Mixed Bag

There was certainly no common denominator ruling today's pace at Afton Station or the guests who came to visit. It wasn't necessarily a busy day, but there was plenty to keep me well occupied. On the way to Afton this morning at slightly prior to the crack of dawn, I decided to take a couple of pictures of motels at night for a new friend from Australia who shares an interest in motels, particularly when photographed in the dark. There aren't that many to choose from on my regular route, but here are two. These are for you, John.

Still early after the aforementioned photo shoot and a quick breakfast at Clanton's, I decided to drive right past Afton Station and take a short ride on the Miami segment of the 9-foot alignment. I haven't been there for a while, and Betty had told me about an intriguing cemetery on that stretch that I'd never noticed before. Well, I couldn't find it (probably didn't drive far enough), but I took a quick picture of one part of the road that particularly imparts a sense of primitive isolation. Always remember... this was once the MAIN STREET ACROSS AMERICA, all 9 feet of it!
I had barely unlocked the door of Afton Station and turned on the air conditioner in defense against the predicted 100 - 105 temperatures, when I had my first visitor. Jim is a nice guy from Grove, OK who's a recent transplant from the East Coast (suburb of NYC) like me, so we had quite a lengthy discussion comparing restaurants of Eastern Oklahoma with restaurants of NYC. I guess it wasn't really a fair comparison, but Jim did tell me about a great place he's discovered just across the border into Missouri. I must try it some day.

A motorcycle rider from Sacramento, CA stopped by on his way back to California after crossing the country west-to-east on Rt. 50 and now cruising Rt. 66 on his way home. That's a long trip on a bike for sure! A family from Oklahoma City also visited, accompanied by their grandparents from Albuquerque, NM. Other visitors included a man from Chanute, KS and two very hot and tired motorcyclists from Vancouver Island, Canada where they're simply not used to this scalding heat.

Betty visited with me for several hours in the afternoon. She also brought me some of that amazing Amish butter. Thank you SO much, Betty!

At the end of the day I had a visit from Jordan Nelson, a reporter from Public Radio Station KOSU in Stillwater, OK. He's doing documentary spot about the people of Route 66 and had called in advance to ask if he could interview me. He's a very nice man who is both a student and an employee of the station, and I really liked his interview style. I didn't feel as nervous as I usually do during interviews, but perhaps that's because there was no camera involved. After all, I've always felt that I have a face that's made for radio! Here's Jordan.

Waaaaay off topic!

Forgive me in advance. Please. You know I rarely stray from talking about Afton Station, Route 66, or Tulsa on this blog. But every now and then something comes along that's just too good not to pass on. From the moment I saw this on Facebook this morning, I knew I had to share it, but since I still can't figure out how to imbed YouTube videos on my blog (Help!), I'll just link it up here.

It's been hanging around YouTube for a while, I guess, because it has over 300,000 hits, but it's new to me, so maybe it will be new to you, too. I can't stop laughing. It's the perfect combination of archaic and clueless. Am I completely crazy, or does anyone else think it's great? Maybe it's a generational thing.....

YouTube - "Toking" with Lawrence Welk

As I said before..... sorry!

Hot weather and hot girls

The parade of foreign visitors continued today at Afton Station. On this uncomfortably hot day, we were as cool as cucumbers indoors with the air conditioner humming. Ron M. drove up with me, and Tattoo Man drove over in his '56 Chevy. Our first visitors, who arrived soon after we got there, were from Denmark. We were also visited by someone from Wichita, KS who is planning the route for a car cruise in October of '10 ! You heard me right....'10 ! Now that's what I call advance planning! But I put it in my book, and barring any unforseen circumstances, I'll be happy to host the group of about 50 cars.

Ron M. confirmed his title as "Laurel's Favorite Person" by mopping the entire floor, then going out in the 100+ heat and washing the windows, the portico, and the gas pumps. Oh, let me add that yesterday he was the one who purchased the mop and bucket for me! He's such a good friend.

Later, we were graced by the presence of three extremely cute young women from France, one from Paris, one from Nantes, and one from Bordeaux. They're college friends who are touring all of the Mother Road (westbound), so young single men along Route 66 should keep a lookout! Not only were they attractive, but they were cheerful and lots of fun. (Prediction: They'll win the title of "Most Hit On" on Route 66 for this decade. LOL!)

We especially liked the cowboy boot look!

Another special guest today was Larry Kinsey from Kansas, completing his 31-day tour of the western states. He's a good Route 66 friend who stopped in last month at the beginning of his trip, and came today to deliver a report. He stayed a while and told us about all his enviable visits to national parks and other wilderness areas. Nice! Larry collects Indian flutes, showed us several he bought on this trip, and even played a little bit for us. I love that sound!

Later in the day we were visited by folks from Tulsa. The patriarch of this family group told me about a Packard dealership that used to be on Boulder Ave. I'd been wondering where the Tulsa Packard dealership was located, so this was an interesting piece of information. He also told me that his father had started a chain of restaurants in Tulsa in 1936 called White Knight Nickel Sandwich Shops.... and yes, the sandwiches were all really a nickel!

We finished the day with visits from a group from Ketchum, OK, then several very hot and uncomfortable motorcycle riders from Welch, OK who were eternally grateful for a few moments in our air conditioning! So much for another weekend in steamy Afton, Oklahoma

Saturday in Paradise (?)

I wondered how the old Admiral Twin Drive-In would look at dawn, so I took the alternate Admiral Place alignment of Route 66 out of Tulsa this morning. The drive-in is still operating and showing first run movies on both of the back-to-back screens (on the big structure you see to the left). It's still popular, thank goodness, because at the rate that other U.S. drive-ins are dying out, it's great to know that Tulsa still has one , alive and kicking, on Route 66. The Route 66 Drive-In in Carthage, MO is also doing well. In fact, today some visitors to Afton Station told me that they couldn't get in last night because the line to enter was too long. Great news!
Since I arrived at Afton Station about 45 minutes early this morning, I had time to go through my Guest Book and do something I always enjoy -- counting up the states and countries represented by those who have come to visit. This morning, I did the Guest Book from Jan. 1 to June 30th of this year -- just the first six months. Guests visited from 41 states and 16 countries!!! Not bad for half a year, when a good bit of that time was in the dead of winter! I won't list the states represented. I'll just say this: If you're from the states of Delaware, Utah, Montana, Maine, N. Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Nevada, you'd better get yourselves over to Afton Station so that by the end of the year I'll have a full 50 represented! (The kid from Hawaii came after June 30, so I can't count him this time).

Foreign visitors have come from Belgium, Canada, France, Norway, Germany, England, Netherlands, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, India, and New Zealand. It's a regular United Nations!

Now, for today..... 23 travelers dropped in. I was particularly fond of this guy before even talking to him, since I'm a huge NY Yankees fan. He and his stepson are doing a full Route 66 trip. Good for them.... and GO YANKEES! (Their trip blog is at http://www.tripdown66.blogspot.com/).

Sean and Mason from New York

Other visitors were from Tulsa, Chelsea, Edmond, Enid, and Glenpool OK, Walnut Grove MO, and Pamplona, Spain. I discussed the Running of the Bulls with one of the Spanish guys, since it's happening in their town as we speak. You probably already know that a young man was killed by one of the bulls this year, the first time since 1995. The young visitor to Afton Station assured me that, being of sound mind, he would never even consider entering into that foolishness. Good for him!

I was alone today at Afton Station, but it worked out just fine because the visitors came in sequentially instead of all at once. I was able to visit with most of them for enough time to hear their trip stories, give advice if they needed it, and still take a breather every now and then.

See you tomorrow!

An Arrow and a Jackalope

Today, Ron and I took a little jaunt to a couple of places in Tulsa I've been wanting to explore. They're not actually on Route 66, but they ARE in Tulsa, and since Tulsa is on Route 66, I'm sure I'll be forgiven for talking about them here. Won't I?

The other day the Tulsa World had a story about a project undertaken by the Reservoir Hill Neighborhood Association that really caught my attention. Reservoir Hill is .... well... a hill with a (former) reservoir on the top! It's in North Tulsa and is quite an interesting location, a once-elegant neighborhood that took a slide downward and is now seeing the beginnings of an upswing. Homes on Reservoir Hill have some of the best views in the whole city, and many of the houses are quite impressive, but I've always felt a sort of detachment from the rest of the city, which is hard to explain, when I'm there. Recently, the Reservoir Hill Neighborhood Assoc. took on the project of recreating a giant arrow and the word TULSA on the hill next to the reservoir.

The original sign was created in 1927 to greet aviator Charles Lindbergh when he came to Tulsa (after his famed nonstop Atlantic crossing) as part of a national tour and to promote the Tulsa State Fair. The huge white arrow pointed to what was then the city's largest private airstrip, where Lindbergh planned to land. When the citizens of Reservoir Hill decided to recreate the sign, they needed 140 tons of white crushed marble, and they also chose to reorient the arrow so that it now points toward the current Tulsa International Airport. Six residents of Reservoir Hill did all the labor. Although the sign is to be dedicated on July 18th, we wanted to see it today.

The road to the former reservoir is closed off, so we couldn't get above the sign to get a good picture, but at least this proves we were there, and you can see the general size of the huge arrow.

These are the two pictures from the Tulsa World -- before and after. As you can see, the sign had to be moved out of the actual reservoir area to the hill beside it.

The arrow in 1927 (the year after Route 66 was commissioned).

The arrow today.

____________________________

Our second stop was at a new little neighborhood grocery market which I'd recently heard about. You can have your WalMarts and Sam's Clubs. There's almost nothing I love more than local entrepreneurship. This little grocery the Blue Jackalope, was opened several months ago by a very cool guy named Scott, and it has everything you'd expect from a corner store, and then some. Shelves hold a supply of canned goods, but basically just one brand of each thing, thus cutting down the selection time. Breads are fresh and many are organic. Meat is local, and so is produce. In fact, some of the produce comes from the community garden across the street, in which owner Scott had a hand in establishing. They also serve sandwiches, and Ron and I split a delicious avacado, hummus and muenster on wheat bread, which we ate in one of the little seating areas. It made me happy to know that this place exists, and it's not that far from where I live!

Back to Afton for the weekend!

Kind of a ho-hum day

Neon sign on overpass at Cyrus Avery Plaza, Tulsa

It's a good thing I took this picture this morning on my way to pick up Ron M. before heading to Afton, because otherwise I wouldn't have anything to illustrate this otherwise ho-hum day. In fact, for most of the morning it seemed as if we were being boycotted by the traveling public. Early visitors were a couple from Phoenix, after which we had several hours of nothing... nothing! Where were all the people? Nobody traveling at all today? Was it something we said?

Finally, after lunch, the visitors started to arrive. Even so, we only had a total of 11 guests all day, which is really LOW for this time of year. Our out-of-state visitors were a Willie Nelson look-alike from Brooksville, FL on a hot motorcycle airbrushed all over with lightning bolts (to commemorate his home state, which is considered the Lightning Capital of the U.S.A.), and a couple from Wichita, KS traveling Route 66 on their honeymoon. Locals came from Langley and Sand Springs, OK. We were also visited by a couple of young gals from Afton.

To end the day, Lauretta Armagost Williams came in. Lauretta just had a book published and had heard that I wanted a copy. Her book (quite large and nicely researched) is a history of the tiny town of Narcissa, OK which is on Route 66 just about 10 miles from Afton (between Afton and Miami.) Since Narcissa is a baby step away from being a ghost town -- perhaps even more so than Afton -- I had been anticipating the publishing of this book, and I plan to start reading it right away. Among other things, I find it interesting that the 'a' at the end of Narcissa is not pronounced. I asked Lauretta why, and she had no answer to that mystery. The town was named after a girl named Nessa, which makes the whole thing even more strange. (If anyone is interested in attending Lauretta's book signing, it's being held at the Dobson Center in Miami, OK this Sunday from 2 - 4.)

So, that was our day. I trust that the low visitor count was just a fluke and won't continue into the weekend.

Care for some WHINE?

I'll get over the whining quickly, I promise. It's just that a perfectly lovely day was kind of ruined during my last 20 minutes at Afton Station, when a large group of Norwegian motorcycles pulled up in front of the Station. Excitedly, I motioned them to come in. Some had already started to get off their bikes, but before I could get around the counter and to the door, the leader motioned them to go forward, and they roared away. What the heck???? Was my gesture misinterpreted? Did they just not like the looks of the place? Yes, I know that every group can't possibly stop at every place, but it still hurts my feelings every single time. I guess I'm just thin-skinned. I saw their Harleys parked at the winery on the way home. Maybe they were just eager to get to the libation. Ok, I vented and I'm over it now. Sorry. :-)

At any rate, on this day when I'm admittedly feeling a bit Norse-phobic, I have to say that my first visitors were just about the three nicest Norwegians you could ever imagine. This gentleman (and I do mean gentleman) from Vanse, Norway and his two college-age granddaughters brightened my morning. Grandpa is taking the girls on a full Chicago-to-LA vacation, and all were enjoying it immensely. When they left, I asked if I could take their picture for the blog, and the grandpa said "Just tell your readers that we're a trio of crazy Vikings!" They're not crazy, just charming.Betty came to brighten my day, and we had an hour or so to chat before more folks started coming in the door. Two couples in very sharp late-model Corvettes cruised in, coming from Overland Park, KS and heading west. Folks from Grove OK, and Granby MO stopped in. David (my ex), his wife Sylvie and son Patrick stopped by, too.

Then.... at long last.... I had a visitor from Hawaii!!! I've been waiting for two years for this, and now I have signatures in my guest book from every state! This Hawaiian visitor happened to be a young boy (probably about 10) from the small city of Hivi, who was traveling with his father who lives in Tulsa.

In the afternoon, a big Land Rover rolled in. It was covered with decals from so many different countries that Betty and I couldn't guess their origin until they introduced themselves. My guess was Italy and Betty guessed Australia. As it turned out, we were both wrong. Akis and Vula were a pair of Greek photographers and documentarians who have been traveling every continent for the last 2 1/2 years, making a documentary called "The World OffRoad". The story of their travels is long and quite amazing. They asked if they could interview me (of course!), and that was when David appeared, so they interviewed him, too. They tell me that they update their video blog every evening at http://www.theworldoffroad.com/, so check it out later. I'll be doing the same.

Here are Vula and Akis (facing camera) talking to David and Sylvie.And this is their impressive logo.