Week Two

A Long Day's Journey - Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman (1819-1889)

O highway I travel, do you say to me "Do not leave me?"
Do you say "Venture not - if you leave me you are lost?" ...
O public road, I say back I am not afraid to leave you, yet I love you.
You express me better than I can express myself,
You shall be more to me than my poem.

Left Shamrock about 7:15 am, and 13 miles later, we crossed into Oklahoma. At the state line, there was a marble memorial. On June 26, 1952, Route 66 was re-dedicated the Will Rogers Highway. Rogers was a humorist, a world traveler, a good neighbor. The Main Street of America, Hwy 66, was the first road he traveled in a career that led him straight to the hearts of his countrymen.

Texola's Route 66 was a four lane divided highway into Erick, the home town of Roger Miller of "King of the Road" musical fame.

Next town was Sayre, with a campus of southwest Oklahoma Univeresity. From Sayre to Clinton, we crossed over or under the I-40 8 times, on a poorly marked Route 66. Sometimes the only clue was the telltale Portland Cement roadbed.

Elk City was originally named Busch (after Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Bush brewery, producers of Micheob and Budweiser.) Elk City is a town of about 11,000, with the Great Plains Regional Medical Center, the National Route 66 Museum, and a lovely park with a replica Carousel.

Although the Museum was closed, we walked around the life-sized village which included the US Post Office of Busch (Oklahoma Territory), a replica train station with Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Gulf RR, a Mobile Gas Station with Pegasus logo, and at lease 20 other buildings. This project exemplified the "Dreams-Visions-Reality" philosophy of those who developed it.

Passed through Canute, Oklahoma, birthplace of David Lee Walters, the 24th Governor of OK, from Western Oklaoma. In 1990, he carried 75 of 77 of the counties in Oklahoma after a losing bid in 1986. Canute is also the hometown for the Lady Trojanettes, the Class B Basketball State Champions in 1997.

Temperatures rose, but we kept up good communication via the cell phones, and managed not to get lost despite the many crossings of the I-40. That was a miracle in itself.

We arrived in Clinton and found the Church of the Nazarene, who was to host us. Everything sounded great until the part where there were no couches, air mattresses, pew pads, etc. for us to sleep on. The Pastor called one of his congregation members, Judy Hayes, who graciously volunteered to take us into her 100 year old 2 story Victorian house which is being restored.

They shared dinner leftovers with us, including WONDERFUL Brownies... and were we ever hungry after 80 some miles!

Glad to have this day behind us. Less than 100 miles to Oklahoma City.

Miles ridden:
Charlotte-55 Marie-35
Road change: $.31

Now in our third Route 66 state, with greener countryside and less wind,
Charlotte and Marie

"Oklahoma" - Oklahoma State Song by Rogers and Hammerstein

"O-kla-ho-ma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain."

Left Clinton on Gary Blvd. (although Charlotte missed the turn and I had to go find her), with the quest of finding unmarked turns of Route 66 crossing the I-40 just two more times. I finally figured it out - duh. When the Portland Cement Road changes to regular bumpety surface, start looking for an overpass or underpass to the other side of the road. It worked twice today!

First town after Clinton was Weatherford. Quaint town, home of Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford. Music graced the air from loudspeakers in the downtown area. Once we got through Weatherford, Route 66 paralleled the I-40 (on the North side) all the way to El Reno.

It was quite a roller coaster, up and down little hills. Came to a very famous, now poignant landmark on Route 66, in Hydro. Lucille Hamons ran "Lucille's Service Station" from 1941 into the 1990"s. Across the street, a roadside shrine was erected to her, with a white cross: it read "Mother of the Mother Road." Windblown flowers graced the base. A post card dated 4-26-04 said, "Sure miss you, Lucille."

Crossed from Caddo to Canadian County over the 38 arch "pony" bridge, 3944.33 ft. in length (3/4 mile). It was jointly built by State and Federal Governments. Contracted Aug. 2, 1932 and completed and accepted July 1, 1933.

About 1 mile after the bridge, I came to the longest hill since just outside Albuquerque. I decided to walk up, not tire myself out. 1/2 mile long, took me 10 min. to walk up.

After a roadside lunch of the usual good peanut butter on good bread, topped with good lettuce, we kept riding. It was so windy that twice my bicycle flag got blown off my bicycle, so I had to carry it while riding until Charlotte caught up with the van.

We arrived in El Reno about 2:15 pm. We are staying in Trinity Lutheran Church just a mile from WalMart!

Picked up a few groceries and dropped off a disposable camera at 1 hr. photo. Got some good photos which Ron will be posting to the website www.bikeforthecure.org By the way, we have added a "Guest Book" so feel free to sign it.

Big day planned tomorrow. Stay tuned, same time, same station ... for all the news from OKC.

Miles ridden:
Charlotte-36 Marie-25
Road Change: $.34
Cumulative Road Change: $2.40
Cumulative Miles: 545

With love from the "Mother Road,"
Charlotte Reicks and Marie Nemec
The 2 "Roadies" or "Routies"

Short riding day ... Long "touring" day

Left the church in El Reno at 7:00 am. Strange, though, the wind wasn't blowing (first time on whole trip), and the sky was overcast.

Next town was Yukon (home town of Garth Brooks, who has a street named after him). Lake Overholser was a real surprise; all that water (reservoir) in the middle of Oklahoma! Real nice houses, too.

On into Bethany, home town of Astronaut Shannon Lucid, also home to Southwest Christian University and Southern Nazarene University. Lots of antique shops; wished we would have taken time to peruse a few.

Through a town called Warr Acres (6.5% sales tax). Past Ann's Chicken Fry House, with a pink Cadillac convertible with huge fins silhouetted with neon. Ann's is a Route 66 landmark, which stated out as a gas station in 1948 and changed to a restaurant in 1971.

Followed good directions to the Extended Stay America Motel in Oklahoma City. Arrived at 9:45 a.m. (too early to check in) so took our bikes barely 1/2 mile to The Wheeler Dealer (where Scott and I had our bikes serviced in 2000).

Met up with Dorothy Hearn and Annie Steiger, wonderful sisters who hosted us in 2000. Dorothy's son David has HD. After a huge lunch at the Golden Corral (didn't eat dinner at night), we drove downtown to the OKC National Memorial. We viewed The Field of Empty Chairs (168 of them). Each person's chair is positioned in the row that corresponds to the floor on which he/she worked or was that day. So poignant - 19 children were killed.

Viewed The Gates of Time, on each end of the reflecting pool. One says 9:01 and the other 9:03, framing the pool.

Also looked at the Survivor Tree, and the mementos on the chain link fence.

The act of terrorism by Timothy McVeigh destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Bldg on April 19, 1995. Inside the Memorial museum, a placard defined terrorism as:

"premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subversive national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. Terrorists believe that actions they take will help to achieve their desired end."

We needed some levity so we drove to Bricktown and rode the Water Taxi named "The Boomer." It's quite quaint on the man-made canal, with entertainment buildings and restaurants lining the canal banks. The canal goes past the Train Depot (where you can take the Heartland Flyer from OKC to Ft. Worth TX and back on the same day.) We saw the baseball stadium where the OKC Red Hawks play, and also saw the Sonic Drive-In Headquarters.

The final destination was to the Oklahoma Christian Home, where David Hearn is one of the newest residents. Dorothy didn't want us to go in, because David would recognize me from past rides and Conventions, and they're not going this year. Dorothy brought David a malt from Braum's, but he was asleep.

On back to the motel exhausted physically and emotionally from the day.

Road change: $.61
Cumulative Road Change: $3.01
Miles ridden:Charlotte-24; Marie 16.85
Route cumulative miles: 646

With love from "the Roadies,"
Charlotte Reicks
Marie Nemec

A few tidbits about Oklahoma today. The name is derived from two Choctaw words: "Okla" meaning people and "humma" meaning red. There are currently 35 tribes of Native Americans living in Oklahoma. I've been led to believe that OK has the largest Native American population of any state in the Union.

On the road in the van, for about 8 miles, to get to a good place to ride in the early morning traffic.

Charlote started riding and ... you guessed it, missed the right turn onto Route 66 (2nd Avenue) in Edmond. Edmond is the home town of gymnast Shannon Miller, who won Olympic medals in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta).

Stopped at a red granite memorial to the "Run of '89" East boundary, at the opening of "Old Oklahoma" on April 22, 1889. The run started at 12:00 noon. Prairies and hills in the 2 million acre tract West were peopled by tens of thousands, homes were planted, and tent cities sprang up before nightfall.

William Harrison Odor, a local farmer and storeowner, was responsible for building Arcadia's "Round Barn in 1898. Constructed from oak, its two stories were designed to shelter animals and store hay and grain; but from very early in its existence, the barn was also used for social events.

Stopped briefly in Warwick at the Seaba Station, built in 1924 as a filling station and garage, which continually operated until 1996. That same year, restoration began and an antique shop opened in 2000. I met the owner, Sue Preston. We had a very pleasant discusson centering on Jerry McClanahan, the Route 66 artist who designed the front of this year's ride T-shirt!

On to Chandler, with another famous Phillips 66 filling station, the "type B" cottage style built between 1927-1938, very similar to the one in McLean TX.

A Burma Shave type signage caught my eye approaching Davenport (which calls itself "The Mother Road's Favorite Child.")

Cruising along
My Honey and me
Route 66
Is the place to be.

On to Stroud, today's destination. Stroud (alt. 905 ft, pop. 3,000 or so). Founded in 1896 by J.W. Stroud, it's home to the famous Rock Cafe, built from discarded sandstone unearthed and removed from the roadbed of Route 66. Roy Rieves bought the rock for $5 and spent 3 years building this masterpiece, completing it in 1939. It became a 24 hr. truckstop, and later a restaurant serving genuine "Road" cuisine. Charlotte and I ate there this evening, small burgers, nice house salad for me (cole slaw for Charlotte) and topped off by freshly baked peach cobbler and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Safely situated in the parlor of the United Methodist Church, sleeping on their couches.

Today was a great day riding, through rolling countryside that was once the haunt of Native Americans, later the territory of cowmen and badmen, but now principally devoted to agriculture. No crossings back and forth over and under I-40; today's route was straight forward.

Miles ridden:
Charlotte-39; Marie-24
Road Change: $.45
Cumulative Route Miles: 646

Engrossed in Route 66, a step back into the past,
Marie Nemec
Charlotte Reicks

PS - Sorry I fell behind yesterday on my Daily Message, but fortunately I had enough time today to catch up!

Love to each: send me some incoming E-mails. It's such a boost!!!

(P.S.#2: Her email is: bike4cure@bigfoot.com
And you can leave messages she will eventually see in the guest book on the Web site: www.bikeforthecure.org
Ron)

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's goin' my way ...

I think that song's from the mustical "Oklahoma" (music theatre buffs let me know if I'm right or wrong) and it describes the day.

I rode first; leaving Stroud I found $.14 road change within the first mile! Forgot to mention in yesterday's message that Stroud is within the Sac and Fox Nation Reservation. Also forgot to mention that 2 million Oklahomans live within a 60 mile radius of Stroud (it's about midway between OKC and Tulsa.)

Depew was the first small town we breezed through. Nothing noteworthy.

On to Bristow. Nice Route 66 town, with 50's motifs and brick buildings.

Sapulpa next. It calls itself "The Heart of Historic Route 66." Wish we would have taken the time to look in some of the shops, as well as the Frankoma Pottery factory one mile outside town. The territory now occupied by Sapulpa could be called "6 Flags"; it was ruled by Spain, France, Britain, Mexico, and the Choctaw Indian Nation before Oklahoma became a state. Its first settler was Chief Sapulpa, who arrived in the 1850's.

Soon after Sapulpa we found ourselves on the edge of Tulsa. As per usual, Charlotte rode, following the van which I drive and navigate. Found our way to the Ambassador Hotel, a famous historical Mediterranean style luxury hotel. It opened in 1929 as a "home away from home" for wealthy business travelers and oil barons waiting for their mansions to be constructed. General Patrick Hurley, who built the hotel, was the Secretary of War in Pres. Hoover's administration, and a US Ambassador to China and Iran in Pres. FDR's administration. Due to struggling finances, the hotel closed in 1987 but after its renovation, it opened in 1999 as a four-star upscale "boutique-style" hotel. We are being comped here by Michael Palmer, the partner of Brett Uribe from the Hunt-Dis list, whose sister has HD.

Maggie/Verne Farque (also from Hunt-Dis) organized a party for her employees to meet Charlotte and me. It was in Broken Arrow, a SE suburb of Tulsa. Her son Eric picked us up at the hotel and drove us to his parents' lovely home. There we met Verne's husband Tony (who has HD) and their older son Jason. Among other foods, Verne served "turducken". I will give a free ride T-shirt to the first one who E-mails me with the corect definition of "turducken".

Brett and Michael also joined us for dinner. We had a great time, over great food and conversation. I also brought the Phase II Hunt-Dis Memorial Quilt to display. Many folks spent lots of time looking at each square, perusing the bio book, and signing the guest book.

The employees of the Farque's pigging company, CDI, all signed a tablecloth for us. What a lovely memento! We were also presented with a large monetary donation to help "Kick HD on Route 66."

What a rich full day, riding old Route 66 through verdant countryside, a great party, and a wonderful night's stay in the Ambassador. We are truly blessed!

Miles ridden:
Charlotte-33 Marie-24
Road change: $.43
Cumulative Route miles - 703

With love from Tulsa,
Charlottew Reicks
Marie Nemec

Got to "sleep in" this morning until 7:00 am. Might have slept later, but the noise of 3 min. of Charlotte's electric toothbrush broke the silence!

Ate breakfast per usual in the room, then decided to do the "Historic Walking Tour" of Downtown Tulsa. What a treat!

Tulsa was officially established in 1878; its name comes from the Tallassee or Tulsey Indian tribes who settled nearby. The "father of Route 66," Cyrus Avery, was from Tulsa. Tulsa was the "Oil Capitol of the World" for over 7 decades. Oil is long gone, but many exquisite buildings grace Tulsa. Tulsa has more Art Deco Architecture than any other city on Route 66. Tulsa was known as "Terra-Cotta City."

My favorites included the "Queen of the Tulsa Skyline," the Philtower, built by Waite Phillips (of Phillips 66 gas fame). The polychromed red and green tile roof stands as a Tulsa landmark. He donated the building to the Boy Scouts to endow a ranch near Raton, NM called Philmont. (Charlotte, Evelyn, and I bicycled near there in 1999).

Another favorite was the Cosden (Mid-Continent) Building which was one of the earlier reinforced concrete office structures in the US and tallest W. of the Mississippi River, when it was built in 1918. In 1984 the building was renovated with the addition of six stories to the original structure and 20 floors actually cantilevered over it for expansion and modernization. The lavish marble lobby contains Tulsa's skyline in stained glass on the East wall.

We were impressed by the cleanliness and the lack of traffic downtown.

Tulsa has their "Art on the Corner," too. Their animal, corresponding to Amarillo's Quarter Horses and OKC's Buffaloes is the penguin!

Checked out of the Hotel Ambassador about noon, and drove Southeast to Broken Arrow, home of Verne and Tony Farque. We had lunch at their Company (CDI) and then were interviewed and photographed by Bob Lewis from their local newspaper, the Ledger. We were toured around their company, seeing where the "pigs" and other electronic equipment is made. We saw framed copies of the 20 patents that Tony holds. He even has one for a motorized skateboard.

I went to check out fabric stores for different Route 66 fabrics, for a quilted wall hanging.

Dinner was planovers from last night's party. The turducken was great again (see separate message to see who won the contest) as were the salad, asparagus, and cheesecake.

Per usual, we did not "rest" on the Rest Day. It's simply a break in the routine of riding bicycles.

Verne and Tony have been teriffic hosts. Their home reminds me a little of "Quail Ridge" (home of Dwight and ardie Newbold" in Frederick MD, with a forest of trees behind their home, affording much privacy.

Sorry this is shorter than usual.

With love, ready to re-connect with Route 66 for the final week on Route 66.

"East is east, and west is west, and the wrong way I have chose ..."

After breakfast and fond farewells to Verne and Tony Farque, we drove back to Tulsa to once again pedal on Route 66. When we got to our starting point, with the sun not shining yet and no geography like mountains to orient to, we inadvertantly started riding WEST on Route 66 instead of East. When the locales became familiar, I realized the mistake, we got corrected, and off we went, East at last! We did get to cross over the Arkansas River near the the 11th Street bridge, a 1916 Art Deco classic.

Leaving Tulsa, there was about a two mile stretch of sidewalk where Route 66 shields were visible about every 30 feet in the double rows of red bricks.

Passed the Metro Diner and the University of Tulsa. Also passed a billboard advertising the NCAA National Tennis Tournament currently being held in Tulsa.

Passed the birthplace of Thrifty Rent-a-Car at 13338 E. 11th St.

Got to Catoosa, the Port City. Didn't see any boats or anything, though.

Arrived in Claremore, home of the Will Rogers Museum. I could have spent all day looking at all the exhibits of the cowboy, wild west roper, vaudevillian, Ziegfield Follies, Movie Star, and Writer. Born in 1879 in Indian Territory (he was 1/4 Cherokee, from his mother's side). The most famous saying attributed to him is "I never met a man I didn't like." My favorite populist saying is "Live your life so that whenever you lose you are ahead." Good motto in the HD community.

Will Rogers and Wiley Post died in a plane crash in the Alaska Territory in 1935. Some called it the "saddest news since the assasination of President Lincoln." Even a nuclear submarine was named after him, the USS Will Rogers SSBN 659.

Foyil is the home of Andy Payne (1907-1977) who won the 1928 Great Transcontinental Footrace called "The Bunion Derby." 3,422.3 miles, from Los Angeles to New York City (much of it on newly commissioned Route 66) in 2 1/2 months.

Passed through Bushyhead (named for Cherokee Chief Dennis Wolf Bushyhead), Chelsea, White Oak, and arrived in Vinita about 3:45 pm.

Vinita was originally named Downingville (1871) and born under the struggles of the Cherokee Nation and the expansion of the Railroad. The town name was later changed to Vinita, in honor of Vinnie Ream, the sculptress who created the life-sized statue of Lincoln at the US Capitol. The name change was spearheaded by Elias C. Boudinot, whose father and 34 others sold the Cherokee ancestral lands to the US Government, resulting in the Cherokee Trail of Tears Mass Migration in 1838. Vinita also is home to the World's Largest McDonald's (29,135 sq. ft.), which spans the 4 lane Will Rogers Turnpike. Originally it was part of the Howard Johnson's empire before being acquired by McDonald's. It was the first restaurant ever constructed across a public highway in America.

Carl and Betty Reichert met us in town, and we followed them to their home. They oraganized a potluck party for us, inviting folks from their church, neighbors, and Carl's work. They set up an upside down bicycle helment for donations. $160 was donated! They also gave us T-shirts from local events and businesses.

I am sleeping in "The Philmont Room," recently decorated to a theme reflecting the Boy Scout ranch near Cimmaron NM. Walls are painted Sherwin Williams "Grassland" green. Bed frame has black wrought iron with wood, and there's a buffalo plaid bedspread. The room could be featured on one of the HGTV programs.

Rich full day. How blessed we were to have found Carl and Betty Reichert from the Messiah Lutheran Church in Vinita!

Miles:
Charlotte-43; Marie-30
Road Change: $.97 (including a "tacoed penny")

With love,
Charlotte & Marie
Kicking HD on Route 66