After making several wrong turns trying to stay on Route 66 we ended up on the freeway headed to Catoosa, Oklahoma to the see The Blue Whale. Paula and Jeff got separated from us so we just decided to meet up when we got there. The GPS kept sending us to the wrong location but we finally made it and they had gotten there a few minutes before we did. The whale was built by Hugh Davis in 1972 as a surprise anniversary gift for his wife. It became a favorite swimming hold for locals and travelers. It has been taken over by the city and refurbished as a Route 66 attraction.
About 20 minutes past The Blue Whale we made a visit to the Will Roger's Memorial and Museum. It was interesting to see the displays including some of his saddle collection and watch some videos about his life. He, his wife, and baby son are all buried on the property.
After leaving the Will Roger's Museum we rejoined Route 66 to go see Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Chelsea, Oklahoma. The park features the world's tallest totem pole. This attraction is fine probably 3-Star for me but I wouldn't go too far out of the way to see it.
As we continued along Route 66 we noticed an interesting place in Afton, Oklahoma. I hadn't seen it mentioned in any of the guidebooks or YouTube videos we have watched in preparation for this trip. The place is called the Crosstar Flag and Tag Museum. It is filled with old cars and other vintage memorabilia. It's worth a stop for a few minutes.
In this part of Oklahoma the little towns are one right after the other. In Miami (pronounced My-am-uh) we saw the old Art Deco Coleman Theater and the Kuku Burger. The dining room is closed and we obviously couldn't take the motorhome through the drive through so we continued on our way.
We continued on into Commerce, OK with plans to at least get an ice cream at the Dairy King but it had already closed for the day so we were back on the road at the end of a very long day
From Commerce it is just about 3 miles to the Kansas State line. Kansas only has a total of 13 miles on the Route and includes the towns of Baxter Springs, Riverton, and Galena. I had heard about the Baxter Springs City Campground and it looked nice right along the river but Jeff and Paula's motorhome is too big and couldn't get in so we passed on this place.
Just past Baxter Springs is Riverton and there is a small campground called Spring River Campground. The place is small with no amenities other than hookups and it was $40 but it was the end of the day and we're all tired so we stayed for the night.
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