On Saturday afternoon, we stopped by the Blue Whale near Catoosa, Okla., to see Santa Claus make an appearance at that famous historic site on Route 66.
After a Christmas lightning ceremony last week, Catoosa volunteers are still taking advantage of the Yuletide season to bring a little holiday cheer and raise money for the Blue Whale for future maintenance.
For a donation of $5, a photographer can take a picture of you with Santa on a comfy bench, with the Blue Whale in the background. The photo is e-mailed to your account. In the brief time we were there Saturday, we saw parents with children taking advantage of that opportunity with that little red elf.
Volunteers also opened the Blue Whale’s souvenir stand. In addition to coffee or hot chocolate to ward off the cold wind, they sold a number of items that would be of interest to Route 66ers or Blue Whale fans.
First, they’re selling recently published postcards …
… along with vintage postcards from the early 1970s, when the Davis family still ran the Blue Whale as a popular swimming hole.
The stand also sells POPS’ Catoosa Cream Soda (by the bottle or six-pack) and Blue Whale drinking water.
Also offered were specially made Christmas ornaments.
And, while we were there, volunteers sold freshly made Blue Whale soft sugar cookies with blue icing on the top and a blue candy piece for the eye. Delicious.
Santa and the volunteers will be at the Blue Whale from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 11, and Dec. 12. Remember, everything you buy there goes for upkeep on the lovable blue behemoth.
(For more photos from the event, see Red Fork Hippie’s blog post.)
My son, Hunter, just LOVED the Blue Whale. He kept wanting to jump in the water.
I’m glad to see it being further developed. I hope the whole compound can be reopened.
I was there about 2 months ago, they told me they were going to light up the whale, but I haven’t been able to come check it out yet. I hope more work can be done to the site in the future.
I gotta, gotta, gotta get me one of those ornaments. They look to be a cut above the usual sort of ornament found at such a site, and they benefit the whale – win-win. I bet some folks out there have Christmas trees decorated with only Route 66 ornaments.