Admiral Place

Instead of going to Afton Station today (still bad roads and closed schools up there), I decided to cruise Admiral Place right here in Tulsa and see if I could uncover some gems.

The other day, someone suggested to me that Route 66 folks should put more emphasis on Admiral Place. It's part of the 1926-1932 alignment, but isn't as well known as 11th St ., which runs parallel to it on the east side of the city. In my own opinion, there are a couple of reasons for this. For one thing, it's not very picturesque. In fact, it's pretty darn ugly. It's a strip of run-down stores and motels, and interspersed with fast food joints. At first glance, it would seem that there wasn't anything left of value there from the golden age of Route 66 in Tulsa. Also, it's just not that well-known, either to Tulsans or to Route 66 fans. But it must be remembered that Tulsa is also known as the Art Deco capital of the U.S., and thus there was a time in our history when even the smaller, insignificant buildings in town were built with touches of the deco or craftsman style.

My mission was to drive slowly and look for what might be left of significance on Admiral Place. I admit I wasn't very successful. There really weren't any gems. And yet there were a few structures with architectural elements, and of course there were quite a few "ruins" of the old motels that once were the lifeblood of the road. Here are a few pictures I snapped. Please remember that it was a gray, cold, rather dark day. Atop "Affordable Furniture" Co.
The Newton Building, built in 1934

Some art deco detail around the door of this otherwise nondescript building

Remains of a sign, and the vertical stone so popular in the '20s

More light brick and decorative detail, some crumbling on the tower

The Circle Inn is closed and deteriorating.

Hank's Hamburgers has been around since 1949 on Admiral, and is still popular, thriving, and a Route 66 icon. Hank's Hamburgers

That's a mere fraction of interesting detail on Admiral Place. They don't jump out at you -- you must seek them out yourself.

Ten minutes in Afton

Good sense took over yesterday and I decided I really needed to drive up to Afton and check the Station. I hadn't been there for almost two weeks, and with all the unseasonably frigid weather, I was losing sleep over the possibility of frozen pipes, car damage, or other tragic occurrences. David has been on vacation since before Christmas, so he hasn't been there to check, either. So, I gathered up Ron M. and off we went. We stopped at Clanton's in Vinita for lunch. I can't say enough good things about that iconic Route 66 cafe. It was crowded, as it always is, yet it was comfortable and there were tables available. The chicken and dressing I chose was the perfect comfort food on a 19 degree day like this. It went down very easily.
Afton Station was just fine, thank goodness. We never turn the heat down all the way, so it was extremely cold but not freezing. It appeared that absolutely nothing had happened there since before Christmas. There weren't even any messages on the answering machine. Route 66 almost entirely shuts down in December. The obvious lack of interest lessened my guilt feelings about having not gone there for a while. My next goal is to get up there on Tuesday and spend a good part of the day there, or at least stay until I realize that nobody is going to visit.

There was a beautiful sunset last night. It snowed a bit overnight, just a dusting here in Tulsa. However, in Afton it's still snowing and there's been more accumulation, so that will prevent me from driving up there today (although I hadn't really planned to, anyway).

New Year's Day Party

Ok, I have all these pictures of the party I threw yesterday to celebrate the arrival of 2010, and I'd like to post them here on my blog. On the other hand, I'm feeling guilty about the "vacation" from Route 66 and Afton Station which the blog has been taking these past couple of weeks. However, since most of the people who were at my little party are well-known on Route 66, I'm using that as an excuse to post the photos anyway. (Rationalization at it's best.) I had a great time, and I hope the others did, too. We just sat around and drank, ate, and chatted. Can't beat that for a lazy New Year's day gathering.

I had hoped to get up to Afton Station tomorrow (Sunday), and I still plan to go, although predictions are for more snow tonight and tomorrow. Let's hope it's just a dusting. All this snow in the state of Oklahoma is creeping me out!

Here are some of the folks at the party:

Michael Wallis, LaSandra Nickson, Emily Priddy

Marian Clark, Suzanne Wallis

La Sandra Nickson, Brad Nickson, Me (my best side), and Ken Clark in the back Ron Warnick, Emily Priddy, Marian Clark
Bruce SmithThis photo, of the delicious and colorful black-eyed pea "Texas Caviar" dish contributed by Ron M. just won't rotate no matter what I do, so you'll have to look at it sideways. Even sideways, it looks pretty and tasted great!

All photos by Ron M.

Happy 2010 !!!

I was planning to do a "BEST/WORST of 2009" here today and I even got it all written, but then I decided that every one of my readers would probably have a different list, so who am I to impose mine on them? So I wimped out and just want to wish everyone an incredibly prosperous, healthy, and joyous 2010.

I'll be back this weekend with some photos of tomorrow's goings-on. Be safe on the roads tonight.

Out and About

I finally got out today and was able to do plenty of driving, thus alleviating my housebound nuttiness and getting a few errands run. I even drove all the way to Bixby with no problems, as the main roads are now clear. As I write, however, there's more snow falling. It won't be much, but even one flake is more than we need right now. I hope that by the weekend I'll be able to spend at least one day at Afton Station.Here's one of my Christmas presents from Betty. It's an old, but perfectly well-kept and just like new, scarf from the old Buffalo Ranch. She said they used to sell them in the Western Store as souvenirs for tourists. She also gave me Buffalo Ranch t-shirt which was, despite it's age, unworn and in perfect condition. She really knows how to make me happy! The scarf will be displayed in one of the showcases at Afton Station. I love Buffalo Ranch memorabilia.

From the past

While rummaging through some old books and notebooks, I came across a blank book that someone gave me several years ago and in which I started writing and drawing daily. It didn't last long. I only have about 10 pages of writings and/or drawings, with hundreds of pages left to use in the future. Basically, it's a lot of doodles. I love to doodle!



I remember exactly where I was when I created the page above. At the time, I was still living up in Grove, which is close to Afton Station. I hadn't moved to Tulsa yet, but I was driving from Afton to Tulsa once or twice a week to shop or to see friends. On this particular day (Oct. 4, 2003), I stopped at the Blue Whale in Catoosa because for some reason I was inspired to write at that very minute. In retrospect I must have already been in love with the state of Oklahoma, judging by the fancy treatment I gave the word. The rest of it simply describes my thoughts during the drive. Not much has changed in that respect.

Why am I posting this? Well, for one thing, I'm kind of bored with staying indoors waiting for the ice on the roads to melt and don't have much else to talk about. But really I've posted it here because I surprised myself by the recollection that I loved the Tulsa-Afton ride on Route 66 even before Afton Station was really up and running. Back then, I was just going in the other direction.

Roadie without a road

This has got to be a new record for this roadie, and frankly, she is going insane! Except for my 1-mile drive to dialysis and back yesterday, I haven't been out of the house for more than 72 hours. Generally, my restlessness begins after around 72 minutes without a steering wheel in my hands. I've made the decision to stay in one more day, although the roads are clearing and I'm sure I'd be ok out there. But now, this staying home thing has become a challenge. I'm learning how to use my time wisely. Hmm... well, maybe not TOO wisely. So far, I've rearranged the freezer, updated my address book, watched part of the movie "Knocked Up" (pretty good!), watched a little more Julia Child, and did my weekly load of laundry.

But then, I heard my Route 66 postcard albums calling, and that brought any really constructive work to a complete halt. I was just browsing through some of the albums I haven't looked at for a while, and here are a few things I found.

Here's a postcard of a motor court on Route 66 east of downtown Tulsa in the '50s. Individual cabins, big pool, very inviting place. It was called the Tulsa Mo-tel, and it had a wonderfully space age sign.

Here's the site now -- an abandoned used car lot. Sorry to bum you out, but it certainly did so for me.Photo from Google Images Street View

Here's another motel that was also on Route 66 in Tulsa in the 50s. Note the murals, which the back of the card describe as depicting the history of Tulsa. In it's place now is the Bama Pie manufacturing plant where they make the pies for McDonald's and other food establishments. Oh, well....

I'm fortunate enough to own an original copy of Rittenhouse's "A Guide Book To Highway 66", which is considered to be the first guidebook to the Mother Road. . . Copyright 1946, price: $1.00. It's in pretty good shape, too. The entry for Afton simply says: "A similar [to Narcissa] small community is AFTON. . . (population 1,261, alt. 290', Baker's Cafe, Northeast garage, and Eagle Service Station garage; Acme Court.)" The Eagle Service Station is now my Afton Station, so felt good to see it recognized in Rittenhouse, especially since there were about 8 service stations in Afton at that time.

You've heard me write about the mining district of Ottawa County (Picher, Cardin, Miami) several times in the past. I thought this was an interesting postcard which is captioned, "Birdseye View of Miami, Oklahoma Showing Mines in Distance". If anyone can see the mines in the distance, please let me know. That little puff of smoke, perhaps? I love old postcards that are ridiculously useless. This is one of them.
Here's one that actually shows the mining district. Note the pile of lead filings on the left. It's still there. :-(

(My other ramblings about the mining district can be found by doing a search of "Picher" on my blog.)

I guess that's all for today. I hope to get to Afton one day this week, hopefully Tuesday, to check on things and perhaps catch some folks traveling home from Christmas family visits.