I think it just takes you off guard.

Like if you don't know about it and you're just driving down the road, you're like,

what?

A 20-foot tall space cowboy, we gotta go around the block for this.

This 20-foot tall space cowboy is totally eye catching.

He's got the square jawed Buzz Lightyear looking face.

He's got on a space helmet with a cowboy hat perched on top.

And he's holding a shiny silver spaceship.

He is the most magical man I've ever met.

His whole mission, you know, being here is just to help revitalize Route 66 and make people

smile.

I'm Amanda McGowan and this is Atlas of Scura, a celebration of the world's strange,

incredible, and wondrous places.

And today we're introducing you to Buck Adam, who stands watch over an old gas station

in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The story of how he came to be is also the story of the life, death, and rebirth of one

of America's most beloved roads.

That's after this.

I'm standing in an old 1950s gas station in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Today it's a gift shop called Buck Adam's Cosmic Curios on Route 66.

And true to the name, almost everything in the shop is emblazoned with the extremely

photogenic 20-foot tall space cowboy statue who is standing outside.

...