#4: The Blue Whale of Catoosa

I live three roads across from Route 66 and it’s still surreal two weeks on.  The possibility of raising a thumb and going full Kerouac only serves to remind me: I am relentlessly sensible.  The closest I’ve come so far is throwing lung cancer to the wind and jogging down Route 66 despite alternative routes with cleaner air.

With that in mind, it was high time to check-out "one of the most recognizable attractions on old Route 66", the Blue Whale of Catoosa.  

 

Date of creation: 1972

According to my family, I fear commitment.  I dispute their armchair diagnosis. It is however an empirical fact that none of my relationships have reached the year mark.  Yet even a commitment-phobe like myself can see that a 40-foot whale is a strange anniversary gift.

In keeping with her love of whale figurines, the site was built for Zelta Davis' anniversary.  Her husband later opened it up to the public despite originally intending it for the family alone.

Historical significance: 7

Karl Pilkington's visit rescues the site from a 0.

European-ness: 84

Turning a romantic gift over to the public seems somewhat European.  More importantly, this attraction does not deserve to be the Darius Vassell of Tulsa Top Trumps.

Cowboy hats: 0

No cowboys.  I did meet a Swiss man cycling from Chicago to Los Angeles.  That's 2448 miles in the middle of summer.

Collective consciousness: 13%

You at least have to leave your car to get to this one. 

Wokeness: 0

I'm fairly confident this is woke-neutral.

Overall

Anyone passing through Route 66 should thank Big Chocolate, Big Flower and Big Diamond for socially engineering an arms race in anniversary gifts.  Average attraction, great back story.

 

 

 Notes from an artist

Everything about this was rushed.  I botched the murky green of the pool and then took a terrible photo from the shade.  I called in some newly acquired friendship capital to get a lift out there and then sensed rising impatience five minutes in.  Shout out to my dot work on the foliage.

Watch out for a new technique suggested by a family elder:

"Dip brush into water and draw a line down the length of the page.  You now have a wet line.  Dip into any colour and brush down the exact line.  The colour will ‘bleach’ and give a blurred kind of effect."