Hinton - Elk City

Friday, Oct. 12, Hinton - Elk City, 65 mi.

towns along the way: Bridgeport, Hydro, Weatherford, Clinton, Foss

It was warm, between 65 an 70, and raining lightly as we left the hotel, and after listening to several weather forecasts we weren’t sure what to believe. By mile 5 the rain had stopped and it was quite pleasant.

Lucille Hamons (1915-2000), was the proprietress of a gas station and tourist court business at Provine, a highway junction just south of Hydro, OK. Lucille ran what eventually came to be known simply as “Lucille’s” for nearly 60 years, beginning in 1941.

In Weatherford we passed by the Thomas P. Stafford Museum, an astronaut who is from Weatherford. As the weather was still “iffy”, I didn’t take time to go in.

Stafford museum

Also in Weatherford I saw a Braum’s dairy store, so of course I had to stop for ice cream. I had a single scoop of peppermint ice cream - yum!

When I made the turn in the road on the way to Clinton, the temperature dropped 20 degrees! I knew there was going to be a weather change, but the skies didn’t look threatening.

It did start to rain about twenty minutes later, a real misty, almost sleety rain. I stopped to put on my arm warmers and socks. I kept moving to stay warm, and pretty soon it stopped. 

In Canute I took a picture of a couple of old motels.

Tomorrow we enter Texas!

Edmond - Hinton

Thursday, Oct. 11, Edmond - Hinton, 62 mi.

towns along the way: Oklahoma City, Yukon, El Reno, Bridgeport, Hydro, Weatherford, Clinton, Foss.

I did not sleep well at all. Headache, knee-ache, eyes wide awake. I know I must have slept some, but it sure didn’t feel like it. I kept thinking about how stressful it was going to be to ride through Oklahoma City during rush hour.

I told Becky to go ahead, that I would ride by myself. Then I saw Judy and asked her if she could give me a lift across town. She said of course. We left around 9:15, we did grocery shopping, she drove me past the Memorial Site of the Oklahoma City Bombing, then dropped me off along the Route 66 route a few miles east of Yukon.

Saw the Yukon Motel, now the Western Motel, and took a picture of it.

Western Motel

Stopped at Braum’s Dairy and had a scoop of peppermint ice cream - yum. As I was eating my ice cream I looked down the street and saw the grain elevators.

A few miles down the busy highway the road veered to the right and ran through El Reno.

Snapped a picture of Sid’s Diner, and a couple of murals. On the way out of town I saw the first mileage sign for Amarillo!

Sid’s Diner

A few miles from Hinton I crossed the Pony Truss Bridge. No fewer than 38 spans. The bridge’s span over the South Canadian River is almost 4,000 feet, and the deck was opened to traffic in 1933. It is also one of the landmarks in John Ford’s 1940 film “The Grapes of Wrath.” Why so many spans? Each of these spans is as large as the highway department’s early equipment could lift into place.

Pony Truss Bridge

Our home for the night, the Travel Inn in Hinton, provides supper for all guests, and it was very good. Fried chicken or pork chops, broccoli & cheese, mashed potatoes & gravy, salad, biscuits, peach cobbler.

Today was a VERY WINDY day, and even though I only did 46 miles, I was REALLY tired and hungry when I came dragging in at 4:30. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight, as we have a 64-mile day tomorrow to Elk City.

Bristow - Edmond

Wednesday, Oct. 10, Bristow - Edmond, 76 mi.

towns along the way: Depew, Stroud, Davenport, Chandler, Warwick, Wellston, Luther, Arcadia, Guthrie.

Started out with Becky. No breakfast at the motel, so we loaded our bags and rode about a mile to McDonalds. Gerry rode with us from there. I stopped at Depew, and Gerry and Becky rode on and I never caught up with them. That’s okay, I enjoy riding by myself.

In Stroud I stopped and took a picture of the Rock Cafe, a restaurant dating from 1939 and constructed from native stone unearthed during the excavation and paving of Route 66 through the area.

In Davenport I stopped at Gar Wooly’s Food-N-Fun. I talked to the lady at the front desk for a little while. 

Gar Wooly’s

Stopped in Chandler to take a picture of the Lincoln Motel. Asked the lady in the office for directions to the Museum of Pioneer History.

Lincoln Motel

Went into the Museum of Pioneer History and looked around. They were having a fund-raising lunch there, ham & beans and cornbread for $5, and they invited me, but I decided to eat my sandwich.

Phillips 66

Moved on down the road to Warwick where I took a picture of the Seaba Station. During the Route 66 days it served as a NevrNox gas station and as an engine-building shop, and named for it’s owner, John Seaba.

Seaba Station

Rode through Wellston, and it was all neighborhoods, no downtown area.

Stopped in Ardadia at POPS, a gas station and soda fountain that opened in the summer of 2007 to considerable fanfare. About 400 varieties of soft drinks are available, and the building is set off by a 66-foot tall tower in the shape of a pop bottle, which illuminates at night. 

pops

rock house remnant along highway

Stopped at the Round Barn, built in 1898. I’ve seen a round barn in Michigan, but this one is quite a bit bigger. I think the man said it was 60’ diameter and 40’ high.

round barn

It was pretty hilly today, lots of "rollers?"

Miles to motel were about 67, then Becky, Charlie & I rode to a bike shop, which added 9 more miles to our day. I needed to replace my bike mirror, which broke when I was going through Tulsa.

Claremore - Bristow

Tuesday, Oct. 9, Claremore - Bristow, 64 mi.

towns along the way: Oologah, Verdigris, Catoosa, Tulsa, Red Fork, Oakhurst, Bowden, Sapulpa, Kellyville.

Got an early start this morning, as rather gusty winds from the S/SW were in the forecast, also it was our turn to prepare social hour, and we wanted to arrive in Bristow in time.

First stop down the road 10 miles was Catoosa, to look at the big Blue Whale. The whale sits at the edge of a pond with several picnic tables nearby. Back in the day, Route 66 motorists in the mood for a swim could enter the whale’s mouth, and from there make a splash into the pond either by diving from the whale’s tail fin, or by sliding down a shute on one side. 

Going through Tulsa the traffic was rather heavy. We did see a few of the points of interest. 

Meadow Gold

Tally’s Good Food Cafe

Oil was discovered in Red Fork in 1901, an event which led to a boom period for Tulsa and the rest of the area. At the Route 66 Transportation Village is a 154-foot oil derrick replica , a 1941 Frisco 4500 steam locomotive, a Pullman car, a caboose, and interpretive displays.

I stopped in Sapulpa for some lunch. Had a good hamburger at Fat Charlies.

Tomorrow is another long day, 68 miles, to Edmond. A tailwind is predicted instead of a headwind, though!

rest day in Claremore

Monday, Oct. 8, rest day

   I was not feeling well, so I had a quiet day. After breakfast I did laundry. While the laundry was washing I walked to the convenience store and bought some orange juice. Hung up my laundry, then went to the restaurant next door and had a bowl of carrot soup - very good. I walked the other direction in search of an ATM, and found one at Walmart. While there, I found some nice polarfleece shirts for $9, so I bought two, one red, and the other neon green.

Got back to the room around 1:30, did a little computer work, watched a little TV, and tried to take a nap (with no success).

   Didn’t feel like going out for dinner, but Becky brought me back a side salad from the restaurant she went to.

Afton - Claremore

Sunday, Oct. 7, Afton - Claremore, 55 mi.

towns along the way: Vinita, White Oak, Chelsea, Busyhead, Foyil, Sequoyah.

Very cold this morning, just above freezing. Snapped a picture of the Afton water tower.

Afton water tower

   

Also took a picture of Clanton’s Cafe, Oklahoma’s oldest family-owned and operated restaurant since 1927.

Clanton’s Cafe

   

Had my mouth all set for some ice cream for the Top Hat Dairy Bar, but they were closed for the season.

Top Hat Dairy Bar

On the way into Claremore we saw this old motel and took a picture of it. 

Carthage MO - Afton, OK

Saturday, Oct. 6, Carthage MO - Afton OK, 61 mi.

towns along the way: MO - Brooklyn Heights, Carterville, Webb City, Joplin; KS - Galena, Riverton, Baxter Springs; OK - Quapaw, Commerce, Clyde, Miami, Narcissa.

   Becky and I walked to McDonald’s for breakfast, as the hotel just had continental breakfast.

   In Joplin we saw a giant Coke bottle and a giant crayon, but we didn’t stop to take pictures.

   Gerry joined us, and in Galena we found a nice coffee shop. Gerry and I each had a cinnamon roll and coffee. I took a picture of the mural on the inside wall.

Galena mural in coffee shop

   In Riverton we saw the Marsh Arch Rainbow Bridge, a single-span concrete bridge over Brush Creek.  It was designed by James Barney Marsh, and several of these bridges, constructed in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s remain and are listed in the National /register of Historic Places.

bridge

   

In Baxter Springs we stopped at the Phillips 66 gas station, which has been restored and now houses a Visitor Center.

Phillips 66 gas station

   In Quapaw, OK, we stopped at Hemi’s to take a break. Gerry had a cup of coffee, and I had a corn dog (not a very good one)

Hemi’s

   

After that Becky and Gerry got way ahead of me and I rode the last 20 miles by myself. It was a good thing, actually, as I was growing weary of pushing myself to keep up with them, and really enjoyed going my own comfortable pace and looking at the surroundings. I think I will ride by myself tomorrow, maybe I’ll see more points of interest.

Took a picture in Commerce

   Arrived at the hotel about 3:30. Had a steak dinner at the restaurant next door to the hotel after happy hour. On to Claremore tomorrow, and a rest day on Monday at the Will Rogers Best Western Inn.