Tulsa, Owasso, Route 66

 

Hello from Route 66! While visiting Michelle in Owasso we got to be tourists and did many of the sites on Route 66. 

The blue whale in Catoosa and this sign showing distances to other famous route 66 stops.

The East Gateway Arch.

Route 66 Rising sculpture.

The Golden Driller (above) is HUGE (see how little Michelle & I are!) and then Buck Atoms (right) and the cosmic curios.

We went to the "Christmas Chute" in Sapulpa. They have that part of Route 66 closed down and so wonderfully decorated for the season.

Time for some hot cocoa, and espresso for Dave, of course! Meanwhile Michelle takes a ride with Santa in his new sleigh. :)

 

We were treated to a guided tour by Michelle's friend Amy to Bartlesville and the Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper, the Price Tower.

The building is so unique, with so many angles. Frank liked 60 degrees best (check out the lights below in the entryway). Even the stairs were not straight. Also Frank was only 5'6" tall so the ceilings were low and the steps short. I doubt that would pass code today!

This was the executive apartment on the top floor kept in the same original furnishings. An interesting style for sure!

The kitchen, which was about the size of the one in our motorhome, was in keeping with his minimalist ideals. The closets were tiny too!

Another day we took a tour, the tunnels of Tulsa and learned all about how Tulsa got started (oil, of course!) and how the buildings downtown connected underground by tunnels (or for the most part, corridors with no windows). This guy in the Kennedy Building looked liked he'd been there for a while and needed some love! 

As fund raiser for the aquarium, there were penguins all over town that people had painted.

There was one "true" tunnel that lead from the Philtower building to the Philcade building. Waite Phillips and his family were able to go between their two buildings without threat of being kidnapped and held for ransom (one of the downsides of being loaded back in those days!).

We went to the Mayo Hotel (where Sylvester Stallone is staying in the TV series Tulsa Kings). Also stood at the center of the universe where unlike what Sylvester experienced in the show, the sound you make is echoed around you, not silent. Last but not least we went to Rhema Bible Church and campus where they put on an amazing display of dazzling lights! Enjoy the videos~

Guadalupe Mountains & Carlsbad Cavern

Hello from Guadalupe Mountains! Another beautiful park with gorgeous views and another El Capitan Mountain (below).

 

It was still pretty cold but nice to see a few hearty flowers hanging in there.

We hiked the Pinery Trail and saw ruins of Butterfield Stage stop. Might be a long time before a stagecoach comes for Dave!

The river was pretty dry but the lack of water didn't seem to hinder this yucca plant that was twice as tall as Dave!

Love seeing the flag at the Visitors center; it is such a beautiful country!

Here is the recycled Roadrunner Sculpture from Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is made from cast off materials such as old sneakers and electronics.

Now on to the Caverns...This place was HUGE! These pictures don't even begin to do it justice. It was amazing the formations and the size of this cavern. We almost didn't go as we thought, "ah, we been in caves before" but we were so glad we did. Enjoy our pictures of this spectacular place! 

 

The metal rails (above) were on both sides of the trail thru the cavern. The picture to the right is looking down into a crevice that had water in it. The aqua color was so pretty!

And from here we are off headed north to Oklahoma...more on that in our next post.