2024 Route 66 East - Day 5

 Claremore OK

Claremore, OK from the Will Rogers Museum 

We started the day at the Crossroads Diner in Bristow OK. Most of us are in our kit since the diner was about 1.5 miles from our motel and we rode our bikes there. We had a great meal and headed back to the motel to finalize packing and head out.

We started on new Route 66, but just 1.3 miles into ride, we hit some old concrete on an abandoned section of Old Route 66. We even had to walk the bikes several times to cross downed trees in the unmaintained sections.

Little Polecat Creek, I stopped to smell and could not pick up a whiff of one of those rascals!

New Route 66

We were back riding on the New Route 66 that was build right over the Old Route 66. How can you be sure? Just check the dates on one of the old culverts, this one was put in place in 1925! Most of the old ones were replaced in the new construction, but for whatever reason, this old one was good enough for the new road.

Not Route 66

The Raceway Speedway was 17 miles into the ride on the right side of the road and looked interesting so I rode in to check it out. The maintenance crew had just arrived and they allowed me to walk in and look around. They even offered to let me ride my bike on the track. Normally I would have taken them up on the offer to ride a dirt track on the bike, but it was a mud track from last nights rain! It rained so hard, they told me they had standing water nearly reaching the top of the back stretch!

On the way out, this father-son team was unloading their micro sprint car from the trailer. They were getting it ready to race tonight, and the young man will be doing the driving. I told him he has a really cool Dad to get him into racing and he said ‘yes sir!’

We rode another abandoned segment of the old road that used this bridge that was built in 1921. I did not notice that the cue sheet said ‘WALK BIKES’ until I was across and noticed the other riders walking theirs! Actually the cobbles were not that bad and fun to ride!

Liberty Glass factory in Sapula OK

This office building was once a train office for Sapula OK and our second SAG stop was nearby.

In case you were wondering, not all the old service stations have been renovated!

Welcome to Tulsa!

There was an Oklahoma Historical Park that included a restored train, oil derrick, and cottage-style Phillips 66 service station. This one even had the pumps out front.

Dedicated bike lane heading into downtown Tulsa

One of several churches in Cathedral Sqaure, south of the central business district. These churches were all built between 1912 and 1929 and are high-style examples of ecclesiastical architecture. Each has its own multi-building complex that covers an entire city block.

This is the my first muffler man sighting. This is Buck Atom Space Cowboy. He is brand new and was built by Joel Baker and was commissioned by Mary Beth Babcock. It resides at a refurbished service station that sells Route 66 memorabilia.

Muffler Men are gigantic (18 to 25 feet tall) statues moulded in fiberglass on steel frames. Their designs are similar: square jawed man with both arms extended, the right hand facing up and the left down. They always hold something, and very often they held car mufflers, hence Muffler Men. They arrived on the Route 66 scene in the 60’s and 70’s. They are attired in different costumes such as lumberjacks, cowboys, Indians, pirates and even spacemen. 

Artist at Buck Atoms

This artist was creating an image of Buck Atom and the service station using scraps paper with different shapes and different shades of grey. From a distance it looks like a charcoal drawing!

Rich and Matt at Talley’s Cafe

We stopped for lunch at Talleys cafe for a nice cheeseburger and fries for lunch! They served us quickly and even filled our bottles with water and ice!

Many of the fire stations along the way have Route 66 logos. This one on the edge off Tulsa also had a historic fire truck out front.

The Blue Whale is a relative new comer to Route 66 history, but has become an icon for the road in the growing interest in Route 66. The whale was built in 1970-1972 as part of a park that featured a child-sized version of Noah’s Ark, picnic area and small zoo. That didn’t make it and it eventually became swimming hole for locals. Note the slide and ladder on the whale. It feel away to abandonment, vandalism and weather. Locals have refurbished the whale and it is now a notable stop on a Route 66 journey.

H. Tom Kight Jr. bridge was built in 1957 to carry Route 66 traffic over the Marine HWY M40 of the MCARNS below. Like many bridges it was replaced by a newer and wider bridge. They salvaged the spans and they sit in a park next to the waterway.

McClellan - Kerr Arkansas River Transportation Navigation System (MCARNS)

Our destination city is Claremore OK, home of Will Rogers. Our last stop of the day was the Will Rogers Museum. It sits on a hill overlooking the city (first photo on this blog entry). It had great exhibits and was well worth a visit. There was a very informative 20 minute movie showing in a nice cool theater and I plopped down with several other riders, two of whom promptly fell asleep in the cool comfortable chairs!

We rolled back down the hill through town to our hotel. We noticed this Irish Pub two doors down from the hotel. We were all ready for something other than diner food, and the Sheppards Pie did the trick!

Breakfast at Eggberts Diner next door at 0615, load and depart at 800 for Miami OK, pronounced my-AM-a! See you then.

Steve

Day 6