The Rock Creek Bridge

The section of the Ozark Trail west of Sapulpa was easy to find. It was only about 100 yards east of the intersection of Highways 33 and 66. The Ozark Trail section is 3 ½ miles of original portland cement roadway that had been laid in the mid to early 1920s. Sometime in the past 40 years it had been covered with a thin overlay of asphalt.



The railroad trestle on the right is also circa 1924.



And, at the east end a bonus! The old, abandoned Tee Pee Drive In!





And, of course, the brick road bed of Rock Creek Bridge.







No time for more photos. I had to push on to Langston or it would get dark on me again.


ON TO LANGSTON

OK33 was recently rerouted and widened to bypass Langston and Coyle so the drive east to Langston was straight, smooth and boring; especially after getting to ride nearly 5 miles of the original Ozark Trail today.

It was Sunday afternoon in Langston and the only thing open was the same place that had told me to just ride around town until I found the obelisk. So I did.

From one end of the town to the other I rode. From one street to the next I searched. No luck. Finally, sitting on the west end of town, I realized old OK33 swung north as soon as it hit the city limits. So, emulating what I had done earlier in Davenport, I stayed straight, on to Washington Street and in a couple of blocks I could see the 21 foot tall concrete obelisk dead ahead.



It’s in town at the unpaved intersection of Washington and Logan Streets. Though it’s missing its lights and paint, it’s still in good condition. This particular marker is also on the Indian Meridian, the pre statehood line that ran North to South and divided Indian lands from the Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma. Thus, it became one of the boundary lines from which thousands made the Land Run of 1889.



According to the plaque on the marker, even when this route became a part of the Ozark Trail it was already the main road between Guthrie and Stillwater.

I’ve since learned efforts are underway in Logan County to pave the intersection and to take steps to preserve this landmark. Hopefully the folks in Lincoln County will take similar steps to protect the Stroud marker.


WHAT I LEARNED

Prior to 1956, roads connected communities. After the National Interstate and Defense Highway Act of 1956, roads bypassed communities. I’m beginning to believe the romance of Route 66 comes out of a longing to reconnect with one another. And isn’t that what we’re doing here on advrider.com? Connecting with one another?

WHERE NEXT?

The Mecca for the Ozark Trail is Monte Ne, the resort built by Ozark Trail champion William “Coin” Harvey. The ruins, near Rogers, would require an overnight trip but the GF will be out of town for a weekend soon and . . .