Route 66 Day 5 October 26, 2019

As we began to get into the day we were pleasantly surprised that the air temperature was not too cold. Not far from the hotel there was a sign by the side of the road that raised our eyebrows. If there was any question about the fact that we were in an area of the United States where there is a surplus of guns, this sign removed all doubt:

The convoy moved through the streets to a little town of Galena in a corner of Kansas. The town has been named the lead ore galena found there in 1877. (Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms. It is often associated with the minerals sphalerite, calcite and fluorite).

Here are some more crazy signs we saw as we drove to Cars On The Route - Cafe' & Gift Shop, our first stop of the day:

As we drove we noticed mobile phone towers with a bright flashing light on the top of them, white fences to keep animals from straying onto the main road, ponds of water and rivers with water (beautiful sights for a person who comes from a sun drenched land currently in drought), boats wrapped in plastic in readiness for the winter months ahead, and lots and lots of churches, many with a clear message "Are you ready for Jesus 2 return?" We had no doubt that we were driving through America's famous Bible belt. 

The farms became less prosperous looking, and then we went around a sharp bend in the road, to cross the state border into Kansas. We were entering the little city of Galena in Cherokee County. It is obvious that the people who live there have a very good sense of humour and a creative flare. Here are the first things we saw:

       

      

At one time, the place where this police car and these trucks are parked, was a Kan-O-Tex service station.

  

Afew years ago it was purchased by four women who live in Galena (which has a population of just over 3000 people). Dale was hoping we might get a hot cuppa while we were there, because during the height of the tourist season (the warmer months) they sell sandwiches, snacks, antiques, works of art by local crafts people and artists, Route 66 souvenirs and items from the movie Cars in which one of them had a bit part. The ladies explained that they had shut up shop  for the winter months, so we'd have to go to the next diner. They had only opened up for us because Dale was leading our group.

The superstar talking with Dan

Apart from some postcards, Route 66 memorabilia and some leather jackets for sale at very reasonable prices, there wasn't much merchandise for sale. I just had to take a photo of this tag attached to one jacket - it was its selling point!

There was also an array of pictures featuring the Route 66 shield symbol including this one:

You may recognise these characters - The Three Stooges

I tried to borrow the movie Cars from the Newman library (my local library) before I came away. They had 3 copies, but didn't know where any of them were!! I've now learnt so much about the movie, and have been inspired by the passion of the ladies, that I'm going to have to buy my own copy so I can learn about some of the characters including the mining boom truck that inspired the character "Tow Mater" in Radiator Springs. You can see him parked outside the shop in the picture above. 
The father of the girls was an interesting character. He was an honorary policemen and he could also do a double jointed trick with his leg.


Like leaving long lost relatives, we hit the road again. We were only on Kentucky soil for a couple of miles of the road, and then it became Oklahoma.The next stop was the Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge over Brush Creek.
  
The sign says Rainbow Curve Bridge constructed in 1923 over Brush Creek. Only remaining marsh arch bridge on Route 66. Listed on the National Registry March 10, 1993. Jenny and I had our photo taken. I wanted to take a picture of the structure of the bridge. Rob and Denise unawares, photobombed my effort while they checked their photos. There is never enough time at every stop to  leisurely explore the things of interest .... so it was back in the cars again, and off to the next stop ... the historic Dairy King in Commerce, Oklahoma.

 
There is someone in this region who has a flare for road safety poetry!

I took a quick look at the cafe, but as our car was in need of some fuel, while everyone else ducked into the little cafe for a while, Jenny and I went to the service station. We're getting quite proficient at using the American petrol bowsers now, but were still amazed at the array of snacks available at the service station shops:

  

The other thing that intrigues us is that Americans don't put a splash of milk in their coffee. Instead they use 'creamer' which either comes in powdered form, or in tiny sealed tubs (like what you get on the plane). I bought some milk for my coffee and here's all the good things it had in it! I popped across to the cafe to have a look at what was on offer. The staff were very friendly and most people had signed a huge blackboard running along the outdoor seating area. (It reminded me of the blackboard we used to have in our kitchen when my kids were little. We'd draw pictures, explain problems brought home from school or write the shopping list on it. It was an excellent installment.)

The next stop was in the quaint little town of Miami (pronounced Miam -ma ... the Native American Indian way of saying this place name). We were visiting a gorgeous old theatre built in 1929 called the Coleman Theatre. It was built to be a vaudeville/movie theatre (silent movies) palace, and since its inception has hosted many legendary performers. It has never closed in its 90 year history and it still holds the original Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that has delighted many people over the decades. We had the opportunity to hear it's booming tones when the man who was giving us the historical information about the building started up a pianola function. The sound filled the whole theatre which is so beautifully appointed. I'm afraid my pictures don't do it justice.

    

      

That was a sublime interlude. We got to enjoy the classiness of the 1920's, the philanthropy of some of the leading identities of Miami, and see how meticulously each item has been cared for.

Back in the cars and this time we were taking a journey a few miles out of town. We made a right hand turn onto the 9 foot highway - a piece of the Old Route 66 pavement. We had the opportunity to experience driving on a road that was a great idea ,... just not very practical. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, much of Old Route 66 is made from concrete. Pouring more than 2,400 miles of concrete turned out to be a pretty expensive project, especially back in the 1920's. So, the state of Oklahoma came up with a solution: a road that is half as wide, and should cost half as much!! This wasn't the only section of Old Route 66 that is 9 foot wide - there are others. They are known as a "Ribbon Road" or "Sidewalk Highway".

   

As you can see from the photo, the surface was pretty rough, and we only drove for about 250 yards before having to turn around. I tried to be clever so I wouldn't be left behind, and misjudged a steep drop off on the side of the road. When I tried to correct my mistake, I nearly backed into another car. My efforts did not go unnoticed and I was awarded "Dick of the Day"... something I wanted to completely avoid for the whole trip! Even worse, Jenny and I now had to put up with a loud scraping noise when we were going slow. We had what seemed like all the boys check it out for us, and after they all said "Nah! She'll be right!" we kept driving. Fortunately, when we went at more than 50 miles per hour, the noise disappeared.

The convoy of cars headed towards our lunch stop at Clanton's Cafe in Vinita. The Cafe has been in operation since 1927 and is the oldest, continually owned family restaurant on Route 66 in the state of Oklahoma. Generations of Clantons have been preparing meals for their neighbours and travellers on the road; and they have been deeply involved in the community of Vinita too. The Clantons have  given countless hours and dollars to support various school, community and charitable organisations. 

  

This is the menu and this beautifully carved owl sits next to the front door.

Vinita had another claim to fame which has had a memorial built to celebrate it:

"On June 13, 1936, President Roosevelt stopped his re-election special train in Vinita to honour citizen's request to . fund construction of the Grand River Dam. A large rowdy crown estimated at 5000 greeted him. President Roosevelt thanked the crowd for arranging the event and said he would see what he could do about it when he returned to Washington DC. In September 1937, he signed legislation for $20 million to fund the project...."

As we continued ever westward the vegetation was beginning to thin out in places, whilst remaining bushy on other places, and we saw another very long freight train: 

  

Somehow we got separated from the group. A momentary lapse in concentration and before you know it all the cars have turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Jenny and I noticed that Norm was lost too, so we teamed up with him to find our way to the next stop - The Blue Whale of Catoosa. I was using Google maps and Norm was using his GPS, and neither pieces of equipment were able to locate the waterfront structure at the east end of the town that has become one of the most recognisable structures on Route 66.

Built by Hugh Davies in the early 1970's as a surprise anniversary gift to his wife Zelta who collected whale figurines, it became a favoured swimming hole for both locals and travellers.  According to those that saw it today, it has fallen into disrepair and was a bit of a disappointment. 

I felt disappointed missing out on seeing it because one of my favourite books to read my students is How Big Is A Blue Whale? As a result of the children's enjoyment of the story we made a line of kids 30 metres long, reeled out a piece of string that length, and then made our own book containing the photos and the piece of string which the students really enjoyed reading.  

Jenny and I were tired and disappointed so we decided to head to the hotel we were staying in for the night. 

 

We found our room, and not long after Catherine arrived. Unfortunately the atmosphere was acrid and an implosion occurred. We are so grateful to Dale and Dan who came to our rescue and helped us to get over our hurdle so we could continue on this life changing trip. They have been above and beyond in their kindness, support and understanding. 

I'd like to dedicate the following piece of wisdom to Catherine. We've had a good season, but now it's time to begin a new one. 

After our distress we decided to catch the free shuttle bus to take us over to the Hardrock Cafe Hotel and Casino so we could have a look around. Inside it was a cacophony of slot machines, music, TVs showing sporting contests of various kinds and all manner of other things. 

 

We found the quietest spot and had a drink and some nachos. Then we caught the shuttle home so we could get an early night, and some good sleep. While we were waiting to be picked up by the return shuttle, we were able to view guitars owned by famous musicians including The Eagles, John Mellencamp ...

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Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys), Neil Young  

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Bruce Springsteen and Keith Richard

We we were staying in a beautifully appointed and comfortable hotel owned by the Hilton group but coming under a different name - Hampton Suites. It felt like the epitome of luxury to me. I would highly recommend this brand of hotel, and they demonstrate they mean what their slogan states:

There'll be more adventures tomorrow. I hope you can join me again.