Oklahoma Highways

US Highway 66, the legendary route from Chicago to Santa Monica went through 8 states, and was a major route to the west coast from the Midwest and points east. It entered Oklahoma in the far northeast part of the state after just a few short miles in Kansas. It paralleled the current Will Rogers Turnpike (I-44) to Tulsa; the Turner Turnpike (I-44) from Tulsa to Oklahoma City; and I-40 west to the Texas Panhandle. This road has special memories for me, as my maternal Grandparents lived three blocks off of Route 66 in the OKC suburb of Bethany, where the highway was on NW 39th Expressway. For a short time during my childhood, I lived in a house whose backyard was on a hill overlooking Route 66 in Cucamonga (now Rancho Cucamonga), California, where it was Foothill Boulevard.

During the 1990s, I spent two-and-a-half years living in Tulsa, where "The Mother Road" had taken several alignments during its time as a US Highway. Today, the old highway is Oklahoma 66, but is marked with historic US 66 signs in many places. This most well known historic route is on 11th Street, but further north and closer to Tulsa International Airport is the alignment from 1926-1932, as indicated by this sign.

On the newer alignment (11th Street) near the University of Tulsa campus, I found the marker below in the pavement. It isn't all that old from what I could tell, but it is well worn.


Get your kicks on Route 66!


In the last year or so, Oklahoma has begun replacing its state highway shields with a new design. The old one was a simple white circle with black numerals. The new one features an outline map of the Sooner State with the route number below the map. While it is nicer looking than the old design, I think they could have done better than this.

This photo is an oversized reassurance shield for OK 11, a partial loop on the north side of Tulsa that is a main route to and from the Airport. Ultimately, the old design will be totally switched out with the new one statewide.

Oklahoma is the land of turnpikes, and nearly every major route in and out of Tulsa is a tolled road. One bypass route on the south and east side is the Creek Turnpike. This highway used to extend from US 75 near Jenks to S. Memorial Drive, but now connects the Turner Turnpike south of the city to the Will Rogers Turnpike on the northeast side. This photo shows the entrance to the Creek off of Memorial northbound.



Below is a close up from the above photo. I lightened it up a little to make the Creek Turnpike shield more visible.

It also happens that Oklahoma is the first place I ever saw electronic toll transponders, those devices that let you zip through special lanes equipped with readers that automatically charge you the toll. Oklahoma's version is called Pikepass, and I actually had one when I lived there. In Houston, they are called EZ-Tag, and in the Denver area, ExpressToll. Maybe someday they will be interoperational between jurisdictions, but so far this type of capability is very limited.

I do know that Dallas and Houston have an agreement to let their transponder customers use them on each other's toll facilities. I also saw in Houston last month that the EZ-Tag can also automatically be charged for parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. What a novel idea!

Even More From Houston

Caroline Street in the Downtown Historic District

Let's take a look at a few more photos I took a couple of weeks ago during my visit back to Houston. This is a photo that shows a couple of things about how downtown has been coming back to life. First take a look at the street sign. As I have mentioned in earlier postings, Houston's various neighborhoods have been going to their own unique style of street signage. The type you see here is used in most of downtown, but vary the wording to denote Historic District, Theater District, etc. This photo also shows two styles of street lights that have been installed in the area, both with an older and more elegant look than the former ones, which were strictly utilitarian. Here we see a lower, single light on a pole, as well as a double overhanging light. There were also quite a few of these banners you see in the picture hanging around the area. These are obviously inspired by the Lone Star state flag of Texas.


Crosswalk arches in Uptown Houston

The next picture show the shiny arches that mark the location of crosswalks along Post Oak Road in the Uptown District. You can also see a second, distant set further down the road. These arches soar above pedestrian crosswalks, and match the shiny chrome-colored street lights, traffic signal masts, and the large circular street signs I have previously posted pictures of.


Houston's City Hall at night

My last night in Houston, I went out to get a few photos of the buildings downtown lit up. Much to my disappointment and puzzlement, the city was not lit very well that evening. Therefore, I got few usable pictures. It was actually quite eerie. Still I will share a couple here. The photo above is Houston's City Hall, built in 1938-1939. Similar city halls abound around this part of the country, all of about the same vintage. I am sure that when it opened, it was a grand building, but it is now diminutive by comparison. It is surrounded by soaring skyscrapers on three sides, along with the Houston Main Library. The building faces a reflecting pool and small park to its east side (shown here), and the west face is visible in front of the skyline if you are west of Downtown. Compared to Denver's grand city and county building, it seems amazing that this modest structure is the seat of government for the nation's fourth largest metropolis, until you realize that most city functions are housed at over 500 other buildings and annexes. Still, it is an icon of city government, and the place where many municipal ceremonies are held.


Houston's nighttime skyline - Click for a larger view

Like I have already mentioned, the city was not well lit that night, and I had the further frustration of not having a tripod with me. Still, this photo, while not the best, is acceptable. I used my sister's shoulder for a tripod as we stopped to the side of Memorial Drive approaching Downtown to get this view. The lights from the cars in the foreground are westbound traffic on Allen Parkway, on the other side of Buffalo Bayou from my vantage point. I suggest clicking the photo to get a better view.

A Saturday Drive

Colorful Colorado Wildflowers - Click to see large version

Yesterday, my wife and I took a short drive down to Elizabeth, Colorado in Elbert County. It was an absolutely beautiful day, albeit a bit cool for June, but that's how it can be here in the Centennial State. Our intention was to go to the Elizabeth Stampede, a rodeo held there. Once we arrived, we decided not to go in to the rodeo, but instead to just enjoy a walk and drive. I guess I am just not one who likes to be in crowds.

In any case, one thing that was very enjoyable was the abundance of wildflowers in bloom. In many parts of the country, it is past the time when wildflower blooms are at their peak, but since we have a fairly short warm season, it is still cool enough that the flowers are out. The picture above is too small to really take in the color, so I suggest that you click on it to see a larger version.

The sad story behind this picture is that we took this particular route home because Colorado 86 was shut down by a very bad accident just a couple of miles or so east of Franktown. We had to veer off the main highway and down some country backroads to get around the wreck. Where the police had the highway closed was a few hundred feet from the accident site, and it was so bad that the fire department and a Life-Flight helicopter was on the highway. I hope that whoever was involved is doing okay.

The sign in the photo below was unusual. This was taken in a parking area for the Elizabeth Stampede. I think it must be for the cowboy who was thrown off of a raging bull or bucking bronco one too many times. I have never seen a sign with the universal handicap symbol wearing a cowboy hat before.

A WildBlue Sign

WildBlue on the Highway - Photo courtesy of Michael T. Williamson

The Internet touches our lives in many ways, and over the last decade it has become ever more integrated with our daily activities. Here is yet another way, one that I had never thought about until I saw this photograph, which also fits in very well with the road geekiness of this blog.

This is a picture taken by Michael T. Williamson, who works for the same company as I, but who lives in the great state of Washington. Michael shot this interesting picture in a remote area in the southeastern part of that beautiful state. At first glance, we see a standard Variable Message Sign (VMS) installed along the highway. Upon closer inspection, there is a small satellite reflector antenna attached to the top right of the sign.

That antenna happens to be an installation for service from WildBlue, a satellite-based Internet service sold to customers in remote areas who cannot get other terrestrial broadband options such as cable or DSL. WildBlue is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a Denver suburb that is not far from where I live and work. As a matter of fact, my employer resells WildBlue service under a combined brand. Therefore, this picture was of double interest to me.

It is apparent that the sign's message must get updated over the Internet. It makes me wonder how long it will be before someone hacks into the signs and has them display a message not sanctioned by the Washington Department of Transportation. The photo also gives us a sense of direction. Since it has to point toward the southern sky, this view is looking primarily in a westward direction.

I also notice the guardrail between the sign and the highway's lanes of traffic. I guess they wanted to try to prevent a wayward car or truck from taking out this VMS (which is certainly not cheap to purchase or install).

This is a great catch, Michael. Thanks for letting me share it with other road geeks out there.