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On The Way To Clinton


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I've started toward the National 66 Festival in Clinton, OK, but am spending a couple of days in Tulsa before I head west. I'll get as far a Tucumcari before turning back to Clinton. Tulsarama is just getting fired up and they'll be unveiling that '57 Plymouth on Friday (today). Thursday contained a lot of expressway and airplane but I did manage to get to Claremore and follow Historic US-66 back to Tulsa. I got a little tour of the town from some friends then both dinner and lodging on the old route. The first day is up at

http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07

and more will follow each day through departure from Clinton next Sunday.

 

I try to get each day's journal up the following morning but that sometimes doesn't happen. For those who don't know, you can sign up for an email notice when each post actually occurs or you can just take a look every once in awhile. Or you can just ignore the whole thing and I won't even know the difference. Mailing list signup is here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The trip is over and I'm back home in Ohio. I saw some new places & faces along with revisiting some spots and renewing some friendships. I've caught occasional postings here but haven't had the time to respond or to even read everything. I'll be catching up over the next couple of days.

 

The tale of the eleven day Tulsa to Tucumcari drive is available at

http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07/

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The trip is over and I'm back home in Ohio. I saw some new places & faces along with revisiting some spots and renewing some friendships. I've caught occasional postings here but haven't had the time to respond or to even read everything. I'll be catching up over the next couple of days.

 

The tale of the eleven day Tulsa to Tucumcari drive is available at

http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07/

Denny,

 

Thanks for another great road trip write up. I have only gotten through the pre trip and through June 15, but it is excellent so far. I’ll come back to it a little later.

 

I know it takes a lot of time to write and post your road stories and it is much appreciated.

 

Of course the Plymouth got lots of national coverage, but your photos and story are by far the best I’ve seen. When I get to Friday’s write up, will I learn who won the car?

 

Welcome home!

 

PS. Thanks for the photo of you!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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I sure appreciate those kind words and hope you enjoy the remainder of the trip. Now that I'm home, with different time pressures, I took a look at my mailing list and see that you subscribed at some point but have not confirmed. (That's the sort of personal attention having a small readership allows;-) Following signup, an email is sent to the entered address and it must be confirmed before other list mailings are sent there. That's to keep folks from signing up their worst enemies and getting them mad at me. There are a few others in that situation so I may send off a set of repeat confirmation requests tonight. Watch for something from webmaster@dennygibson.com. Of course, I won't be traveling again for awhile so the list will be quiet for awhile. The signup page does try to alert folks to be on the lookout for the confirmation but maybe I should somehow make that more prominent. I suspect some of the confirmation request are tossed aside by spam filters.

 

If I didn't know that you were otherwise a reasonably intelligent person, your happiness at seeing a photo of me would raise some doubts :D

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I sure appreciate those kind words and hope you enjoy the remainder of the trip. Now that I'm home, with different time pressures, I took a look at my mailing list and see that you subscribed at some point but have not confirmed. (That's the sort of personal attention having a small readership allows;-) Following signup, an email is sent to the entered address and it must be confirmed before other list mailings are sent there. That's to keep folks from signing up their worst enemies and getting them mad at me. There are a few others in that situation so I may send off a set of repeat confirmation requests tonight. Watch for something from webmaster@dennygibson.com. Of course, I won't be traveling again for awhile so the list will be quiet for awhile. The signup page does try to alert folks to be on the lookout for the confirmation but maybe I should somehow make that more prominent. I suspect some of the confirmation request are tossed aside by spam filters.

 

If I didn't know that you were otherwise a reasonably intelligent person, your happiness at seeing a photo of me would raise some doubts :D

 

Oh, I see part of my post didn’t get through. The whole paragraph was meant to read Thanks for the photo of you! I thought I might be jealous of your good looks, but now I feel a lot better. :P

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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The trip is over and I'm back home in Ohio. I saw some new places & faces along with revisiting some spots and renewing some friendships. I've caught occasional postings here but haven't had the time to respond or to even read everything. I'll be catching up over the next couple of days.

 

The tale of the eleven day Tulsa to Tucumcari drive is available at

http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07/

 

 

 

More great stuff! (June 15-19) I enjoyed the additional shots of the Plymouth, and the ball point pen written names on the whitewalls were amazing.

 

Great old bridge, and the approach is real “old road!” It’s amazing that both the cross supports weren’t torn out by trucks!

 

The U Drop Inn in is a knock out! The only place I’ve seen a gas station like that is on some old Standard Oil maps.

 

I really appreciate the interior shots of the motels, should I get out that way. The nice easy chair in the Cactus Inn has already gotten my attention!

 

By the looks of the steaks being grilled, the Big Texan lives up to its name.

 

I’m up to the 19th. Did you figure how close you actually were to dry in your gas crunch?

 

I’ll check back later. Did you include any more photos of yourself?? I want to be ready. <_<

 

Keep the Show on the Road.

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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The U Drop Inn in is a knock out! The only place I’ve seen a gas station like that is on some old Standard Oil maps.

Yes, that one of the real gems on Sixty-Six. In Clinton, I heard that hail (presumably from the same storm I saw at the Big Texan) knocked out some of the neon on the tower. I'm sure it will be repaired soon, though.

 

Did you figure how close you actually were to dry in your gas crunch?

No. But but I had driven over 30 miles after the initial chime and about 10 after the odometer was blocked out by a "LOW FUEL" message. I thought I had saved all gas station receipts but a quick check just now didn't find that one. Whatever it was, it was close enough for me.

 

Did you include any more photos of yourself?? I want to be ready.

Best brace yourself. I know there's at least one more shot on the last day.

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Denny, thanks for all the photos of the Plymouth. Some of the best I've seen. I also especially enjoyed the photos of the abandoned segments of old 66, but I can never get enough of that stuff! jim

 

Jim,

 

Denny is the consummate road scholar. They don’t come any better.

 

BTY, did you see Roadhound’s discoveries out west on the Lincoln Highway in the San Francisco Bay area?. He is an excellent photographer, and like you, has a nose for the old alignments. Take a look under Barn Along the Lincoln in the Lincoln Highway Forum section.

 

We are looking forward to your next adventure. What’s in the mill?

 

Keep the Show on the Road!!

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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I have discovered that the best way to read your posts is a few days at a time. It’s like reading a good book or magazine. (I was going to add that it is sometimes difficult to balance the laptop and reach the handle, but I thought that might be somehow misconstrued.)

 

I’m on the 20th following your London connection. I take it that the gravel road is a section of old 66. True? I’m too lazy at the moment to research it, but the wooden bridges and the old service station restrooms are interesting. Any story behind the story?

 

I confess that Texas and Oklahoma have never been high on my road travel list, but I’m beginning to think that was maybe I should rethink that.

 

Glenrio trips a synapse somewhere up there. Did you do a piece on Glenrio a few months ago? I recall looking it up on the map, but I don’t remember why now....... Oh yeh, Drivehost posted a story. It was recognized as a national historic site, or the like.

 

A silly question, but you seem not to be too shy to ask someone if they mind having their picture taken. Do you tell them they may end up in a post? I need some advice because I don't get enough people photos and I don't use the ones I do get. For one thing, I worry about photo releases. Is that just being way overly cautious?

 

Which leads me almost completely off this topic, but your recommendation to see 10 mph across the US was a good one, and I tossed some of the images around as I was riding the lawn tractor this morning. That was not a movie about doing your own thing as much as it was about the variety of people who make up America. The two lane road was the route to discover them, and I think that may be the real secret why two lane roads are better than freeways. Profound, huh?!

 

I am toughening up for your next self photo.

 

Kidding aside, I really appreciate your material.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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We are looking forward to your next adventure. What’s in the mill?

 

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm putting the finishing touches on the writeup of a trip down old US 36 in western Indiana and you all will be the first to know when it's posted. I'm planning on doing the National Road in Illinois on July 7, and a leisurely, nostalgic drive down as much of old 2-lane US 31 still exists between the Michigan line and Indianapolis on July 28. jim

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Not to hijack this thread, but I'm putting the finishing touches on the writeup of a trip down old US 36 in western Indiana and you all will be the first to know when it's posted. I'm planning on doing the National Road in Illinois on July 7, and a leisurely, nostalgic drive down as much of old 2-lane US 31 still exists between the Michigan line and Indianapolis on July 28. jim

 

 

Jim,

 

Thanks!! We look forward to both.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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...it is sometimes difficult to balance the laptop and reach the handle...

Good to know that some of the reading occurs in situations similar to that of some of the writing.

 

I take it that the gravel road is a section of old 66. True? I’m too lazy at the moment to research it, but the wooden bridges and the old service station restrooms are interesting. Any story behind the story?

The gravel road is indeed an old Sixty-Six segment. Reportedly, it was once paved and stripped of asphalt at some point. I know nothing of the details. Glenrio is one of the more visible examples of what can happen when a town is bypassed by whatever the local main road may be. The story behind the restrooms is the town of Endee that was isolated and emptied even more than Glenrio.

 

Glenrio trips a synapse somewhere up there.

Earlier this year, Glenrio was declared a National Historic District by the National Park Service. I have no idea what that means or if it's even a good thing.

 

A silly question, but you seem not to be too shy to ask someone if they mind having their picture taken. Do you tell them they may end up in a post? I need some advice because I don't get enough people photos and I don't use the ones I do get. For one thing, I worry about photo releases. Is that just being way overly cautious?

I'd welcome a discussion on this subject as its own thread since I'm very unsure of the legalities involved. In the past, I've avoided photographing people to the point that someone once described one of my trips as looking like an "after the bomb" movie with the world largely devoid of humans. Now I use a general "do they know" - "can they be recognized" rule. If someone knows me and poses for a picture I feel they know it could appear on the web and have no qualms about putting it there. I also feel fairly comfortable posting pictures with people in them that cannot be recognized because of distance, angle, or something else. I have no reason to believe that either of these views would carry any weight in court and there is certainly a whole lot of gray between the black and the white. I do feel a little protection from the amateur nature of my website but I fear that may be entirely unwarranted. Perhaps you could start a topic under General Discussion and maybe our resident lawyers, professional photographers, and publishers can give us some guidance.

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Good to know that some of the reading occurs in situations similar to that of some of the writing.

 

Finished! I enjoyed it all.

 

If your self photo was the one next to the wind machine propeller, no fair. The face is too dark to see. But then you know better than I do what your fans prefer!

 

BTY, the handle of course is the one on my recliner that raises and lowers the leg rest. Naturally, we both were referring to that handle!

 

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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If your self photo was the one next to the wind machine propeller, no fair. The face is too dark to see. But then you know better than I do what your fans prefer!

There are some better lighted photos of me about the site but I'll direct you to http://www.uplatette.typepad.com/ for not only a recent well lit photo of yours truly but a whole different version of the recent doings in Clinton and travels to and from. It's the blog of Kat & Daz, who I met in Glenrio. I appear on Day 15.

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