The Catoosa Blue Whale
Posted by: 
TravisGood
N 36° 11.600 W 095° 43.967
15S E 254275 N 4008854
A quaint swimming hole along Route 66 in Catoosa, OK.
Waymark Code: WM1A7C
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/12/2007
Views: 130
Back before there was air conditioning and back before there were outdoor swimming pools there were swimming holes. If you were driving down Route 66 in the summer's heat and really needed to get out of the car, cool off, and have some fun then the Blue Whale was a great stop! Imagine the fun kids must have had climbing onto the whale and sliding into the cool water. This swimming hole is a tremendous throwback to a lost era.
Thankfully it's not a dilapidated attraction. Matter of fact, I was shocked to see what good condition the swimming hole was in. The paint on the whale looked fresh. The park fixtures looked to be in good condition. The banks of the pond were well maintained. I was impressed. I wanted to learn how this was possible.
The answer lies in the efforts of "The Route 66 Caravan" in 2002. This road trip was sponsored by the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation. It spent 66 days driving from Santa Monica to Chicago while along the way planting "Featured Attraction" signs and performing restorations. The Blue Whale was one of their projects. See the link below for more details.
There are few Route 66 images from my childhood that stand out as much as the Blue Whale of Catoosa. While it may sound funny for a grown man to admit it, I was thrilled to actually see it, and in such fine condition! There are places along Route 66 that can transport you back in time and this is one of the best. Very much worth visiting.