Route 66: Tulsa to Miami
Welcome to Route 66 starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, driving north. This drive can easily accomplished in one day, making this a great dav trip for Tulsa area locals.
The Blue Whale: One of the first attractions on the trek is the Blue Whale. This attraction has lost a little of its luster—the restrooms are closed and no swimming is allowed in the pond. However, this is a FREE attraction with a nice picnic area, and you can still go in the Blue Whale structure on the pond. Food is available on the weekends from at least three food trucks located in the parking lot.
Costs: FREE (Everything but the food trucks)
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: Definitley worth going to
Time Needed: 30 mins. to an hour
Totem Pole Park: This was an odd roadside attraction, but pretty much all of the Route 66 roadside attractions are, well, unique. Totem Pole Park is, as advertised, a bunch of totem poles. Some ran to about 5–6 stories high and some were smaller. It serves as a great place to get out and strech your legs after driving a while. Some of the totem poles can be climbed on, and some you can go into (seasonally). There is also a cool little museum on site; however, it was not open during our last visit. The park is completly free and comes with a nature trail through the woods maintained by the boy scouts. Picnic tables are provided in the park, and there is a nice group picnic shelter that is reservable. They have prmitive restroom facilites, but I wouldn't use them. Just drive down to the local gas station if you need to go potty.
Costs: FREE
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: Worth going to
Time Needed: 30 mins. to an hour
Eastern Trails Museum: Now this was a find tucked away in the corner of a small downtown area. Admission was free, and it is connected to the public libray. The staff there was really great, and the exhibits were MUCH better than I though they would be. The kids had a blast looking at the old antiques in their themed areas in the museum. Along with clean restrooms in the library, this was definitely a must if you are cruising down Route 66.
Costs: FREE
PAID (None)
Overall Attraction: Worth going to
Time Needed: 30 mins. to an hour
Miami, Okalahoma: This was a pretty cool city, about medium sized, with a great Route 66 gateway sign at the entrance of the city (makes for a good photo op). Once in the city, we visited a small park that had no name and then proceeded to to do lunch at Waylan's KuKu Burgers. Wayland is a local restruant that has a bunch of cuckoo clocks inside the restaurant and a giant cuckoo clock on the outside of the resturant. The food is good, and the restrooms are clean, which, with the theming, makes this a great place to stop for a meal while on Route 66.
Costs: Food is reasonably priced for a hamburger joint.
Overall Attraction: Worth going to
Time Needed: However long it takes you to enjoy a good meal
To see more photo from this adventure, Click here!