Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head
October 8, 2023 – Day 10
The day started slowly. The plan was to visit the Black Wall Street and learn about the 1921 Race Massacre. Neither of us was up to walking a 2 hour history tour, particularly on such a heavy subject. And especially after two museums and a fair. That was already a lot to absorb. We’re learning that on these adventures we should build in more time so that we can visit these things in a more leisurely fashion. We’re learning that 3 sleeps and two adventure days is better but still too short of a time to experience much of a location. Visiting things one after the other becomes a blur and we’d really like to not blur our life experiences. We’ll be back. Tulsa has a lot to offer and we’d both still like to visit Black Wall Street. Atrocities like this must not be forgotten.
We stayed put for the morning taking care of the business of settling our plans for the next few days. We’re getting close to the eclipse day and need to firm up “the last mile” a bit. At the last minute Paul wanted to arrive a day early to reconnoiter. It’s possible he just likes saying reconnoiter vs do reconnaissance. So we booked campgrounds to fill the last few days before we stop in the Albuquerque area for the eclipse. We know where we’ll be until the 1st of November! What a treat! We have the next 23 days booked, all with electric/water/sewer. In all the miles out to Phoenix, back home to NH and now 2/3 of the way back to Phoenix this is the most we’ve had ever planned. This is pretty epic for us. We subscribe to the “seat of the pants” method when doing this RV thing. You might get detoured/delayed by weather or something interesting to see, like an RV Museum, so loose plans work well. It’s security vs freedom to roam and each approach comes with their own benefits. This time with the eclipse, plus reservations already made for Phoenix plus the weather is in extremes right now (hot days/cold nights or just hot). This time we opted for security. Thursday night we’ll see an overnight low of 26F! But places like Phoenix are still registering days that are in the 90s. It feels like you need a spreadsheet to keep track of it all! We like the Easy Button RV life.
So, while we were nailing down our plans for campsites and scheduling, Susan was talking and Paul was trying to pay attention but he was distracted by lots of moving shadows on the ground outside. One shadow could be a plane. But lots of them? Was it trees or maybe fast moving clouds? Eventually he interrupted her, “I need to see what is outside.” What we discovered were 100 to 200 American White Pelicans circling overhead. We have our first life bird of the trip!
Finally, we got to the business of what to do for the day. A driving trip to see the Tulsa area would be nice. Yesterday, when Paul went out and did ham radio stuff, he go to see part of Oklahoma countryside that we’ve not seen yet. Paul thought the mechanical things were water since he didn’t see any other oil infrastructure. But it was oil. He could be forgiven for this mistake but for the fact of he’s driven in West Texas where it’s all oil wells that he’s seen before.
We thought about doing some of Route 66 through Tulsa out into the country to see rural parts of “metro Tulsa.” A bit of internet search led us to the Tulsa66.org site. It isn’t clear who runs this site, they have a great disclaimer at the bottom of each page: “This site is not affiliated with the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.” But that’s ok, we followed their list until we got bored/tired.
[Side note here. For an area that has 400K+ people in Tulsa proper and over a million people in the metro area we were kept commenting to each other just how deserted Tulsa felt. It was perplexing to be in a “big city” and see few signs of life.]
The first stop was the eastern arch. We took pictures of some tourists and they took ours. We joked that we would see them down the road but we never saw them again.
For fans of the Donut Burger, there is a donut factory right behind us. Now, already at first stop we get confused. Behind us is a historic monument with a map of interesting places, and these interesting places aren’t the same as that web site above.
Aside from the question of who decides what is “interesting” we were faced with the bigger question. Do we take the 1926-1932 Route 66 or the post 1932 version of Route 66? Decisions! Decisions!!! The red pill or the blue pill! Who knew that being a Route 66 blogger meant that we had to think. Oh! The horror!
A lot careful deliberation and discussion on the merits of the original versus the current route ensued. Which reminds us of the taxonomic distinction that the various taxonomists make; for example all dogs are Canis familiaris. Yes the Great Dane and Chihuahua are the same species. And all domesticated cats are the same species. Aren’t you glad you are reading our blog? BTW, this is why Paul and Susan are married. There is a day written into legend and lore where she used “sexual dimorphism” in casual conversation. All was lost. (susan here: lumpers vs splitters. There. I shortened it.)
But we digress.
So how did we chose? The website had a list and a list with addresses, addresses we could paste into our maps program and hit go. This is something we can work with! We know what you are thinking. Such in depth research. Such dedication to the craft. Or maybe just we did “copy/paste and drive”.
So remember that half arch above? That’s new, on the “new” Route 66. The old Route 66 has another cool sculpture, which is in the middle of a rotary. You have two choices, park and somehow cross the rotary on foot to get to the sculpture, or drive around 4 times until the passenger gets the shot. And she did! Paul thinks that this is one of his favorite shots of himself, and all our trips, of all time.
See why Paul married her? It’s all about photo composition. The next stop was a drive in movie theater a block or two off of both Route 66s. We had seen it driving the main thruway and thought that it might be something. Seventy-odd years ago travelers were in their motel rooms, resting after having driven all day, full from their diner and in want of evening entertainment. Build it and they will come. Off to the Admiral Drive-In they went! It was also in some modern TV show that we’re too lazy to look up. I’m sure the people living in the three homeless tents across the street appreciated those factoids. They’re still showing recent movies but frankly it looks like it’s seen better days. Most of this section of town was filled with urban blight. Maybe it’s prettier at night with neon and lights to charm a Route 66 traveler.
Next up was one of the 11 motels. The first plaque told us there were 11. We’re pretty certain that number is soft. It was super sunny and very hot. But dedicated travel bloggers we are as we did our selfie so that you can live vicariously through our misadventures. Not quite a get your kicks experience. More like get your melt on.
This one is still in business. Barely. Based on the cars, they had a lot of vacancies. Next up was Tally’s Cafe, probably the highlight of the afternoon. It was a 50s style neon extravaganza.
It’s just a diner, right? Ok, a diner that has been in since Friday the 13th in November 1987. Can’t be a good omen right? But here it is all these years later. And it’s internet famous! We’re weren’t hungry so we decided on dessert. Paul ordered the Peach Cobbler. Susan, warned by the website that the cinnamon buns were “as big as a Buick” ignored those cautionary warnings and ordered the cinnamon bun. And yes indeed, just as the website stated it was as big as a Buick! If you’re wondering? Yes we have enough leftover for the next hundred years. It may end up in the trash before then because there’s only so much of that one wants to eat–especially on the heels of fair food.
Now, let’s get to the why’s of the title of the blog. Scroll up and come back down. We’ll wait.
She did not. Paul helped and there is still 90% of that cinnamon bun in the fridge (think styro containers that have sandwiches and fries and it’s FULL). (susan here: I think it’s grown. It’s like a pastry version of The Blob.) We asked the hostess if anyone ever finished one, “Oh god no!” as she shook her head. (Paul wrote “Buick” on the styrofoam container, Susan laughed and laughed when spotted it in the fridge.)
Next up? The Mother Road Market, which, at first glance, looked like a modern place, but we later saw in on some Route 66 graphics, so maybe it was original than, and only updated to be an indoor food court now.
We were unable to to park so we decided to not go inside. At a future date we”re going to do all of Route 66. Still it’s a shame, Susan wanted to visit the food court, she was still hungry after nibbling on that Buick of a cinnamon bun. :- ) She did grab a great selfie type photo driving away. (susan here: there’s only so much sugar a sane person wants to eat and THAT was a lifetime of sugar.)
Next up was the Circle Cinema Theater, which surely looks better at night, that’s true of many of the places we visited, but, frankly, a large part of Tulsa on Route 66 felt day-safe but not night-safe. Second rule of RV life: listen to your gut. It’s better to pass on something than regret it later.
Next is the Rancho Grande, just another Mexican restaurant, right? From reading, this place is significant because, way back then, this may have been the first exposure to Mexican food the Chicago crowd ever had. We’re so used to being able to eat a variety of many cultures’ food. Vegan Mongolian? Yawn. But think about what it was like 100 years ago. That stuff was exotic!
Next up is Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curio!
STANDING OVER ROUTE 66 IN Tulsa is a 21-foot tall space cowboy roadside attraction. The giant cowboy welcomes visitors to Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66, a gift shop selling a variety of souvenirs, clothing, neon signs, and other memorabilia dedicated to the mystique of America’s Mother Road.
Buck Atom is a unique twist on the legacy of “muffler men” that dot the Route 66 landscape. In the days before the US Interstate Highway System was built, Route 66 was one of the primary roads for taking American travelers across the Southwest. The route passed directly through the main streets of cities and towns, and restaurants, motels, drive-ins, and shops often placed large neon signs or roadside attractions outside their businesses to draw in motorists. Even gas stations and autobody shops needed to stand out — which led to the creation of “muffler men,” giant statues of, oftentimes, burly men dressed as lumberjacks and cowboys. Thousands of “muffler men” statues were produced in the 1960s and 1970s.
Store owner Mary Beth Babcock worked with Virginia-based fiberglass artist Mark Cline to create a new “muffler man” based on a character she created for her store, the traveling space cowboy Buck Atom. The rocket was crafted by local Tulsa artist, Chris Wollard.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/buck-atom
The statue was one of the highlights of the afternoon. The store itself was very small, but we did get a refrigerator magnet and Paul wanted a T-shirt but they were out of stock. But hey, they have a website.
A nice local offered to take our picture with Buck and advised us to go across to Decopolis, a SciFi / SteamPunk / Harry Potter / Dinosaur / Art Deco store and museum. (Their advice was worth far more than their picture taking ability…) It was great inside. Paul wanted to buy everything but is trying to declutter, not create more clutter. But the photo ops inside!
Next up was the famous Meadow Gold neon sign.
As the largest neon sign on Tulsa’s landscape, and possibly anywhere, the Meadow Gold sign is unique. With each face measuring 30 feet by 30 feet, the size and design of the Meadow Gold sign set it apart from all of the other signs that have been preserved and restored along historic Route 66.
https://www.tulsamarketdistrict.com/route-66-historical-tour/meadow-gold-historic-neon-sign
Next up was the Public Market Art Deco building. The building was huge, this is just a close up of the entrance.
Unbelievably, it was scheduled for demolition, but its neighbor, Home Depot, saved it. Can you imagine? Home Depot saved it! We were surprised. These days we’re told it’s a nightclub.
The final building on our tour was the blue dome building.
IN THE 1920S, TULSA, OKLAHOMA, booming with oil money, built a thriving central downtown of glimmering gold-hued Art Deco buildings unlike those seen anywhere in the American West. However, one of the most striking buildings of this era was not a skyscraper at all, but rather a gas station designed to resemble the Hagia Sophia. A century later, this structure remains the center of Tulsa’s arts and nightlife scene, and the symbol of this offbeat and hardscrabble prairie city’s cultural revival.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/blue-dome-tulsa
Right now it is a public parking lot night to a sex shop. How things change over time.
We had a lot more to see, we drove through the Cathedral District and it was stunning, you could spend hours visiting each of them. But we kind of had our fill of Route 66 tourism. It really made us wonder about the cross country trip we said, just a few days ago, that we’d do. First, there is a lot to see. A lot. Every town has something and the cities have scores of things. Lots of it is is fun. However, much of it is surrounded by urban blight and/or poverty. It was wonderful and sad at the same time. And driving through the blight makes us realize just how fortunate we really are.
Daily: 0
Total: 1,632
Moving Miles/Day: 326
Overall Miles/Day: 163 (There’s been a math error since Day 5, I’ll correct those, that’s why there is a big jump, but if you go back, you won’t see the error. Ha ha!)
Life Birds: 1 – American White Pelican