Said my goodbyes to the Taylors after eating a lovely eggs and bacon breakfast (thanks Jennifer). The biscuit and gravy can wait for when you guys come to London.
First stop was the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a tribute to the 168 victims of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing of 1995. It was so peaceful there. They have a chair for each person that lost their life – smaller chairs for the children that died. Bizarre to think that before 9/11 this was the worst act of terrorism on US soil in its history – by an American who was anti-government.
I got lost quite a bit again today. The signposts I had gotten used to in Illinois and Missouri had disappeared – or rather, they had become less frequent. However, again there was some fantastic driving on the Route 66 to be had – and I made sure that I took advantage of it (tons of dirt roads, windy countryside driving etc. around El Reno and Hydro).
My next stop was the Thomas P. Stafford Space Museum in Weatherford ($7 entry). They had some nice bits and pieces from his travels and lots of examples of warplanes and even actual rock from the moon.
Although I am not a massive fan of museums, I did visit three today and glad I did. Two Route 66 ones came on route in Clinton and Elk City. Both great in their own ways (I did prefer the Clinton one though). I did buy a few things there and had an idea to change our guest bedroom into a Route 66 memorabilia room – or rather to show memorabilia from 1950’s and 1960’s USA. Let’s see what Sandy thinks of that.
I was really beginning to lose time. At 15h30 I was still some 170 miles away from Amarillo with so much still to do. I decided that the only way was to drive on the I-40 West for a while to make up some time (I did miss the quietness of Route 66 though).
After brief stops in Sayre and Texola, I entered Texas and stopped in McLean. Real shame that the Devil’s Rope museum was closed. Yes, a real shame. It’s a museum dedicated to barbed wire. You heard me right…barbed wire!
I then sped on the dirt roads, got lost a lot and found a massive cross of Christ and a sight dedicated to Jesus and his life. The woman in the gift-shop asked me if I wanted to write a prayer in their prayer book – I did for my dad and family. People are very religious in these parts. There’s almost a different church every mile, the radio is full of preaching and people truly believe in god. They also have true values (family, how to live life and be a good citizen).
Then to my final stop for the night in Amarillo – The Big Texan Motel ($69). Apparently you can order a 72-ounce steak here, and it’s free if eaten within one hour. Sounds easy? You have to eat all the side dished that come with it as well!
The landscape changed a lot throughout today. We went from hilly meadows to cracked red earth to flat grazing countryside. The smells have also increased, as these cows love to let out some gas. Weather wise, it’s perfect. It was around 80 but then got up to 91 before Texas and then came down to around 75 – blue skies all the way though. Not a cloud in sight. I just loved those rough and red dirt roads though.
Today I traveled about 280 miles. It takes me up to about 1,250 miles so far. Tomorrow I will travel to Santa Fe in New Mexico. I cannot wait for this. I hear that you can see the stars in the sky so bright that you can almost touch them. It will be a long drive so no sleep in tomorrow.
One final thing about road etiquette. If you arrive at a 4-way stop junction, the car that got there first goes first and then the second one goes etc. I don’t take any chances though so I just wait and wait and then finally go when I know for sure I have been waiting longest. Oh, just make sure it’s not a 4-way junction where passing cars don’t stop – that’s another ball game entirely.
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