Highlights of Route 66

with Archers Holidays, June 2015

Another 7am bags, 8am bus day. In between, we took advantage of the included breakfast - what a spread! Cereal, oatmeal, waffles, toast and bagels, scrambled egg, sausages, ham, biscuits and gravy, yoghurts, fruit juice and coffee. Blimey. The seating area wasn't huge, but everyone seemed to get a seat who wanted one.

The hotel was a little late picking up the bags (they were still in our room after breakfast) as it seems the folks who were supposed to collect them hadn't turned up, but soon the hotel was on the case (see what I did there?) and gathered them up. It meant we were a little late leaving the hotel but these things happen.

On our way Beth talked to us a little about our plans for the day and taking dinner orders for those doing the optionals. She put on the end of The Grapes of Wrath movie we'd been watching. There was just one more speech from Ma and it was over. Oh well, I can tick that one off now. Seemed pretty accurate but not really my kinda movie (not many laughs!)

We stopped at Joplin City Hall, Missouri. Here we met some very nice folks who talked to us about Anthony Benton. He painted some murals in the town including this one set in this 1960s, Route 66, Joplin, Missouri, which he finished in 2010. Like this nice seal they had on the floor.

We had a few minutes to look around City Hall - just allowed to wander off, in a government building! Can you imagine that in the UK? I found a big lump of rock like they used to mine locally. We went upstairs to look at an exhibition about Benton and his creation of the murals and there was a good view of the building. Of course, I had to test drive the banister which was nice and slidy. On the way down, I took a photo of their stained glass window dated 1910-1996 and encompassing icons of American history.

We headed outside and across the street for a look at another couple of Route 66 murals. The Director of Sales from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Erin Slifka, asked if she could take a photo of me for their Facebook page and who am I to stop them? Fame at last! Maybe... The second one had half a car in it!

We all got some individual photos then we tried to get a group shot of everyone on the bus but folks kept wandering in and out so don't think it's quite everyone! Ah well...you can see me! When they opened this Route 66 Mural Park they dedicated it with a representation of the single Get Your Kicks on Route 66. Some of you will have to google what a single is!

We drove on to Galena, Kansas - a new state for my list! We knew we wouldn't be in Kansas for long as it only makes up 13.2 miles of Route 66. We made a great stop at Cars on the Route.

This place has an emphasis on the Disney movie Cars and is home to Tow Tater, the inspiration for Disney Cars character Tow Mater, but Disney wouldn't let them use the name. They'd already had a neon sign made up when Disney relented but it was too late, so I got to sit in and on Tow Tater. The truck still runs and is hired out for special events.

We met Melba Rigg (below left) who used to be part owner, but now is just the voice of Cars on the Route - in fact, she is known as Melba the Mouth and she is kinda loud, but nice with it!

They have a second smaller truck they also use - with teeth - and apparently kids really like the teeth. There's also a fire truck. They have a small snack bar and gift store here and very kindly gave us all coffee or a bottle of water and cookies.

Across the street there's a restored building reputed to have been owned by convicted murderer and bordello madam Ma Staffleback, but the local historians disagree. As I went to take a look, I grabbed a photo in the middle of the road. They have their own traffic cop as it seems tourists are notorious for just stepping into the road. It was pretty quiet when we were there so I didn't end up as roadkill!

Soon we were on the road again to our lunch stop at McDonald's in Claremore, Oklahoma. We don't normally do lunch but there was nothing else around so we figured that was a good excuse.

Also in Claremore, Oklahoma, was the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, our first stop for the afternoon. Now, I'd heard the name, but didn't really know who Will Rogers was. He was born in 1879 on a frontier ranch and used his trick roping skills to move from wild west shows to Vaudeville. He spent a decade as part of the Ziegfeld Follies and starred in 71 movies. He had a syndicated newspaper column, writing more than 4,000 newspaper articles and six books as well as starring in a popular Sunday evening radio show. He was so much more than just a cowboy. We were led into an auditorium where we were introduced to the Museum by a docent who was great at twirling a rope.

As Rogers had so many interests, the collection in the Museum was eclectic. They had a great painting of him, alongside a saddle that was made for him in 1909! Rogers became an aviation enthusiast, becoming friendly with famous aviators Charles Lindbergh and William Post. In 1935, Post and Rogers were flying around Alaska in a modified Lockheed Orion-Explorer (model below right) when it suffered engine failure on take-off, crashing into a lagoon and killing both men instantly.

Outside the Museum is the Memorial. There is a tomb, a gravestone and a full-size statue of Rogers on a horse.

From the Memorial we looked back at the beautiful Museum building, made of native limestone.

We looked around the rest of the museum, including a number of Frederic S Remington statues.

We had a quick dash round the gift shop, didn't find much to buy, though there was a range of non-made in China tourist tat. It was a bit dull though. Outside we spotted a sculpture, The Contemplative Will Rogers, sculpted by Philip Alexander Larkin in 1997 out of native limestone. Below right is a plaque presented by the Cherokee Nation, to honour the memory of Oklahoma's beloved son, a quarter-blood Cherokee.

Our next stop was the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma. It was built by Hugh S Davis in 1972. Before the whale, the pond was a favourite place for kayaking, swimming and picnicking. In the winter they would skate on the ice. Davis always had a project on the go, including creating an Alligator Ranch, a prairie dog and even an ark. From early doodles of a fish emerged a big blue whale. While you can no longer slide or dive into the pond, you can still climb up the inside, which, of course, I did.

It took two years to build the iron skeleton, covered in cement applied by hand. In July 1972, the unpainted whale attracted people who would throw themselves off the tail, slide down the fins or stick their head through holes in the head. No one was ever injured and the whale became a Route 66 icon. Davis wuffering from crippling arthritis, so in 1988 the Blue Whale closed and Davis died in 1990.

Ownership of the Blue Whale transferred to Davis's daughter, Dee Dee (Davis) Belt and her husband, Dick. The family keep the Blue Whale gates open and grounds maintained so people like us can still visit this Route 66 icon. As we were leaving, one of the family got onto the bus and thanked us for visiting, however I didn't catch his name.

Our hotel for the night in Oklahoma City was at the Best Western Saddleback Inn. We got two beds in this room though it was a bit of a trek to find it. We had free Wi-Fi, free coffee in the lobby, a safe, fridge and microwave and a good-size bathroom.

We were meeting my pal, Diesel, who lives three hours away in Kansas here, that's him on the bed (leftest bear in the photo, below right). We took a photo with the our Twitter buddies the flatties too. We headed to the hotel bar for a drink before setting out for dinner - they only had the usual basic draft beers, but you know us, we're not that fussy.

We decided to go out for dinner to the Bricktown Brewery by taking the free hotel shuttle. They sell a number of their own beers, a variety of Oklahoma beers as well as some national favourites. Theo decided to try a flight of beers so he could sample a few different ones.

We ordered burgers, including a veggie burger for the assistant, and they were huge - look how many fries there are on that plate! We had a great evening with my pal Diesel and his human together with some great beers. On our way out, we took a look at their microbrewery, then we headed outside to wait for our shuttle back to the hotel.

We had to wait forty minutes for the shuttle - they'd just picked up another guest and were on the way back to the hotel, so we had to wait while they dropped them off and returned to downtown for us. Still it was a warm, dry evening, and we were quite happy chatting as horse and carriages passed us by.

We said goodnight to Diesel and returned to our room. Had to be up early the next day to make the most of our included breakfast!

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