Edward Is Everywhere

Catoosa is just northeast of Tulsa, a short drive if you live in the city.  The population is under 7,500 people. When you think Catoosa, you probably think about The Blue Whale of Catoosa.  A famous roadside attraction. The whale was built out of iron and concrete in the 1970s by Hugh Davis. The whale, and the pond it was in was a popular swimming hole along Route 66. You are no longer allowed to swim in the pond, but you can see the sliding boards and ladders on the side of the whale.  Visitor Center and whale Catoosa built a brand new visitor center on the site of the Blue Whale, it just opened at the end of May.  I was there just a couple of weeks before the opening.  There's a large neon sign advertising the whale atop the visitor center. What is this concrete structure?  You can walk up to it and the center looks like it was some sort of enclosure with a pool.  I have read there was an alligator ranch here, so it is probably related to that. Arro...

  Claremore is larger than many of the surrounding towns, with a population of nearly 20,000.  "Oklahoma's Favorite Son", Will Rogers, is buried at the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore. Explore Claremore, the sign implores.  It is painted on the side of a strip mall as you enter the city from the West (from Tulsa). 2102 Ok-66, Claremore, Oklahoma 74019. Antique Mall, Downtown Claremore There are a couple of streets in downtown Claremore, this is one, with an antique mall in the G. W. Eaton building, built in 1902. 422 West Will Rogers Boulevard, Claremore, Oklahoma 74017. Old police station This building, now housing Asset Liquidation Specialists, was built by the WPA in 1940 and used to house a police station. 103 North J. M. Davis Boulevard, Claremore, Oklahoma 74017.  Historic Will Rogers hotel< This is the side of the Will Rogers Hotel. The front entrance is on Route 66.  Also here is French Quarter Coffee Co (I stopped there for a drink), and Libby's....

Foyil is small, under 500 people. It's street addresses seem to be attributed to either Claremore or Chelsea, the two nearest towns along the road. Surprisingly, it does have it's own high school, Foyil H.S. On the western end of Foyil is a park with a statue of Andy Payne. In 1908 he won a footrace between Los Angeles and New York City, a distance of 3,422.3 miles. It took him over two months.   One of the big draws of Foyil is this restored Texaco filling station. They did a nice job fixing it up. There aren't any gas pumps but you can look in the windows.  The current highway cuts off a corner of the old Route 66 that is now called Andy Payne Blvd, and, that old route cuts off a corner of an even older segment of Route 66, now called S. Andy Payne Circle.  In trying to find the above filling station, google directed me to the same street number, but on the Circle, not the Boulevard.  This lot was occupied by the foundation of an old house. I actually thought the f...

  Around the Fourth of July, I was up in Boston, Massachusetts for a few days. I didn't realize this until after I got there, but President John F. Kennedy's boyhood home is in Boston. The site is run by the National Park Service and is in a residential neighborhood in the Brookline area, 83 Beals Street to be precise.  It is open daily and I went there the morning of the Fourth. Packard's Corner T station Boston has a light rail system running down many streets (and sometimes underground).  The Green Line covers much of the city and has several spurs, so you have to know where you're heading and pick the appropriate "B", "C", "D", or "E". There used to be an "A" branch that split from the "B" branch right here at Packard's Corner, but it is no longer in existence.  Coincidentally, this stop is a short walk away from JFK's boyhood home.  The T is fairly slow, Google Maps often suggested that bikeshare ...

Chelsea is a small town with a population of under 2,000. It is worth a quick stop to walk down the main street and see the buildings. It is also home to what is claimed to be the first oil well in Oklahoma. (The f irst one was actually completed a couple of years earlier .)  One thing that is very unusual is that there is a pedestrian underpass that goes underneath Route 66 right at downtown.  The low concrete wall behind the sign is protecting the stairs that lead to the tunnel. Inside the well-lit tunnel there is a mural that runs the length of it with Rt-66 related scenes. For a few blocks you have historic downtown Chelsea with buildings  (mostly brick ones) lining both sides of the street. the one directly in front is the museum which is in the restored Chelsea Bank building. Under this sign for the Chelsea Inn and Cafe you can see the pink-painted front of Rolling Sweets Bakery , a popular breakfast spot. you can also see that after this building the road changes...

  There are a few places on either side of Vinita, Oklahoma that are worth seeing. They aren't very far outside of town.  Starting from the west is the McDougal Filling Station.  McDougal Filling Station is a tiny sandstone building with a red roof next to the road.  There is a bit of space in front of it where the pumps would go, but there are no pumps or pump islands.  This is the old Little Cabin Creek Bridge. In 2011 a new bridge was built next to it, you can see a bit of it on the left.  The road towards Vinita lies straight beyond the bridge. The bridge is closed to traffic (You can see some rubble blocking the main span) but you can walk across it. However, there isn't a very good place to park, so be careful if you stop. Here's a view of Little Cabin Creek through the metal girders of the old bridge.  Big Bill at the Western Motel Moving on to the west side of town, there are three buildings worth seeing that are right next to each other. ...

  Vinita, Oklahoma (founded 1870) is the county seat of Craig County, OK and has almost 5,200 people living there. On the western edge of Vinita is this old Phillips gull wing gas station, named after the angled canopy over the gas pumps. The building has been restored and is a visitor information center.  When I was there it was being manned by Jeff Lair, he brought a restored car that had been his father's. Relax Inn motel is a great place to be relaxin'. Or at least, I'd expect it to be. It was formerly the Motel Vinita. It, like many motels in Vinita looks well cared for.  Quite close to the Relax Inn is the Route 66 Inn at Vinita, a U-shaped building with parking out front and a fenced-off grassy play area. On the right is an abandoned service station. The office portion of it is gray painted stone and then there are two service bays next to the office. Older photos show a canopy in front of the office which would have been over the gas pumps.  One side of the s...