ADULT VIDEO MOVIES. That’s what the motel sign advertised as I drove by it one balmy summer evening on a lonely stretch of Route 66 through Clinton, Oklahoma. The tall, cactus-shaped sign outstretched an arrow that fervently pointed to the place of indulgence. I envisioned lonely travelers checking into the Rio Siesta Motel, visually devouring savory skin-flicks and relaxing with ice cold beer. I immediately hit the brakes and turned around. As I pulled into the parking lot, I realized the motel was boarded up and closed for business. I was one traveler who would not be indulging.
As I milled about the parking lot, I met up with Gwen Sn*der, who has owned the motel with her husband, Leon, since 1990. The Sn*ders live next door to the Rio Siesta and bought it three years after it closed. Gwen told me about its glory days when it was a resting place for weary drivers traveling Route 66. The dilapidated Rio Siesta had once been one of Clinton’s finest motels, a thriving, reputable business dedicated to serving the needs of its customers.
Eventually, as I-40 replaced Route 66 as the main highway through Clinton, the motel’s business declined and its management resorted to serving other needs of its customers; for several years the Rio Siesta had a reputation for employing call girls. Gwen also mentioned that the call girls liked to flirt with Mr. Sn*der while he did yard work.
“Oh, we teased him about that,” she told me laughing. “They’d sit up there on the fence and they would talk—and they were cute, but you know, we knew what they were!” She grinned and quickly added, “But you know, we had the best mowed grass that there ever was! My husband was forever mowing grass!”
