Thurs 10/6/2016
Tulsa OK to Tucumcari NM
~477  miles

Normally an early riser due to either my nature or a dog snout in my face, I slept luxuriously late in that comfy hotel bed, finally stirring around 09:45. I now had two days to make it to Sedona and no clock to beat…all the time in the world!

Got some hotel coffee and breakfast and brought back to the room to plan out my route for the day. I was sick of the interstate and decided to find some local highway routes to take instead. That would allow me to make some miles, but enjoy a slightly better and more local vibe (and less traffic hopefully) than the interstate system.

Left the hotel around midday. I took some local roads from the hotel to get to 33, to sample the flavor of the Tulsa area and force myself to start relaxing the pace – it’s tough after a long run on the clock like yesterday to not feel like you have to move move move. It was nice to just cruise through some residential streets and look around.

Rode along the shore of Lake Sahoma:

Water level was really low, reminded me of the drought we’ve had up in the northeast this year. Probably more common down here though.

I soon found myself in the town of Drumright OK and a mural caught my eye. Reminding myself I had all day and might not see much out on the plains of Oklahoma, I pulled a U-ey to get a photo and saw another one facing the other direction that I would have missed. Murals have been catching my eye more now, after the Americana Grand Tour I participated in this year.

I later learned that Drumright was an oil boom town in the early 20th century, so the mural reflects some of that history. No sooner did I put on my glove and start back down main street, when another mural caught my eye:

And then another:

This one was pretty cool as it’s a mural of the view looking down Main Street immediately to the left of the mural, only from some time in the past.

The picture below is the view represented in the mural (I think), but there was too much traffic to stand in the middle of the street, alas.

After geeking out on the murals of Drumright for a bit, continued west a little ways to go through Cushing, another boom town sharing the same oil field as nearby Drumright. Now a major refining town apparently, not as picturesque, but their town limit signs caught my fancy:

Continuing on across Oklahoma, I soaked in the big sky at high speeds across the plains, easily passing what little traffic I might come across. OK-33 alternated between four-lane divided at times to mostly two lane with passing lanes pretty regular on the uphills to pass the truck and other slower vehicles so common out there. Flat flat flat, with grain elevators at each little town being the most noticeable features of any height. Due to the strong winds from the south, I felt the passing of every large truck, battered by their wind. I quickly learned to duck down behind the windshield as I passed each one, which made it much smoother and gave me something to do.

Picture a showdown at high noon…

Did I mention it was wide open and no traffic? Beautiful at times.

When I arrived at the state line, I grabbed a shot of the Oklahoma welcome sign since I’d missed it yesterday, being somewhat occupied with beating the clock to Tulsa.

And now into the Texas panhandle:

(and yes, there were flies everywhere here too)

You can’t tell in the picture, but many trees I passed were permanently shaped into a lean from what must be constant wind forces.

And that wind can be harnessed. If you squint hard at the horizon in the next one, you can get an idea of just how many wind turbines are in operation out on the plains. They were simply everywhere, more so than oil derricks. Many of the passing Oversize Load trucks I saw throughout the day were carrying turbine pieces to be installed some where or other.

I hit US-60 soon after crossing into TX and made it down to Amarillo and I-40. Going into the sun now.

Passed the first mesa-like land form, which was an exciting sign of desert formations to come.

Finally reached the Land of Enchantment, and the sun was really playing wonders with this sign. I spent several minutes trying to get some good shots here, but it was hard to capture it as anything but a silhouette with the sun directly behind.

Knowing I was nearing my stop for the day, I enjoyed the beautiful New Mexico sunset as I rode

The small mountain here is named Tucumcari and is the town’s namesake.

As I reached the exits for Tucumcari, only a few miles from the hotel, I noticed signs for Old Route 66. I hadn’t realized I be so close to the old mother road, so I detoured onto it to soak some of it in.

Fueled up and found the hotel at last, a bit closer to I-40 (this shot is from the following morning. This was a inexpensive family-run place with lots of good ratings and right near a few standard chain restaurants and a mini-mart. They had free postcards at the front desk that they’d mail for you so I filled one out to my folks back home. The room was VERY small, but perfect for a solo traveler and clean.

The Doctor must have been staying the night but I didn’t run into him (or any daleks thank goodness).

Leftover Dominos pizza, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a 32 oz Tecate did me well, while I plotted and schemed my next day’s route to Sedona. I love vacation.