Time to complete the Bucket List

The reason for our stopover in Kingman was to make a visit to the Hoover Dam which was only 75 miles away. A short drive in US terms. We had been there when we visited Las Vegas in 2018 but did not had enough time to vist the Dam museum or go on the powerplant tour.

A bit of trivia before the history: who is the Dam currently named after and what was its original name? The options for who the Dam is currently named after are; 1. J Edgar Hoover; 2. Herbert Hoover and 3. Henry the Hoover. No clues for the original name but it relates to a city close by.

The Hoover Dam was built in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and straddles the state line between Nevada and Arizona. It was inaugrated on the 30 September 1935 by President Franklin D Rooseveldt.

Since about 1900, the US Government had been invesigating whether Black Canyon, Boulder Canyon or other spots along the Colorado river had the potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. The US Congress authorised the project in 1928 and a consortium of six companies won the bid to build the Dam and with great imagination called themselves “Six Companies, Inc.”

The Museum gave a good overview of the construction of the Dam and the challenges that such a big project gave, as nothing had been done on this scale before. New building techniques had to be trialled. For instance, to aid the non-stop construction they built with concrete in block sections which also hastened the drying of the wet concrete.

Workers from all over America and beyond came to try and get employment during the Great Depression although only circa 6,000 were working on the Dam at any one time. Boulder City which is near the Dam was built to house the workers as the site was remote in the 1930s. Some of the jobs were extremely dangerous and there were fatalities from various causes: falls from the canyon side, explosions, carbon monoxide poisoning and pneumonia, to name a few.

These days we are used to hearing how major infrastructure projects are over budget and running late but Six Companies turned the Dam over to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule.

Once the Dam was built, the body of water above the Dam took six to seven years to reach its final height and was named Lake Mead. It is the largest reservoir in the United States by volume when full although, due to the current drought in the southwestern United States, is dangerously low near to the level where it would not give enough water to turn the turbines for electricity generation.

The Dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California. As the road over the Dam was being used heavily, a bridge has been built nearby to take the Interstate 93 traffic. The roadway on the bridge is nearly 900 feet above the Colorado River.

The Dam is operated by the US Bureau of Reclamation and is 726 feet high and 1,244 feet long. At the base it is 660 feet wide but only 45 feet wide at the top. It cost apparently USD 49 million to build.

One interesting consequence of the water levels of Lake Mead dropping so low is that 2 bodies have recently been found which police believe could have been in the lake since the 1970s or 80s.

If you are in Kingman or Las Vegas the Dam is worth a visit, but if you go on the organised tours from Las Vegas you don’t get much time at the Dam, so self-drive is best.

The answers to the trivia questions above is firstly, Herbert Hoover (unfortunately not Henry the Hoover) and secondly, The Boulder Dam.

Copyright: words and photos John Cruse 2022

We decided to extend our 200 mile route from Winslow to Kingman by another 82 miles to incorporate the longest section of Route 66 and it proved to be well worth it.

This meant that we would not be able to visit the Meteor Crater which was quite close to our Winslow hotel as our time would be too limited to give this site the justice it deserved.

However, in an attempt not to miss out completely we undertook a little research which revealed that the three-quarters of a mile wide, and 600 feet deep, crater was recognised as such in 1891. In 1906 a mining engineer named Daniel Barringer considered this was caused by a meteorite, and for the next 27 years argued the case, nearly bankrupting himself in the process. His theory was disputed until scientific researchers came to the conclusion that a meteorite did cause the crater and that it could have happened up to 50,000 years ago.

While the estimated 130-150 feet wide meteorite has never been found, what is considered a fragment – the 1,406lb Holsinger Meteorite – can be viewed at the site.

Today, family members still own the site and also provide guided tours around the rim. Clarification about the differences between asteroids, comets, meteors, meteoroids and meteorites can also be discovered. If we had visited, we might just have found out how big a 1,406lb meteorite really is.

But Route 66 beckoned and with The Eagles playing through our hired Mustang’s speakers we really felt part of that historic adventure.

The main town we were heading for was Williams, where Route 66 ran through the centre. The town was delightful and full of memorabilia along both sides of the street much to the pleasure of the many reminiscing visitors.

We had intended to dine at Cruiser’s Cafe which was once a well-known stopping point along Route 66 but today it is more of a packed tourist trap.

We decided instead to eat opposite where a policewoman was initially in attendance and then two sheriffs. This got us puzzled. What different roles do they play? A discussion with the sheriffs revealed that the police cover town incidents, whereas the sheriffs cover county matters. They assured us that there is very little crime in Williams (despite their congregating at our cafe).

We then headed over to the railway station just at the time a freight train was passing. As with so many we have seen, it was hauling hundreds of containers and took almost five minutes to pass us by.

Then, back on the road for several miles more, we pulled up at a cafe making the most of the Route 66 connection. This had been taken over in recent years and the owner had built his own piece of memorabilia, a very large green head he called Giganticus Headicus… well if others can do a similar thing with Cadillac graveyards and huge rocking chairs, why not this owner? Having some quick refreshments and a few photos we continued our trip into Kingman, where we were hot, hungry and tired.

As is usually the case in US motels there were not any meals provided apart from breakfast, and Downtown restaurants were a fair distance away. However, the motel recommended a local hostelry: The Fireside Cocktail Lounge.

This sounded interesting and as we were gasping for refreshment we took the two block walk to what we thought would be an enticing establishment. Upon arrival, it turned out to be a working mens bar, and pretty busy for a 6pm Saturday night.

Cool beers were welcome, although we refrained from the menu serving only deep fried chicken wings. Pool table, electronic darts board, and a snazzy jukebox (all hi-tech and playing country and western) captured our attention. That was until the ‘cabaret’ started. Clearly the clientele had been in attendance on this Saturday evening far longer than we had. Women were somewhat erotically making up to men, and men were making up to women, in front of our very eyes. Not a lot was left to the imagination. This went on for some time while we supped away. Then drinkers started to make an abrupt exit… the live musician had started to set up his equipment. The ‘cabaret’ left and it was time for us to go too. Social life in these sprawling towns it seems is limited, and the old tradition of working mens clubs must be welcomed, but quite where The Fireside Cocktail Lounge came into it we do not know. There wasn’t a fireside, no cocktails in sight, and presumably a bar stood in for the lounge.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

After our detour off Route 66 to Monument Valley, we were rejoining Route 66 at Winslow, Arizona. Winslow is probably best know due to the 1972 Eagles classic, “Take it Easy” co-written by the late Glen Frey and Jackson Browne.

There was not much to see in the 225 miles between Monument Valley and Winslow but all the land was part of the Navajo Nation with towns like Kayenta and Tuba city on the route.

The town of Winslow today makes it living from being a historic Route 66 town and the fame and attention brought by the Eagles song. The Eagles song has had such an impact that the “Standin’ on the Corner” park has been built on the corner of 2nd and Kinsley Avenue. They have even put a flatbed Ford truck there as mentioned in the song.

Very close to the Standin’ on the Corner Park is the Old Trails Museum which gives the history of Winslow that is closely connected to the railway, early air travel and a man called Fred Harvey.

Entrepreneur Fred Harvey opened a series of eating houses along the Santa Fe Railway that evolved into America’s first restaurant chain, the Harvey Houses. The company, which operated from 1876 through the 1960s, introduced innovations such as the refinement of dining in the West and the widespread employment of women known as “Harvey Girls.” One of those hotels was the one we were staying in called La Posada and was positioned right next to an active 24-hour railway line mainly used for extremely long freight trains.

With the advent of more efficient trains and the explosion of automobiles, railroad travel began its decline and Fred Harvey started closing trackside restaurants and hotels in the 1930s. World War II temporarily reversed the trend, and La Posada hired more Harvey Girls to serve meals to 3,000 soldiers riding through town daily on “troop trains”. The hotel finally closed in 1957 but escaped the wrecking ball when the Santa Fe converted it into division offices in the early 1960s. Winslow locals organized the La Posada Foundation in the early 1990s and secured grant funds to help save the building. In 1997, Allan Affeldt and his wife, artist Tina Mion, purchased La Posada and reopened it as a premier hotel and gardens.

The aviation history of Winslow is also interesting. In 1929, aviator and Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) technical chairman Charles A Lindbergh chose Winslow as one of twelve critical refueling stops for the nation’s first coast-to-coast passenger service. He chose the location for the terrain, weather patterns, and access to the Santa Fe line. Passengers taking the 48-hour, New York-to-Los Angeles trip would fly during the day and ride the train at night. Lindbergh’s TAT colleagues chose the flat, open landscape south of town for a terminal, hangar, parking apron, and three long asphalt runways. TAT flew a fleet of Ford Tri-Motor planes that held ten passengers and had small kitchens for in-flight meals. In 1930, TAT and Western Air Express merged as Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA).

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, the US military converted Winslow’s airport into a refueling and repair stop, and more than 350 military flights passed through Winslow daily. TWA resumed commercial flights after World War II and became Trans World Airways in 1950, though service to Winslow Municipal Airport ended in 1953. Frontier Airlines provided regional flights from 1950 to 1974, when it discontinued service to Winslow due to high costs and lack of passengers.

After our overnight stop in Winslow, we move on to Kingman, Arizona and will visit towns like Williams (which is on the histroic Route 66) and will drive on the longest remaining stretches of the historic road being the last 82 miles from Seligman to Kingman.

Copyright: Words and pictures John Cruse 2022

Monument Valley is dry. Not just because the area only receives an average seven inches of rain a year, but being part of the Navajo Tribal Nation, the consumption of alcohol is prohibited, along with weapons and drones. In fact, if one wants a tipple in this dry region one needs to drive 70 miles to obtain it, rather a stretch too far, even in the heat of the evening.

We had made a detour off Route 66 from Albuquerque to take the opportunity to see this sacred site 335 miles away. Monument Valley comprises towering rock formations up to 1,000 feet scattered amongst a sandstone floor. The area was once part of the sea floor where sediment and sandstone formed together in layers over millions of years. Tectonic forces then raised the area above the waterline, creating a plateau of flat land and peaks.

The peaks we see today are referred to as mesas (rock formations that look like table tops), buttes (smaller rock formations) and spires (narrow and free standing rock formations in their final stage of erosion from wind and water, having once been buttes).

Many of these have been given names, largely based on their shape, such as Totem Pole, Three Sisters, and John Ford’s Point named after the Hollywood director who instigated many of the movies filmed in the area, including those starring John Wayne such as Stage Coach. The 92,000 acre park stretches across northern Arizona and Southern Utah and lies within the Navajo Nation Reserve.

To view the park visitors have to either take a guided tour by vehicle; engage in a self-guided tour if driving a 4×4; trek (consider the heat and the highly-poisonous snakes); or take a horse ride. We opted for the guided vehicle tour. Over three hours we travelled the 17 mile trip around the park, visiting the major peaks.

At one site we viewed rock carvings (or petroglyphs) depicting animals. These were made by chipping the rock surface with stone to reveal a lighter shade than the rock surface. We saw just a few petroglyphs, but archaeologists believe there may be up to 25,000 in the area. It is considered most were created by Pueblo people who lived in the Rio Grande Valley, likely between 1300 and 1680 AD.

We stumbled across some interesting footprints and a closer look gave the impression that this may have been a lizard, a delicacy of the local rattlesnake.

We also viewed some traditional houses of the Navajo people called hogan homes. These are constructed of logs, covered in sand and straw which is then wetted. Once dried in the sun this becomes a hard outer structure. There are two styles: the larger ‘female hogan’ which is used as family homes, and the smaller ‘male hogan’ which is a more temporary structure which can be dismantled and moved to another area. Inside the hogan is a metal fire with chimney. Today, those who still live in a hogan home tend to be the older generations who have chosen not to move to more contemporary housing.

In one of the hogans we met a lady who demonstrated spinning sheep wool which is dyed using various local plants and woven into many textiles as a means of income. Children start to learn the crafts from a young age. It was emphasised that each stage of the process is developed extremely slowly to encourage a patient approach to life starting with the younger generations.

If in the location, Monument Valley is worth a trip as the landscape is unique. However, we found there is very little else to do at the site once a tour has taken place. A small visitors’ centre at the (only) hotel could provide much more information on the history and the lives of the Navajo people. There were lots of photo opportunities, however, and we just couldn’t miss the opportunity of an early start to capture some sunrise shots.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

As the chorus of the 1988 Prefab Sprout song King of Rock n Roll said “hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque”, I was wondering as we drove into Albuquerque whether the chorus had any relevance or was just poetic licence. Time would tell.

It was Memorial weekend when we arrived in Albuquerque and the receptionist at the historic El Vado Motel told us that most restaurants and shops would be closed including those that were part of the motel. This seemed rather strange by current day standards as businesses normally take advantage of the extra available consumers to make money on public holidays. Not in Albuquerque where we only found one pizza restaurant open that day. The El Vado Motel is situated on the historic Route 66, opened in 1937 and was one of New Mexico’s first motels to greet Route 66 travellers. Although updated, the buildings still have that retro feel.

The next day dawned and, as Albuquerque is not a walking city like Santa Fe, after some research we decided to take their equivalent of the Big Bus tour. This tour goes around the three principle areas of the city being the old town, downtown and Nob Hill.

The old town is the principle area where tourists congregate as it is a mixture of shops and restaurants with a few strategically placed local First Nations people selling their knick knacks. It has a plaza at its centre and is a nice area particularly when the sun is shining as it does for 300 plus days a year in Albuquerque. Being in the desert, Albuquerque cools down over night and can be chilly in the morning, but at this time of year gets up to 31 degrees Centigrade by the time the sun starts setting in the evening. Our tour bus guide pointed out the new developments around the old town, many of which were still feeling the effects of the Covid lockdown, and the museums that were in the area. We decided to visit one of the museums later that day being the Rattlesnake Museum and would have looked in at America’s only nuclear museum if it hadn’t been 12 miles out of town. One of New Mexico’s claims to fame is that the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to produce the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in WW2, Little Boy and Fat Man, did so in the state at Los Alamos and Albuquerque.

The Rattlesnake Museum was very interesting and opened our eyes to how many different types of rattlesnakes there are and just how poisonous some of them can be.

Between the old town and downtown was an area called ‘country club’ (see photos below) where there were some very nice houses. This area if often used by film companies for big budget productions and many film stars have lived in, or stayed, during filming in the area. One of the claims to fame was the Breaking Bad series which was filmed in the area and around locations in Albuquerque.

The downtown area was less interesting and seemed to be only populated by homeless people, as very few people were walking on the streets. One interesting thing about downtown Albuquerque is that it has the only crossroads where Route 66 crosses itself.

How could this be you ask? It seems to stem from a political controversy in the 1920s between politicians in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There was an attempt in 1927 to move Route 66 out of Santa Fe which had to do with the gubernatorial election held in 1927. Then Governor Arthur T Hannett lost his bid for re-election and he directly blamed the Republican politicians in Santa Fe for his defeat. In one of his last acts in office, before the new governor would be sworn in on January 1st, Hannett ordered construction to begin immediately on a bypass taking Route 66 to Albuquerque by bypassing Santa Fe altogether. That bypass cut circa 100 miles off the original route via Santa Fe and cut all the business that Santa Fe gained from the Route 66 traffic. So the crossroads in Albuquerque are where the old route via Santa Fe and new route now meet in Albuquerque.

Nob Hill was more interesting and, we understand the area is named after its namesake in San Francisco. We were shown some very strange houses built by architect, Bart Prince. Make up your own mind as to whether you would like one next door to you.

We also visited the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens which were opposite the El Vado Motel and both were interesting although not really Route 66 related.

Next we go to Monument Valley at the heart of the Navajo Nation which is a 6 hour journey and a divergence from Route 66.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2022

Whereas the Inn of the Five Graces was a fabulous place to stay, Santa Fe was a bit too touristy for our liking and was full of arty shops selling over priced knick knacks. Santa Fe is not too big so most attractions are within walking distance except for some of the museums which are on the outskirts some 1.5 to 2 miles away.

We boarded the open-sided bus that is Santa Fe’s version of the Big Bus Company taking tourists around cities all over the World. The guide was very entertaining and the tour was worthwhile, but what he did say about his city was that much of the good looking adobe brick buildings were fake. Rather than being built in the traditional style, they had just been rendered to look authentic.That said, they did look nice, and close to our hotel was the oldest house in Santa Fe that was built in the mid 1600s and is now a small museum.

The oldest house is next to the oldest church structure in the USA, built in 1610 by the Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscian pardres.

One thing worth seeing outside of town, in the museum area, is the sculpture called ‘Journey’s End’ by Reynaldo ‘Sonny’ Rivera portraying the lead wagon of a trail caravan as it makes its final approach into Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe Trail was an historic 19th century transportation route across southwestern North America connecting Missouri with New Mexico. First used in 1821 by William Becknell, it served a a vital commercial and military highway until the arrival of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Initially it was an international trade route between the United States and Mexico and served as the 1846 US invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican-American war. The old Santa Fe trail is the city street that roughly follows the wagon path.

The next morning we left Santa Fe for the short drive (only 63 miles) to Albuquerque and on the advice of the hotel concierge, took the pretty route which went via small towns off the interstate. As it is currently Memorial weekend in the USA, many Americans were enjoying the extra day off so the scenic route was full of Harley Davidson’s, Dodge Vipers and more ordinary holiday traffic. When we got to the small but nice town of Madrid, about half way to Albuquerque, many of the travellers had parked up and were enjoying the food and drink on offer.

Madrid had some ‘antique’ shops just like Santa Fe, selling all those things you never knew you wanted but a bit less polished and it even has its own cannabis shop, as it’s legal in New Mexico.

After enjoying the delights of Madrid, we drove on to the El Vado Motel in Albuquerque which is situated on the old US66 historic road close to the old town. Tomorrow we see what delights Albuerque has to offer.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2022

Ooh, I think we have arrived in Heaven. Today’s 300 mile journey has led us to Santa Fe and The Inn of the Five Graces. The majority of this rather small town (compared to the sprawling metropolises we have so far seen in the US) comprises largely red-coloured adobe buildings.

The Five Graces is no exception, but its point of difference must surely be the exquisite interiors – the work of owners Ira and Sylvia Seret, whose paths crossed when both were in Afghanistan in the 1970s when times there were less troubled. In common for both of them was their creativity and interests in, amongst other things, weaving, embroidery, beadwork and clothing. Today the couple runs two businesses: The Inn of the Five Graces hotel, and Seret and Sons – which they say is ‘an emporium of museum quality textiles, rugs, furnishings and architectural elements’.

Some photos of our room (or should I say suite) interior follows, which remind us of a chance visit to a building in Colombia a few years ago, called the Casa Terracota built by architect Octavio Mendoza and worth checking out online if you have a chance.

But our trip today was not just about our surprising hotel on arrival. John had highlighted several Route 66 points along the way from Amarillo to Santa Fe. First up was the Amarillo border line shown by a large sign stating ‘You are arriving (or leaving) Amarillo, depending on which side of the fence (actually, the sign) one is standing.

Then on to Cadillac Ranch, west of Amarillo, which proved much fun for children and adults alike who could purchase a spray can and add their artistic prowess to the tilting Cadillacs. The ‘artwork’ comprises 10 Cadillacs half-buried nose-down in a field. The cars dated from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville.

Then it was on to some deserted buildings and towns, all as a result of interstate roads replacing the old Highway 66. This included the 1947 Vega Motel which had burgeoning trade until 1976; and yet another ghost area, being the town of Glenrio.

Today saw the halfway point of our journey, both in duration and distance. What better way to celebrate than visiting the ‘Midway Point’ at the town of Adrian. This was very popular with Route 66 travellers when we arrived and we got to meet a French couple travelling the same route as us on a motorbike. That is not easy considering the amount of driving rain we have had, and now the blistering heat and strong winds.

Also up for the journey, travelling the opposite way to us from Santa Monica to Chicago, were two women, one of 90 years young and the other 82. The latter said this was the time she wished she was 20 years old and on the back of a motorbike with a handsome chap in front. I reminded her that it was never too late!

Then onward, onward, we travelled (a further 230 miles) until we reached Santa Fe. Tomorrow we get ready to discover what this area has to reveal.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

Is this the way to Amarillo? Well, you would never know if you didn’t have a SatNav – it has proved to be an absolute essential for this trip. Today we left the state of Oklahoma and headed for Texas.

John fixed up several eye-catching destinations along our route. First up was Lucille Hamons’ Route 66 filling station at Hydro. It was built in 1929 and extended in 1934 to include overnight tourist accommodation. In 1941 it was taken over by Lucille Hamons, who for the next 59 years served fuel to passing motorists. The site is now an historic monument.

Then we travelled on to our first ghost town, Texola, and yes it was rather ghostly. The town is sited on Route 66 and dates back to the early 1900s, originally being named Texokla or Texoma. By 1909 the town had successful corn and grist mills and several businesses. The population grew up to the 1930s, but gradually dwindled when the town was bypassed by the speedier Interstate highway I-40. Business declined and the population reduced from a peak of 581 in 1930 to 31 in 2010. Today it is listed in the National register of Historic Places.

We then headed to Shamrock to see its water tower. Many of the businesses had an Irish theme, but the personnel in the cafe we visited had no idea why. A bit of research enlightened us to the fact that ‘Shamrock’ was suggested for good luck and courage by Irish immigrant sheep rancher George Nickel in 1890 when he applied to open a post office in the area. The name was accepted, and good fortune followed when in 1902 the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway came to town and with it an influx of people and prosperity. This led to a need for a reliable source of water.

Until this time residents got their water from two wells or hauled it to town in barrels on wagons. In 1911 residents of the growing town realised that a more permanent water source was needed and agreed to a water tower and reservoir to be installed, achieved by 1915. Today it remains one of the tallest water towers in Texas.

We moved onwards and now John, getting an obsession for water towers, took us on to view another, in Groom. This was a tilting water tower and was not the result of some later subsidence, but a deliberate attempt to attract sightseers to the area. It obviously worked… hence our visit.

Our destination, some 300 miles from Oklahoma City, was Amarillo, and a rather plain town it appears to be especially considering the attraction of the Neil Sedaka lyrics about the town and his sweet Marie, famously sung by Tony Christie. Perhaps we too will see her, but unlike Sedaka and Christie we will not be staying long for tomorrow we head to Santa Fe in New Mexico.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

Oklahoma City, it’s oh so pretty, as Bobby Troup’s 1946 Route 66 song lyrics told us. So the town had a lot to live up to for our arrival at this leg of the journey.

Well, according to our discussions with local folk, Oklahoma City was far from pretty at the time of the song and for many decades later, prior to much investment and redevelopment. But what we have found from our stay at the 21C Museum Hotel in the Arts District is that many of the personnel are ‘oh so pretty’ and delightful. This establishment clearly goes out of its way to employ a diverse range of people: well presented wine waiters with trouser hems finishing 6 inches above bare ankles, waiters with short hair one side and long curly hair the other, nose bones, lip jewellery, extra long false nails, see-through tops for the men and Dr Martens boots for the women. The creativity has been a joy to view, as has our hotel.

The hotel building was once the most successful assembly plant for the Model T Ford car from 1916, designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn. By 1924 the Oklahoma City site was producing 200 automobiles a day, and employing several hundred workers. The Great Depression that followed from the 1930s hit the automobile industry hard and the decision was made to change production to small car components. This continued under the Ford Motor Company until 1967 when employee Fred Jones took over the building, running it as a wholesale parts distributor for Ford. By 2013 the Fred Jones Manufacturing Company vacated the premises and it became abandoned.

But all has not been lost. The 21c (21st century) Museum Hotel chain took over the building, retaining much of its original design, including its huge metal windows, brutalist interiors, industrial lifts that once transported completed vehicles, concrete columns, exposed painted brick walls and concrete ceilings. These features have been successfully combined with luxurious, light, bright, boutique guest rooms. It is now on the US National Register of Historic Places.

To complement this, the hotel has continually changing modern art displays, most of which are designed to make viewers think and, on occasions, move out of their comfort zones, such as the taxidermied chicken wearing an angora rabbit fur, by artist Sarah Garzoni. But this all sits well with the ethos that lets the staff express their artistic nature too.

When not touring around the inside of the hotel, we took ourself off to explore some areas of this vast Oklahoma City, some 621 square miles. Many of the visitor locations were spaced wide apart and we chose to view the nearby Botanical Garden. The indoor plant area was closed for renovation but the gardens were nicely planted with ‘right plant, right place’ advice helpfully placed around the walkways. The flowing waters made this a restful place to be around.

So taken were we with the water that we moved on to the nearby manmade canal, for a boat ride. This had been dug to 4 feet deep purely as a visitor attraction and we found out it was just a small, but attractive, part of a multi-million dollar investment in the town to turn the city’s fortunes around. From 1993, residents agreed to invest in the city via a MAPS project (Metropolitan Area Projects) which comprised a ‘penny sales tax’ which would be used to fund transformational projects, all debt free. More than $3 billion was raised by 2018, and the scheme continues today.

During the 45-minute canal ride we passed some of the most impressive sculptures we have ever seen, and later went for a closer look. The sculptures represented the first Land Run and comprised 45 larger than life bronze sculptures by artist Paul Moore.

The notorious and chaotic Land Run of 22 April 1889, saw 50,000 people rushing across unassigned lands of Oklahoma territory to stake their claim, via small hand-held flags, for free land. At the sound of a cannon blast at noon the prospective settlers surged forward on horses and in wagons to make their claim. For some it was not a good result, people were crushed in the melee, horses toppled and wagons turned over. This was the first of several Land Runs in the area over the years. The excitement and chaos has been so well represented in Paul Moore’s huge display.

Tomorrow we head for to Amarillo, some 300 miles from Oklahoma City.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022

We are now in Springfield, Missouri, and it has to be said – that’s 24 hours from Tulsa. We have never been to Tulsa, but we have been 24 hours from Tulse Hill (that’s in South London for our overseas readers). But we are not alone. According to British DJ Tony Blackburn who interviewed the singer of that memorable song, Gene Pitney had never been to Tulsa either!

Our journey today was 250 miles, taking some six hours. We took the main I-44 interstate highway for much of the journey, but thanks to SatNav we were able to head over to Route 66 to view the Big Rocker in Fanning. Many things along Route 66 are big, and this did not fail to impress.

The Big Rocker (rocking chair) was created by a guy named Danny Sanazaro to attract people to his archery and feed store. He had heard of a 34-foot-tall rocker in Franklin, Indiana, called Big John and he thought it would be a fun idea to beat this.

A friend, John Bland, designed the chair and the owner of a local welding company, Joe Medwick, created it. The end result was a 27,500 pound rocker, 42 feet high and painted red. It was erected on April Fool’s Day 2008. Some say it cost $78,000 to produce.

Once a year Sanazaro would hire a hoist to lift visitors to sit on the chair’s 20-foot wide seat. To be granted a Guinness World Record the rocking chair had to rock, but it soon became clear that this rocking could have disastrous results and hence it was welded in place so it did not tip over with visitors’ exuberance.

By 2015, a 56-foot rocker was established in Illinois, and since then the Fanning rocker has fallen into second place.

Sanazaro subsequently sold the site, and today (now painted black) it sits alongside a pleasant snacks and souvenirs store with most welcoming staff, some attractive artistry, the largest selection of popcorn flavours we have ever seen, and rather tasty fudge.

So tomorrow it is on to Oklahoma City via Tulsa, more than 300 miles. We are hoping the torrential rain which made driving so difficult in the latter part of our journey today may have lifted.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022