One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926. The famous highway originally ran from Chicago to L.A, meandering through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California on it's way there. I have been on the Albuquerque to L.A. portion of the old highway a number of times, but this week got the chance to see a 15 miles stretch that goes through Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa was booming about the time the highway was built, and I am sure up through the 1950's it seemed extremely modern. Not so today. Diners are alive and well, as is neon on Route 66 in Tulsa. It is like stepping back in time.
Which was a pleasant step, I must say. I went to Tulsa hoping to see what it had to offer. I had no expectations, and was therefore overwhelmed by how wonderful it was to be there. The fact that a lot of money helps any community will come as no surprise to any of us. But for Tulsa, prosperity washed over it, cresting an era ago, and then swept on, leaving something behind, but not on the scale that it had experienced. The stamp that oil has put on Tulsa, and how it emerged from it's era of prosperity, is surprising. The community has undoubtedly lost many landmarks, some of which are probably real losses to us all, not just to the locals who loved them. But what remains is remarkable. It is well worth a trip, and the food along Route 66 is what you would expect--excellent diner food.
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