#2: The Midland Valley Trail

The Midland Valley Trail may not register as an attraction to most Tulsans, but it reaches the minimal criterion of having a webpage dedicated to it.  Following the Golden Driller is no easy task so we better launch into the scores:

 

Date of creation: 1903

A contentious and deeply philosophical scoring, is there a continuous identity between the creation of the original railroad and the converted bike trail of today?  Invoking some silly theory about a ship changing planks, I’m going to say yes. 

Historical significance: 77

The original rail road moved coal from Hope, Arkansas to Wichita, Kansas.  Coal drives industry, industry raises living standards, and higher living standards allows for all the wishy-washy parts of history.  What it lacks in oral history, it more than makes up for in economic activity.

European-ness: 9.7

It’s a bike trail.

Cowboy hats: 0 

Alas, the cowboys were likely driven West when the railroad was built. 

Collective consciousness: 17% 

Quiet transport routes are not known for the shared experience.  Long stretches were spent alone.  But the visitors I did see smiled politely with their floppy hair and natural fibers. 

Wokeness: 0

The couples I saw on the trail radiated an awareness of social issues.  But the punters are not the tourist site.  The trail was woke-neutral as far as I could tell.

Overall

A nice bike trail given how close it is to downtown Tulsa.  The surrounding houses betrayed an affluence beyond that of my neighbourhood.  I'm now intrigued by the bike trail my friend warned against using because it "goes through some not nice parts of town".

Notes from an artist

The card’s image is the Tulsa skyline as seen from the Midland Valley Trail.  I abandoned my commitment to form and focused on colour.  Unfortunately I haven’t worked out how not to cross contaminate colours.  You could place this work in a primary school show and no-one would bat an eyelid.  More YouTube viewing beckons.