The most surreal stop on Route 66 is a glowing soda bottle off the Oklahoma prairie

Route 66’s wildest pit stop

You’re driving east out of Oklahoma City on Route 66, and about 20 minutes in, a 66-foot soda bottle rises off the prairie like something from a fever dream.

That’s POPS 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia, Oklahoma, and it’s part gas station, part diner, part soda museum, and entirely one of the best reasons to pull off the Mother Road. The bottle is just the beginning, though.

What’s inside the building will keep you there a lot longer than you planned.

The four-ton bottle stands 66 feet for a reason

That giant bottle out front weighs four tons. Steel hoops stack on top of each other to form the shape, and the height lands at exactly 66 feet, a direct nod to the highway it sits on.

During the day, you can spot it from down the road.

At night, thousands of color-changing LED lights cover the whole structure and cycle through patterns you can see for miles across the flat Oklahoma landscape.

People around here call the bottle “Bubbles,” and it earns the name after dark.

An Oklahoma businessman named it after his dad

POPS opened on Aug. 6, 2007, the creation of the late Aubrey McClendon, an Oklahoma City businessman who named the place after his father’s nickname.

McClendon brought in Oklahoma City architect Rand Elliott to design the building and tapped Michael Wallis, a well-known Route 66 historian and author, to make sure the whole project respected the spirit of the Mother Road.

The place is newer than most Route 66 landmarks, but it has become one of the most recognized stops on the highway.

The building looks like a spaceship landed on the prairie

Rand Elliott designed the structure with angular steel, glass, and Oklahoma red rock, and his firm Elliott + Associates Architects has won several awards for it.

A 100-foot steel canopy stretches over the gas pumps and keeps you dry in the rain or shaded in the summer heat. The whole look draws from mid-century gas stations but pushes everything into the future.

Some people say it looks like a rocket ship. Others say a space station.

Either way, nothing else on Route 66 looks like this.

Soda bottles line the walls like stained glass

Walk inside, and the first thing you notice is color.

Glass walls hold rows of soda bottles arranged in a full rainbow, and when the sunlight hits them, the effect works like stained glass in a church.

Those display bottles are glued down for safety and serve as decoration only. The actual sodas you can buy sit cold in large refrigerators further inside.

POPS carries over 700 varieties from across the country and around the world, including regional favorites and rare brands you won’t track down at your local grocery store.

Buffalo wing soda and 80 types of root beer

Beyond the usual colas and root beers, the selection at POPS gets strange in the best way. You can grab a bottle of buffalo wing soda, ranch dressing soda, or peanut butter and jelly.

The fruity side runs deep too, with watermelon, green apple, mango and pomegranate on the shelves. Nostalgic regional brands like Cheerwine and Original Green River sit right alongside them.

POPS stocks about 80 different root beers alone. Grab a six-pack carrier and mix whatever catches your eye.

Order the Fruity Pebbles milkshake with your burger

The diner inside POPS serves classic American comfort food in a casual setting. Certified Angus Beef burgers, chicken fried steak, sandwiches, salads and hot dogs fill the menu.

The milkshakes come thick and in multiple flavors, but the Fruity Pebbles and strawberry versions get the most attention. You can also pair a soda float with any of those 700 sodas.

On Saturdays and Sundays, breakfast runs from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with omelets and eggs on the menu.

Pick up Route 66 souvenirs and candy on your way out

A convenience store and gift shop sit inside POPS right alongside the diner and soda racks.

You can browse Route 66 memorabilia, grab a bag of candy, load up on snacks for the road, or pick up a souvenir for someone back home. They also carry ice cream and sweets if the milkshake didn’t fill you up.

It’s the kind of shop where you walk in for one thing and leave with a bag full of stuff you didn’t plan on buying.

Time your visit for after dark to see the full light show

Once the sun drops, Bubbles comes alive. The programmable LED lighting system kicks in and shifts through colors and patterns against the dark Oklahoma sky.

On flat ground with nothing blocking the view, that glow reaches miles in every direction. A lot of visitors plan their stop for the evening just to catch the show.

If you’re driving Route 66 westbound toward Oklahoma City, the timing works out well. Fill your tank, grab dinner, and walk outside to a giant glowing soda bottle lighting up the prairie.

The 1898 Round Barn sits less than a mile away

Less than a mile east of POPS, you’ll find the Arcadia Round Barn, built in 1898 and the only wooden round barn in Oklahoma. It sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

The roof collapsed in 1988, and local volunteers restored it by 1992.

Today, the barn holds a small museum with historical exhibits, a gift shop, and an upstairs loft where live music and events take place.

Between POPS and the Round Barn, Arcadia gives you two solid Route 66 stops within walking distance.

Oklahoma has more Route 66 miles than any other state

Over 400 drivable miles of Route 66 cross Oklahoma, more than any other state on the Mother Road.

The highway connects the state’s two largest cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and the stops between them don’t disappoint.

The Blue Whale of Catoosa, Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, and the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton all sit along the route.

A 2024 reader poll from a major travel publication voted POPS the best Route 66 stop in the state, and once you’ve been, you understand why.

Route 66 turns 100 in 2026 and Oklahoma is throwing the party

Route 66 came into existence on Nov. 11, 1926, and 2026 marks the centennial.

Oklahoma is running a yearlong celebration with events strung across the state, including classic car parades, mural festivals, birthday celebrations and community gatherings in cities along the route.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission and the state’s tourism department have spent years putting it all together.

POPS sits right in the middle of the action, making it a natural stop for anyone driving the Mother Road this year.

Fill up your tank and your soda stash before you leave

POPS 66 Soda Ranch is located at 660 W. Highway 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma.

The store opens daily at 6 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. The restaurant runs from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., so plan your meal before the diner shuts down for the night.

Weekend breakfast starts at 7 a.m. You’ll find free parking, outdoor seating and grassy areas to stretch your legs. POPS is also a working gas station, so top off before you hit the road again.

Visit POPS 66 Soda Ranch in Oklahoma

If you want to see what a modern Route 66 roadside attraction looks like, POPS 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia, Oklahoma, is the place. You’ll find it at 660 W. Highway 66, a short drive east of Oklahoma City.

The store is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the restaurant serves from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free.

With over 700 sodas, a full diner and that 66-foot glowing bottle, you can easily spend an hour or two here.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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