By Thomas Best
If you have been following along with me over the last few weeks, you know that I am providing you with a travelogue of driving along Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, a trip my wife and I made in May. Today, we have reached the “Sooner State” of Oklahoma.
Even though I have been in the land of oil wells and cattle stockyards before, I was looking forward to crossing Oklahoma and its combinations of urban centers such as Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Yet, our first stop was the small town of Commerce. You know me as a huge baseball fan, so I had to stop here. This is where you will find the childhood home of Micky Mantle. A simple workman’s home, in the yard you will find the place where his dad taught him how to play catch. The dents on the nearby metal shed commemorate the balls his father missed catching.
Down the road is one of the most famous roadside attractions: the “Blue Whale” of Catoosa. Built as a roadside novelty for a swimming hole in 1972, this giant concrete and metal comical-looking blue whale is still owned by the original owner’s daughter. You used to be able to also go swimming here. But now, the site is just for funny looks.
Once reaching Tulsa, you are in oil country. Here you can gaze up at the 75-foot tall “Driller Man.” I got my picture taken underneath this giant yellow statue to illustrate its substantial height. Downtown, there is a small old gas station from the 1950s, now called “Buck Atoms Cosmic Curios.” Here, Pam and I found many amusing statues depicting everything from robots, pigs, and—of course—“Buck Atoms,” the atomic man. I would also advise you to stop and see two this city’s great cultural attractions: the two music museums dedicated to Bob Dylan and Woodie Guthrie. We only had time to see the Dylan Museum, with its many concert posters, photographs, copies of hand-written lyrics, clothing, and videos of Dylan performing his songs.
In the middle of the state, you must visit the state capital of Oklahoma City. Now traveling along the designated “Will Rogers Highway” (named after this state’s famous humorist, actor, rodeo performer, writer, and radio celebrity), you should take time to absorb the emotions emitted from the museum and grounds of the tragic site of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In this awful tragedy, 168 people including innocent children were killed during a domestic terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Office Building. The respectful grounds feature empty artistic chairs of different sizes for adults and children as the victims. Being there at night is a special time with lights accentuating the solemn atmosphere. North of this city are two of our favorite attractions in the small town of Acadia. First, there is the “Round Barn,” built in this circular shape in 1898 because it was believed that such a “round barn” would better withstand the swirling winds of this state’s many tornadoes. Across the street is “Pops,” a large glass covered store selling at least 600 kinds of “pop” from colas and root beer to some strange mixtures I was too afraid to sample! The giant metal pop bottle, some 66 feet tall and weighing 4 tons lights up when it gets dark.
Well, that’s enough for eastern Oklahoma. Next week, I will share my memories of western Oklahoma.
photo by: driller man .publicradiotulsa.org
