2002-10-05

Edmond - Totem poles, a blue whale, RAT Daddy, and family

My first stop today is Ed Galloway's Totem Pole park in Foyil, Oklahoma. The photo doesn't really give you a sense of the scale for the totem pole. Imagine you are looking at a nine-story building. That's how tall it is! Ed set out to with the mission to build the talling totem pole in the world. The main totem pole stands 90 feet tall and is 18 feet in diameter. Construction required 100 tons of sand, 28 tons of cement and 6 tons of steel. 200 carved pictures, including four nine-foot Indian chiefs, decorate the pole.

Look closely and you'll see the turtle holding up the totem pole.

A closeup of one of the Indians.

Mr. Galloway started construction on his totem pole when he retired in 1937 and completed it in 1948. He worked on the park seven days a week until his death in 1962.

The Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma. What was its original purpose? You would never guess: An anniversary gift! It was built in the early 70s and eventually turned into a swimming park. Though the swimming park closed in 1988 the whale has been preserved and is well worth seeing. Visit on your anniversary!

An abandond boat at the park.

At RAT Daddy's Cycle Service directly on Route 66. They tell me RAT stands for Ride All the Time. You gotta love their spirit!

This photo did not come out but I liked his expression and had to find a way to make it work. I think the result turned out well.

More old cars along old Route 66. These are looking for a new home.

Frank and his impressive V6 powered three wheeler which he built himself. He was parked on the side of the highway so I stopped to see if he needed a hand. No problems- he was just cold and paused to warm himself. That seemed a little strange since, though it was cool, it was not even close to what I would call cold. Frank went on to say that he could handle colder temperatures or hotter temperatures but cool temperatures like this would do him in.

Yes, that gas tank really is a beer keg! Extremely cool bike, Frank!

I didn't know it but I was in for a big surprise. I spent my earliest years in Edmond, Oklahoma but I never realized that we lived directly next to Route 66! The big road that passed in front of the trailer park was then, and still is, Route 66. The trailer park is gone now. I'm told a tornado finally got it a few years ago. So those frantic runs to the church basement really weren't for nothing. The land had been divided up and some of it is now a Wal-Mart which, strange as it may seem, looks like an improvement. The rest is still empty and for sale. The Dairy Queen, which was the place to be in 1970, is closed. My friends and I used to pull a wagon around the trailer park collecting bottles which we would return for the deposit money. Then we would take our pocketful of coins and go to the Dairy Queen to treat ourselves. I was such a small kid that I had to jump up and down to be seen over the counter!

The rest of Edmond looks like its doing very well. In fact, it's grown many times larger since those days. But there will be plenty of time for reminiscing when I return. It's getting late and there is just enough sunlight to get me to Sanger where I will meet my family. I turned south on I-35 and headed for Texas.

Another surprise! I didn't expect to see Steve and Heather here. They came up from their home in Austin. This is fantastic!

Me, my brother Steve and Mom's husband, Ron. And, no, the crutches are not from a motorcycle accident! ;-)

Steve, me, Steve's wife Heather and Mom.

Don't worry, Mom! It's absolutely safe. My last passenger is expected to make a (partially) complete recovery.