July 30 2024

Cruising Through Oklahoma – Exploring Route 66 – Part 1 (Commerce to Chandler)

Jen National Parks, Oklahoma, Route 66, Travel By State

COMMERCE

Since the sun was setting in Missouri, and it was darker in Kansas, then it stands to reason that it was full on night when we crossed into Oklahoma. The bad news is you can’t see much in the dark and there certainly isn’t much open. The good news is you get to see some of the historic buildings that have neon lights. Commerce had a few cute places that had neon glowing and putting on a show for us. One was the Dairy King…that’s right King, not Queen. This used to be a 1930 cottage style gas station but is now known for its soft serve ice cream, burgers and cookies shaped like the Route 66 shield (I’m bummed I missed out on those!). The other location we saw was Allen’s Conoco Fillin’ Station. This started as a Conoco in 1929-30 and later switched to a Phillips 66 in 1938. It’s also known as the “Hole in the Wall Conoco Station” which seems apt as that is exactly what it looks like.

: Dairy King

: Allen's Conoco Fillin' Station

CATOOSA

By the light of a new day we made our way thru Catoosa looking for the infamous Blue Whale. It’s not every day you see a whale in Oklahoma, so it was definitely on my bucket list. It was pretty hard to miss and it didn’t disappoint. The Blue Whale was built in the early 70’s as an anniversary gift to Hugh Davis’s wife. It started as a swimming park but was closed to swimming in the late 80’s. Its been restored and you can walk out on it for a great photo op. On the same property is the ruins of the Ark of Catoosa. The property was originally called Nature’s Acres and the ark was built and named “A.R.K.” which stood for Animal Reptile Kingdom (eeek! – no reptiles present that I could tell). Across the street from the whale and the ark is the former Arrowood Trading Post which dates to 1952 when the owner moved his business from Tulsa to Catoosa, across the street from his sisters blue whale and alligator farm (note, no whales were farmed, only alligators). It was previously the Catoosa Trading Post and the Chief Wolf Robe Hunt Trading Post.

: Blue Whale of Catoosa

: Staring down the mouth of the Blue Whale of Catoosa

: Standing in the Tail of the Blue Whale

: Smurf-vette posing with the Blue Whale

: Welcome to the Blue Whale

: History of the Blue Whale

: Directional whales

: Directions from a whale

: ARK of Catoosa

: ARK of Catoosa

: Arrowood Trading Post

: Random Roof Art - looks tornadoish

TULSA

While some large cities had very little sights to see for Route 66 (I’m calling you out Chicago and St. Louis), Tulsa felt like hitting a jackpot. They had some really neat things to see! The Golden Driller Statue (its technically but 1 mile off Route 66 but worth the detour) is 75 feet tall and weighs 43,500 pounds (relatable). This oil worker statue is a steel frame covered in concrete and plaster and is the 6th tallest statue in the US. Its been located in front of the Tulsa Expo Center since 1966 (I hope I look that good in another 10ish years). There were several cool sculptures and some neon signs that were ridiculously placed at Cyrus Avery Plaza with absolutely no way to pull off and take pics (however, if you do enough U-turns and wait for traffic to clear, you’ll eventually get them). This park is a tribute to the Father of Route 66 and the park has an East Meets West sculpture of a Model T encountering a horse drawn wagon. There are also replica signs of famous hotels from Tulsa. Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios was a fun looking location with the Buck Atom “Space Cowboy” Muffler Man out front. I read that the Stella Atom giant was installed about 2 weeks after I was there so y’all will see a new giant if you visit. There is an open air historic village on the far side of town modeled after a 1930’s gas station, has a steam locomotive and an oil derrick that stands 194 feet high on the historic site of the first oil strike on June 25, 1901 that made Tulsa the “Oil Capital of the World.”

: Tulsa Fire Station with historic Pirsch 750 Pumper

: D.W. Cordell Museum Mural

: Route 66 Arch

: Golden Driller Statue

: Wings Expo Center

: Route 66 Arch

: Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza

: Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza

: Will Rogers Motor Court sign

: Tulsa Auto Court sign

: Oil Capital Motel sign

: Tulsa mural

: Meadow Gold sign

: Route 66 Historical Village sign

: Historical Village - outdoor museum

: Buck Atom's Curios

: Buck Atom's Space Cowboy

: Murals

: Tulsa sign leaving town

SAPULPA

Sapulpa had several great sights to see. The TeePee Drive In was built in 1950 and had a capacity of 400 cars. Its last season was 1999 but it has recently been restored and had its grand re-opening in 2023. The Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum has the world’s tallest gas pump (plus a new electric charging station…probably not original to the Route though). The Main Street America Mural is on the side of Torchy’s club. Torchy is the only one in the US to own 3 different clubs along Route 66. We also saw an interesting building that screams OKLAHOMA – the Mid America Above Ground Tornado Shelter.

: TeePee Drive In

: Worlds Tallest Gas Pump

: Sapulpa Mural

: Old Gulf Gas Station

: Main Street Mural on Torchy's Club

: Crossroads of America Sign

: Old style mural

: Happy Burger

: Tornado Shelter

STROUD

Stroud was another town with some special highlights. The Skyliner Motel is an operating, classic 1950-60’s motor lodge with no frills rooms and a huge sign that reflects the periods architecture. A black and white mural represents Stroud circa 1898. The Rock Cafe is a historic restaurant on Route 66. Its name comes from the buildings construction of, you guessed it, stone. Most of the stone was leftover sandstone from the construction of Route 66. It was originally built in 1936, opened in 1939, restored from a fire in 2008-09 and is still open today. Stroud was also the site of a daring bank robbery on March 26, 1915 at the First National Bank by the Starr gang.

: Skyliner Motel

: Route 66 mural

: Route 66 mural

: Rock Cafe

: Coca Cola mural

: Stroud circa 1898

: Shadow Figures Bank Robbery

: Shadow Figures get-away horses

: Robbery details

CHANDLER

Chandler is the last town for this half of Oklahoma, and like the towns before it, we saw plenty of interesting Route 66 goodies. The 66 Bowl is a Route 66 themed bowling alley, fun center and restaurant and their parking lot had lots of vintage signs. The Lincoln Motel was built in 1939 and the historic signage was added in the late 1950’s. The Route 66 Interpretive Center was built in the mid 30’s as the Chandler Armory that included offices, a service garage and an ammunition vault. It was headquarters for the Battery F, Second Battalion of the 160th Field Artillery of the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Division that served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during WWII. The Phillips 66 station was built in 1930 and operated as a gas station until 1992. In the 50’s the added the garage to the left and in 1967 it became Skelly station then it was a Getty station in 1983 and a Texaco after that. Its been restored back to its original Phillips roots. On the way out of town is the Nostalgic Chandler OK Visitor Center and Gift Shop which has a cute travel trailer and flamingos.

: 66 Bowl - Bowling Alley

: Signs at 66 Bowl

: Signs at 66 Bowl

: Lincoln Motel

: Interpretive Center

: Phillips 66 Station

: An interesting Main Street USA building

: Visitor Center with flamingos

NEXT STOP...

Arcadia! That will be where we pick up our Oklahoma adventure in the next post. I can’t wait to share that with you as we had a really neat experience there to recommend to y’all. I hope you enjoyed this half of Oklahoma! Leave me a comment down below and let me know what you think.

Cheers!