6 March 2018 Visiting Tulsa

I was on a different mission this evening. We had retriecved a travel bug from a Buffalo area cacher. The bug had a mission to visit Route 66. I was lucky enough to have found fun caches placed by the travel bug owner and happy to be able to assist with the goal. After leaving the office, I picked up the traces of 66 and made my way to Tulsa.

It's not easy to find old 66. Redevelopment, time, and decay are taking their toll. This old steel building is of a vintage to have been on the Route when it was still US66.

Sprawl and changing retail patterns have taken their toll. This row of old shops on 66 is empty. It seems the street facade is being maintained to keep the 66 image alive.

My evening's journey brought me to a small railroad display of old rolling stock. The display included the correctly painted 4-8-4 Northern 4500 steam locomotive sporting its correct Meteor paint scheme. This 1942 locomotive was returned to Tulsa for display in 2011. I was glad to be able to see it. Always a rail fan, my dad would have loved it.

My evening ended early. There was a wildfire to the north and the wind was blowing right to bring irritating smoke toward Tulsa. Besides casting a strange glow over the area, it made breathing difficult. I decided for an early return to the hotel. My mission was done, and I saw new sights.