Shamrock, TX

When you cross the Texas State Line you will be following the frontage road toward Shamrock. Somehow it feels like Texas rather than Oklahoma, even though Oklahoma will be just behind you.

Route 66 through Texas crosses the Panhandle, so remarkably, Texas has fewer miles of Route 66 than any state except Kansas. Be ready for a lot of miles on frontage roads, a bunch of grasslands and a lot of near ghost towns.

Shamrock is one of the busier towns along Texas Route 66. There are plenty of motels, both vintage and modern, and there are plenty of restaurants.

The central Route 66 attraction in Shamrock is the restored 1936 U-Drop Inn/Tower Conoco station in the heart of town. The Art Deco building now houses the Chamber of Commerce, and there are some nice Route 66 artifacts to view inside. The cafe' in there recentlywas reopened. The building is especially impressive at night when its neon lighting is ablaze.

Shamrock has been celebrating St Patrick's Day since 1938 with its annual St Patrick's Day Celebration. It features a carnival, nationally known live entertainment, a beard growing contest and a Miss Irish Rose contest.

Shamrock has a piece of the original Blarney Stone, which is in Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland. If you kiss the Blarney Stone, you magically get the gift of gab, thus the term "Blarney." As they tell it in Shamrock, it got its fragment of the true Blarney Stone in 1959 when a Shamrock public official brought it back from Ireland, claiming it accidentally fell off of the original stone. Right! Sounds like the guy who stole it must have kissed the original in Ireland to get the gab needed to try and pass off that story as believable.

Anyway, to get there, go down Main Street then go left just before a water tower. It is a hundred yards down the road in a small park.

There is a fake Blarney Stone Downtown between 3rd and 4th Streets. Don't fall for the fake Blarney!

The Pioneer West Museum is located in the 1925 Reynolds Hotel. It Features a variety of exhibits ranging from Native American culture to space exploration.