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East Meets West, Tulsa OKTulsa, OK to Clinton, OK
Up Saturday morning. Overcast, damp streets, but no rain. The top comes down again!
We drove from our hotel back up to where we dropped off the old Route 66 and picked it back up. Drove downtown and stopped at this beautiful art deco building. (First photo.) The detail of the art was just beautiful. (Second photo.)
We were taking a few shots when we met Lonnie and Sue. Lonnie grew up there and knew a lot about the neighborhood. Turns out this beautiful building was the Warehouse Market, a grocery store in Tulsa!
We drove over to an area called the Blue Dome District. The photos below shows the area’s namesake building, as well as some of the beautifully detailed artwork on it.
While there we saw some of the participants who had just finished the Tulsa Run, an annual 5k and 15k run in the area. Apparently most of the runners participate while wearing some kind of costume. (Jim had wanted to run but Marian talked him out of it. Just as well; he didn’t have his good running shoes or his costume anyway.)
After getting photos of the Blue Dome we walked across the street with the runners for brunch at the Dilley Diner. Even better breakfast than Lou Mitchell’s Chicago! However, it was a little disconcerting standing in line with runners dressed like ballerinas, Star Wars Stormtroopers, and bunny rabbits. (Lots of bunny rabbits.)
We headed back to the SW side of Tulsa and picked up Route 66 at the Cyrus Avery Plaza. Avery is the mover who spearheaded getting Route 66 built, including building the Route’s bridge over the Arkansas River. There is a well-known statue there called “East Meets West.” (See photo at top.).
From there we exited Tulsa and headed through Oakhurst to Sapulpa. There Route 66 goes over an iron-framed bridge built in 1923. The bridge is brick-paved. It was pretty narrow, but it was open for traffic and of course we crossed it.
From there we went to Arcadia and saw the famous “Round Barn.” We couldn’t go in the top story; apparently we had not been invited to the wedding. But we did get a few photos and went through the gift shop/information center downstairs.
The Round Barn fell into disrepair years ago, but with the help of contributions from those driving Route 66, they were able to bring it back to it’s beautiful, though barn-like, appearance. Apparently several round barns were build in the early 20th century, apparently because people thought they could withstand tornadoes. They can’t.
From there we went down the road less than a mile to Pops, a new business on Route 66. Pops has over 500 brands/flavors of soda pop, and they will sell them to you along with gas and ice cream and whatever you order from the grill. Conceptually I wonder if they would make it; but they were the busiest business we have entered on Route 66.
From there we went on through Edmond and Oklahoma City, to Yukon. Yukon is famous for several things. It is the home of Yukon Flour, and the town is very proud of that. It is also the home of Garth Brooks, and the town is even more proud of that. And last but not least, it was a watering hole on the Chisholm Trail.
We saw the watering hole, which is now part of a large pond in one of the City’s parks. We also drove for half an hour around the area where the map said the historical marker was located, but we never found it. I pulled a photo from the Internet for you to see what it (must have) looked like. (I would have pulled down a photo of Garth Brooks, but I expect you know what he looks like.)
From Edmond we drove to El Reno. Not to see the state penal unit there but to see the El Reno Hotel, the oldest commercial building still operating on Route 66. From there we headed west on 66 to the bridge crossing the South Canadian River west of El Reno.
The bridge is famous because (1) it consists of 38 individual spans; and (2) it is over 4,000 feet long. Anyway, by the time we got there it was too dark for a photo to come out, so I downloaded a photo of that for you as well.
From there we went into Bridgeport, got onto Interstate 44, and came on in to Clinton for dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Tomorrow promises to be sunny and cool. We will make Amarillo. We don’t know if we will go further than that tomorrow. The flexibility of traveling without reservations has been one of the more enjoyable parts of the trip.
One final note. Tonight is Halloween. Thirty-three years ago on Halloween Marian and I had our first date that she showed up for. It’s been a great 33 years! (And Marian says the same thing!)
DON’T forget to click on the photos to see and read more.
Moseley Travels 