Wednesday, October 5th I left Springfield, Missouri for Oklahoma City. But I made a slight detour from the most direct route so that I could be like travelers from the mid-1900's and like the old song, "Get My Kicks on Route 66"! I started my trek in Miami, Oklahoma and intended to take it all the way in to Oklahoma City. I say intended because fate took me a different route after I accidentally found myself on Highway 44 near Tulsa and shortly after I started to develop engine problems and decided it would be in my best interest to stop sightseeing for the day and reach my final destination before nightfall.
Since it was lunchtime I decided to dine at the iconic Waylan's KuKuBurger in Miami. And the burger and waffle fries were fabulous! Certainly glad it was listed in my guidebook!
Also in Miami is the Coleman Theatre Beautiful. A movie house (now also conference & banquet facility) that opened April 18, 1929 seating 1600 patrons for vaudeville and silent movies! Several years ago the family donated this historic building to the city. Unfortunately I did not take the time to go inside, but went into the local Harley shop looking for souvenirs instead.
A few miles west of town, I found the sign for Route 66. Oklahoma has more than 400 miles of this historic highway and more original pavement left than any other state. Thanks to Cyrus Avery, route 66 came to be in the early 1930's, but unfortunately was declassified as a highway in 1985 when more modern highways were completed that bypassed these tiny small towns that Route 66 was known for passing through .
Miami, once known for having 13 miles of Route 66 pass through it, boasts having 4 miles of the original 9 foot wide pavement. This section, also known as the "ribbon road" twists and turns through the countryside and appears to be the road less traveled as I only saw a few other vehicles, which was great for me as I wasn't forced to speed up and miss enjoying the "experience".
Here is a close-up of actual 75+ year old pavement. Not bad by Michigan standards!
I'm not sure why the original road bed was only 9' wide, but I did read of one story that it was due to lack of funding and they (the town of Miami) chose to make the road longer in miles, rather than accommodate 2 lane traffic.
At one turn, I was outside the vehicle, checking out the road and the adjacent field, when 2 smiling motorcycle enthusiasts slowed to ask me if they were still on Route 66. They were like two small kids in a candy store and I told them yes, as far as I knew this was still Route 66. They thanked me and happily motored away.Thinking back, I sometimes wish I would have asked them to take me on a quick 1mile ride down the road and back. I think it would have been a blast! But, common sense prevailed (as it usually does) and I didn't act on that impulse.
So, I got back into my 4 wheeled ride and continued eastward toward Afton.
Nearing the town of Venitia, I stopped at the Little Cabin Creek Bridge. It was listed in the guidebook, so I determined it was a nice 5 minute stop. Earlier in 2011, the historic pony truss bridge was bypassed and vehicles are no longer allowed on the bridge built in 1933. As I pulled over and exited my car walking toward the bridge, a local sheriff also pulled over asking me if I needed any help. Puzzled, I looked at her and pointed to my camera and the bridge saying I was just a tourist looking to take a photo. "Oh", she said...perhaps they don't get too many tourists in Venita.
A few more miles up the road near Chelsea I did a u-turn to check out the Historic Pryor Creek Bridge. It was built in 1926, but when a new alignment of Route 66 occurred in 1932, it didn't see too much traffic. It's considered historic though as the 123 foot long bridge is the only modified Pratt thru Truss design bridge left in Oklahoma. Who knew bridge designs even had names?
My last historic bridge, that I found, was the Two Truss Verdigris River Bridge. Until this past summer, there were two spans, but the other one was in such disrepair it was dismantled.
But my favorite stop, was the Blue Whale of Catoosa! Built in the early 1970's by High Davis it was on the family pond and a mecca to many a travelers as a swimming/picnic stop on Route 66.
Wednesday, October 5th I left Springfield, Missouri for Oklahoma City. But I made a slight detour from the most direct route so that I could be like travelers from the mid-1900's and like the old song, "Get My Kicks on Route 66"! I started my trek in Miami, Oklahoma and intended to take it all the way in to Oklahoma City. I say intended because fate took me a different route after I accidentally found myself on Highway 44 near Tulsa and shortly after I started to develop engine problems and decided it would be in my best interest to stop sightseeing for the day and reach my final destination before nightfall. 
Since it was lunchtime I decided to dine at the iconic Waylan's KuKuBurger in Miami. And the burger and waffle fries were fabulous! Certainly glad it was listed in my guidebook!
Also in Miami is the Coleman Theatre Beautiful. A movie house (now also conference & banquet facility) that opened April 18, 1929 seating 1600 patrons for vaudeville and silent movies! Several years ago the family donated this historic building to the city. Unfortunately I did not take the time to go inside, but went into the local Harley shop looking for souvenirs instead. 
A few miles west of town, I found the sign for Route 66. Oklahoma has more than 400 miles of this historic highway and more original pavement left than any other state. Thanks to Cyrus Avery, route 66 came to be in the early 1930's, but unfortunately was declassified as a highway in 1985 when more modern highways were completed that bypassed these tiny small towns that Route 66 was known for passing through . 
Miami, once known for having 13 miles of Route 66 pass through it, boasts having 4 miles of the original 9 foot wide pavement. This section, also known as the "ribbon road" twists and turns through the countryside and appears to be the road less traveled as I only saw a few other vehicles, which was great for me as I wasn't forced to speed up and miss enjoying the "experience".
Here is a close-up of actual 75+ year old pavement. Not bad by Michigan standards!
At one turn, I was outside the vehicle, checking out the road and the adjacent field, when 2 smiling motorcycle enthusiasts slowed to ask me if they were still on Route 66. They were like two small kids in a candy store and I told them yes, as far as I knew this was still Route 66. They thanked me and happily motored away.Thinking back, I sometimes wish I would have asked them to take me on a quick 1mile ride down the road and back. I think it would have been a blast! But, common sense prevailed (as it usually does) and I didn't act on that impulse. 
So, I got back into my 4 wheeled ride and continued eastward toward Afton. 
Nearing the town of Venitia, I stopped at the Little Cabin Creek Bridge. It was listed in the guidebook, so I determined it was a nice 5 minute stop. Earlier in 2011, the historic pony truss bridge was bypassed and vehicles are no longer allowed on the bridge built in 1933. As I pulled over and exited my car walking toward the bridge, a local sheriff also pulled over asking me if I needed any help. Puzzled, I looked at her and pointed to my camera and the bridge saying I was just a tourist looking to take a photo. "Oh", she said...perhaps they don't get too many tourists in Venita. 
My last historic bridge, that I found, was the Two Truss Verdigris River Bridge. Until this past summer, there were two spans, but the other one was in such disrepair it was dismantled. 
But my favorite stop, was the Blue Whale of Catoosa! Built in the early 1970's by High Davis it was on the family pond and a mecca to many a travelers as a swimming/picnic stop on Route 66. 
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