Until Tulsa we had always managed to find a place where to sleep rather easy. Now it was different. When arriving to Indian lands, we figured out quite fast that this was our foretaste of Vegas. Lot of bright lights, hotels and action. – And yet (or because of that), “no vacancy”-signs hanging everywhere!
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino looked tempting, but they had only suites left. Prices for those felt too high at the counter, but after driving around for couple of hours in the dark, and not finding a decent place… Well, we probably just should have taken their deal! (Hindsight works every time, doesn’t it!? 😉 )
Because one of us travelers started to feel ill, and we both felt a bit frustrated after driving all day – and night – not finding a place where to catch some zzzzs, we did, what probably no one should do: We took the next turn to right, and no matter how crappy the motel looked, we took a room, without asking more – or seeing it…
I am not going to mention any names, but *creepy!!!*… I am sure those walls and the parking lot had witnessed some rather rough “encounters”. – I guess there was a reason why this motel still had available vacancies. Well, as it was already dark when we arrived, and we were dead tired, we did not realize the motel was basically located right on the busy highway: Noise that came from the traffic was awfully loud. (Loud was also the thermostat in our room. But at least it had one!)
When I tell you that we could barely lock the door, and those pickups and motorcycles parked outside did not seem to belong to any “school boys”, it is probably obvious that none of us slept very well that night. (The good old “almost antique” desk that we had dragged in front of the door to keep the bad guys out, however brought us a little shelter. 😉 )
We woke up early. (You could not have guessed, right?! 😉 My neck was itching a bit, and… I strongly suspected I had got bitten by a bedbug. (Or a heard of bedbugs…) – Lucky I had my 99,7% pure aloe vera gel with me. 😉 Recommend you to pack one with you too!
Ok, after returning our key, and thanking God we were still alive and kicking, we thought we would deserve a great breakfast and some strong coffee. A bright and sunny day! Let’s see what Tulsa has to offer for a little shaken up traveler…
Lovely breakfast place in a beautiful old Atlas Life building. Friendly staff and good omelettes.
Jonah’s story with the whale is familiar to most of us, at least in the Christian world. I’ve heard it’s still debated whether a human could survive inside whale’s stomach… Well, debate no more, as now it has been proven: one can survive! Visit Catoosa, and see if you will come out alive!
The Blue Whale in Catoosa: Nice roadside attraction, great place for a picnic.
Oklahoma, as opposite to Kansas, has the longest (drivable) stretches of old Route 66. Therefore many of the hardcore 66-fans swear words in its name. However, there are also plenty of other reasons, why one might find this state especially interesting… See “Town-by-Town Tour of Oklahoma Route 66”.
Wait to read more about the tiny cities, and our travels, from the “America’s heartland”…
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Did we already pass? Oh, yes! Definitely the shortest strech of Route 66. 🙂
Kansas – State song: Home on the Range
After being back to the Route 66, after little detour to Rocky Ridge Farm, I was eager to see how Springfield, Carthage and Joplin would look like still on the “Missouri side of the state boarder”. (Just to mention, it was also good to get a great taste of old Route 66 again, as there are still some 50 miles left of it, between Springfield and Carthage.)
Little town Carthage was charming; and my main focus there was on the Boots Motel, where also one of my all-time favorite actors – Clark Gable – has been said to have stayed.
The night is falling, it’s getting darker, and we are heading towards Kansas…
66alltheway 