RonnieAdventure #0712 - Chickasha to Norman, Oklahoma

When Tim Elliot wanted to build a 40-foot-tall Lady Leg Lamp statue on a 10-foot-tall pedestal in his small town of Chickasha, Oklahoma (population 16,231), people in the community began to wonder if Tim was feeling well.

Tim had seen a Lady Leg Lamp in the 1983 classic movie "A Christmas Story" and was certain that if the community built a large Leg Lamp as a tourist attraction, people would come to their community just to see the lamp. It turned out that Elliot was right. People now come from around the world to see the famous Lady Leg Lamp statue in Chickasha, Oklahoma. 

I did not see the lamp after dark, but I understand it is quite spectacular at night.

Web Picture by Johnny Trammell

Located just across the street is the Chickasha Train Depot, along with several other historical buildings and train cars. There is a nice mural painted on the side of one building.

Pauls Valley (Population 5,992) is home to one of the most unusual, and probably one of the world's largest, museums of toy action figures. With over 25,000 action figures, the museum is listed as one of Time Magazine's "Top 50 Most Authentic American Experiences." The museum fills a complete building that had once been a grocery store. 

When I stopped for a visit, the owner was at the front desk, and we had a great visit. Although I'm too old to have played with or collected action figures, this was an interesting stop. 

Just down the street was the Pauls Valley Santa Fe Depot Museum. The museum was closed, but an old locomotive was on display. 

Purcell (population 6,651) is known for two things: the "Quarterhorse Capital of the World" and the site of the September 30, 1893, Inter-Territory Statehood Convention, where the territories formulated and sent to Congress a resolution seeking admission to the Union as one state. On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the Union. A Convention monument has been placed on the courthouse lawn. Near the Convention monument, a time capsule was buried on the courthouse lawn on August 15, 2012, to be opened on August 15, 2037.

 

Noble (population 6,985) is known as the Rose Rock Capital of the World. The area's high concentration of barium sulfate in the soil is believed to be the highest in the world, causing the formation of rose rocks. I entered the museum's address into my GPS, but the directions led me to Smokin' Joe's BBQ Rib Ranch Restaurant. I did not find the museum, but I did notice lettering on the town's water tower that confirmed Noble was the "Rose Rock Capital of the World."

Norman (population 128,026) is the third-most populous city in Oklahoma and home of the University of Oklahoma "Sooners" football team. There are many famous people from Norman, but probably the best known is actor James Garner, who starred in the television series Maverick and The Rockford Files. Tourist literature said there was a 10-foot-tall statue of Garner in a downtown plaza, but once again, my GPS took me to the wrong location. I found a 10-foot-tall statue of an Indian warrior, but no Garner. Fortunately, I remembered reading that the statue was next to the railroad depot museum, so my GPS led me to the depot and the statue of Garner.