Monday, September 30th, was a really full day even with the fact we deliberately slept in. The first place we were to visit opened at 11am. I made a detailed grid for this trip. We agreed on what we would see as well as some places to leave on the grid just in case we had time and wanted to use it to see them. As we actually toured each day, we reviewed the grid and determined whether or not to go see things. The grid had timing to drive to places and the time we would need at sites as well as time for lunch. Using this with a maximum number of hours to tour each day, I had guestimated when we would need to get hotels. By Monday morning, we were several hours ahead of schedule. Sleeping in was a welcome treat. By the end of our tourist day Monday, we would be in Oklahoma City and a full day ahead of schedule. Whew!!
We stopped at the Will Rogers Memorial. It was a quick photo op. We did not go inside. What a beautiful view.
Now we would back track. When we finished the day before, there were no hotels in Chelsea. We drove 20 miles to Claremore to a hotel. Doing this put us past a site Claude wanted to see. So, we back tracked that 20 miles to see Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park.
Ed and his wife, Villie, bought this track of land. He built the little home and a studio on the property. Ed had been a manual arts teacher. He was extremely talented with many art mediums. He also believed that Native Americans should be honored. To do that he created this totem park on his property which is supported by donations and purchases in the gift shop. The largest totem was the first he built. It is out of concrete. He brought the sand for the concrete by wheelbarrow from a creek below his property. There are 100 tons of sand in the large totem. That is a lot of wheel barrows from the creek! It is the largest totem pole in the world. You can go inside. I did that. Now, I love turtles. The base of this totem pole is a turtle. Claude took a picture of me behind the turtle. It is the one with a tree branch in front. Cool!
There are other totems, a grill and table and chairs.
The studio where he created beautiful wood art is called Fiddle House. Ed made lots of fiddles. He also created wood items, many with inlaid wood.
Now it was time for Claude to play his version of Jonah and the whale. In Catoosa, Oklahoma, there is a big blue whale. It was made as an anniversary gift. It has been a swimming hole. Another one of the interesting structures found along Route 66.
During the April drive on Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis, we sought out and took lots of pictures of the giants along Route 66. The are fascinating and very, very tall. This trip there were some really cool monuments that caught my interest. I decided to be sure we saw those and not focus so much on the giants.
This monument is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza. Dr. Cyrus Avery is considered the 'Father of Route 66'. The statue to honor him has the meeting of two times. This is illustrated by a man in a car facing off with a man in a wagon pulled by a horse. Clever. This statue stands in front of a section of the original Route 66 that went over a bridge over the Arkansas River. It has been preserved. Very neat set up of Route 66 and this monument along the river.
Claude and I watched a documentary once that featured a closed gas station. It is called the Threatt Station. It is in Luther, Oklahoma. Years ago, when African Americans tried to drive across country, they were not allowed in gas stations and restaurants. They had a book called The Negro Motorist Green Book. This let them know places they could feel safe and transact the business of travel. Threatt Station was one of those places. There was a food counter inside where they could get a warm meal. The lawn behind was used for baseball games. Very happy we got to see this important part of history.
Next was a quick interesting stop. Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma. We learned that it was built round because it was believed a tornado wouldn't harm buildings with rounded edges. No basis in fact for that.
Two miles down Route 66 is Pop's 66 Soda Ranch. The huge soda bottle out front assures you that you are at the right place. There is every flavor of soda that you can imagine. Claude and I each picked one and had a nice break sipping them in air-conditioning. Nice moment in time.
Claude really wanted to see the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. I checked as we sipped our soda. The museum was about 20 minutes away. It would close at 5pm. We could get there a little after 3. We hurried down the road and made it in time for a nice visit. One could spend all day here. They suggest 2 hours at least. We really enjoyed the range of what there was to see.
Okay, one more stop and our sites to visit in Oklahoma City would be complete. This was another monument that appealed to me. The Centennial Land Run Monument. Remember when they expanded the westward movement by giving away land. Wagons and people lined up, a cannon was fired and they were off to try and grab a parcel of land on which to start their life. This monument is to that moment. It was huge. I had not expected it to be that big. It went on for a long way. Such a magnificent tribute to a moment in our nations history.
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