Day 20: Gore, OK to Keystone Lake, OK (115.7 miles, 1517.0 total, 36.1 mph max)
I never thought we'd even break 50 miles today. It was supposed to storm all day. It did, but we missed it all! Not a drop. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same story.
Today felt great. The hills were mild and we're getting into Indian territory. There are signs all over like, "Joe Byrd for Chief," or "Dan Whatever for Tribal Council."
We went through Tulsa via interstate. Pretty scary, I must say. It was totally illegal, but cops just drove right past. We made it to Keystone Lake. We're doing better every day. We both wake up grumpy and bitter but by the time we're camping it's just hanging out, laughing.
Day 21: Keystone Lake, OK to Perry, OK (76.4 miles, 1593.4 total, 39.3 mph max)
Arggh! Motel again. We did make it to Perry, OK, though. It was an interesting day. Pawnee, OK is a cool Indian town. We went to the Pawnee Bill Museum. He had a wild west show back in the day. We also got to go to a buffalo auction.
No rain all day again, but 90% chance of severe T-storms tonight. So, the Dan-D Motel was only 20 bucks. Sleezy, but it has a roof.
The hills are coming back. It was beautiful country today -- reminded me of "Dances with Wolves."
I like Oklahoma. I wish we had better weather, tough. Five more days to New Mexico and the Mountain Time Zone. Then the hills will really hit us.
We've conquered the Appalachians and the Plains. Just the Rockies and the desert left. Half way there! How exciting!
Our bikes are really doing well. Lucky, because there is no bike shop for a couple weeks. Las Vegas, we're guessing.
Day 22: Perry, OK to Enid, OK (41.0 miles, 1634.4 total, 30.6 mph max)
Well, today certainly took a lot of turns.Woke up to a torrential downpour and hung out in Perry until 2 pm. We did some Perry-seeing: Antique shops, pawn shop, Post Office. We were interviewed for the Perry Daily Journal and got a tour of the town by the County Courthouse Maintenance Man in his pickup. What class!
Well, it cleared up around 1 and we split by 2.
There was no rain on the road and we got to Enid by 5:15. A guy who worked at KFC offered to let us stay at his apartment. No thanks, weirdo! (I recall being creeped out by the guy, or else I'm sure we'd have taken him up on his offer.)
We heard tornadoes and thunderstorms in the forecast, so we're in the Trail Motel. $30 isn't bad but we're low in funds already. Fought with Chris today. We needed it.
I had forgotten about all the rain in Oklahoma until now. We spent half a day in a gazebo in Perry, OK escaping the rain. The weather was terrible, and not being from the Midwest, Chris and I were constantly unnerved about tornadoes. Even when it wasn't raining on us, we were able to see an enormous, intimidating sky all around us. Storm clouds a dozen miles away appeared to be chasing us.
The dynamics that Chris and I were enduring are well articulated here. We woke up groggy and sore from long hours riding. Seeping together in a small tent night after night was wearing on us. I recall not talking much in the morning, like a couple of teen-aged girls, until we got some food for breakfast. By then, we were both coming out of our shells. Then, what we were seeing throughout the day got us excited. By the evenings, the accumulation of the day's experiences gave us plenty to chat and laugh about around dinner and a campfire. This trip would be difficult for any two people, and from what I read in other accounts, it's surprising that we didn't split at some point and each ride alone. Our daily crescendos suited us well.
Soon we'd be in the Southwest, which would be the most profound portion of the trip (at least for me). Foreshadowing was coming at us in the form of contemporary Native American culture and the buffalo auction. This scratched the surface but we had no idea what would lie ahead.
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| We made it to Arkansas! We took photos like this at every state border, but for some reason I can't locate them all. |
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| The article from the Perry, OK newspaper. I like to think of this as being analogous to "Washington Slept Here," but some may disagree. |
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| This is not intended to be a photograph of what I looked like in 1995. Rather, check out that sky and the grin. |
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| The scene in the hills -- somewhere in the western foothills of the Appalachains. |
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| This could be anywhere in the middle of the country -- TN, AR, OK, or NM. |
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