a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

Dear Henry, One of the coolest things about living in Oklahoma is that I am in a "Route 66 State," and I now have (somewhat) easier access to what is probably the ultimate piece of Americana. I was especially tickled to learn that the apartment is close (20 Minutes!) to one of its most famous landmarks, the Blue Whale of Catoosa.   The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built in the early 1970s by Hugh Davis as an anniversary present for his wife Zelta, who loved whales and collected figures of them.  The pond surrounding the whale was spring-fed, and the whole affair was initially intended to be a private family swimming hole.   Instead, it drew crowds, both local and Route 66 travelers (I suspect it was the giant blue whale).  Rather than shutting it down or building a fence, Mr. Davis turned it into a commercial venture and brought in sand, lifeguards, and picnic tables.  During its heyday, the site also had an A.R.K. (Animal Reptile Kingdom) and an artist's...

Dear Henry, Ziggy and I took advantage of the warm fall weather and we stopped by the OK-KS-MO Tri-State Monument. There, we stretched our legs into three states and got acquainted with all of the complexities it took to establish these boundaries. This area had been surveyed, several times, starting with the Spanish explorations and continuing through New Frances explorations. After the Louisiana Purchase and its acquisition by the new American government, it would be surveyed several times again.  This process would continue throughout the Civil War, until 1907, when Oklahoma finally became a state.  There are several reasons for this.   The boundaries of Missouri was established early, the state was founded in 1821 and the state had long been used as a "dividing line".   Kansas and Oklahoma took longer to establish and the borders were quite fluid. Kansas was a "Free" territory and, like Oklahoma (which wasn't a free territory), contained native peo...

Dear Henry, On December 31, 2019, I had plans. Serious plans. 2020 was going to be *the* year where everything came together. I was sure the year was going to be fabulous and had looked forward to a time that we (as people) recreated the hope and life of the 1920s merged with all of the knowledge we have gleaned over the last 100 years. I was even looking forward to the re-emergence of the flapper sheath dress (a look I can pull off very well) and a neo-Art Deco movement. I'm not sure why I was so sure that the rest of the world was going to go along with these plans, but I was. I also had big personal plans as well. This was supposed to be *my* year. The year my photography and blogs ( www.takethebackroads.com , www.riteoffancy.com , and www.everydaypatriot.com ) were finally *noticed*. Finally, I was going to have regular readers and would be writing for real people (versus writing for the nonbeings in the ether). Perhaps, I would gain enough of a following to get a bit of publi...