downtown area, the road split into one-way east and west bound segments, divided by a city block.

Although closed for the day, we saw a dual museum called “Texas Route 66 Museum / Devil’s Rope Museum” The term “Devil’s Rope” referred to barbed wire as there were two gigantic balls of barbed wire perched on concrete columns. Where else but on Route 66 would you find a tribute to barbed wire? It is a wonderful country we live in!

A great photo opportunity was the tiny cottage-style Phillips 66 gas station all decked out in fresh tan and orange paint. The sign on the street corner indicated the station was originally built in the 1920’s and was the first Phillips 66 station in Texas. An antique Ford tanker truck was parked to the side, also painted a bright orange with the Phillip 66 emblem on the door. The gas pump showed a price of 19 cents per gallon!

As we drove west through McLean on Route 66, there was the smell of something delicious cooking! We followed our noses to the Red River Steakhouse. Once there our stomachs began to do the Route 66 rumble…

We were greeted at the door by a very friendly hostess who had the same southern accent as we did. For a tiny town like McLean, the parking lot was packed when we arrived. A full parking lot at a local restaurant is always a good sign.

We were late-comers for supper and people began leaving while we were eating. Everyone knew everyone else as there were shouts of goodbye from across the room and farewells that included “be careful driving home”. It was obvious that this was a very friendly ranch community on Route 66.

As my daddy used to say, we must have “popped out like a sore thumb” as visitors because the waitress immediately wanted to know where we were from and the hostess later brought out the guestbook so we could sign it.

A big ole salad was served first, heaped high with crisp, cold lettuce and lots of fixin’s. Then our 8 oz. steaks were placed before us, completely covering a large platter. The steak was so big that it was nudging the baked potato out of the way! Both were tender and cooked to perfection. The complimentary dessert of homemade peach cobbler was delicious. For $1 more, we added a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

If you are anywhere near McLean near supper time, don’t miss the Red River Steakhouse.