1 August 2010

We took our time leaving Bixby--we had a leisurely breakfast with Mike & Janie, slowly got our gear together, and packed the bikes. Not only were we reluctant to leave a lovely air-conditioned house and subject ourselves to the heat and humidity of the central Oklahoma summer; the real reason was that the Oklahoma City Memorial museum bookstore (where the stamp was) didn't open until 1300, so there was no reason to get there sooner.

Despite our reluctance to use tollways, it was suggested by more than one person that the OK turnpike was the quickest way to get to Oklahoma City. I'm not sure that's true, the GPS that was set to avoid toll roads showed an earlier arrival time than the other; we took the tollway anyway, and maybe $4 is a bargain to drive 75+ for all those miles.

Whatever, it was well after 1 by the time we got the bikes parked and found the museum, having walked past the new Federal Building on the way. The memorial is another of those places that can touch you on a deep level when you stop and think about what happened there.



Back into the riding suits and west again on I-40 for some more miserable hours, heading for our next stamp. As we rode, I asked the gps for the closest lodging to that stamp; it said "21 miles." So I asked for the next lodging on the route, having picked the NP after that, and it said "75 miles." Neither an attractive option, as our projected arrival at the next was 1610. Hate to go back, or far off the trail for lodging.

Finally, we turned off I-40 onto a road that made me much happier--two lane, little traffic, still a 65 mph speed limit, gentle hilly curves, and gorgeous scenery. (Turns out we were riding through a National Grassland.) Finally, we came through Cheyenne, where I saw a little grocery store and two motels. Yay!

A couple of miles out is the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, a place I gave short shrift to a couple of years ago on another trip. The three year old visitor center has some huge picture windows looking over the site of another one of our earlier interactions with Native Americans; not our finest hour.



The rangers all agreed that the lodging in Cheyenne was perfectly acceptable, and both motels probably had wi-fi; so after we'd cooled down a bit, we headed over to the Cheyenne Motel, where a sign in the lobby said "Ask about our DSL..."  Not the cheapest place we've stayed, but groceries within a reasonable walk, and excellent air conditioning.

State: Oklahoma

next
home