Oklahoma and Route 66

From: Tenkiller State Park, OK
To: Oklahoma City, OK
Mileage: About 485kms


*** Let me just start off by saying this:  Keep posting comments!  I read every single comment that gets posted, even if I don't get to reply to them.  So keep them up!  Also, I apologize for the lousy photo quality on some of these.  I don't get to touch them up with any software, and I usually don't even take off my gloves or leave the bike to that the picture, so the composition is also off. ***

Anyway, I packed up camp this morning, ate a Clif bar, and cleaned up in a grimey camp washroom.  I hit the road, and decided to head north so I could ride part of the old Route 66.  I didn't realize that it was 250kms out of the way.  On the way there, I came across this plane, and decided to take a snap shot.

I didn't realize that the detour I was taking was 250kms due north, way out of the way.  I headed north on route 64 until I met up with route 66.  On the way there, I got stung!  I had my jacket zipped up, and my bandana keeping my neck covered from the sun/debris, but somehow a bee managed to target the soft unexposed part.  He must have hit me at 100 miles an hour with his stinger pointed directly at me.  At first it hurt as though I'd been hit by a small rock.  Then it started stinging like hell!  So I quickly pulled over, making sure not to freak out and take my hands off the bars (which was hard not to do).  I pulled off and noticed the stinger still in there:

Stinger in me

The stinger

The immediate swelling.  I forgot to check a little later to see if it got worse

I was just about to get back on the road when I felt something moving inside my shirt.

Eventually, I reached the 64/66 junction, and I took route 66 west.  That was kind of cool - I rode on the longest remaining stretch of the old route 66.  I stayed on 66 most of the way until Oklahoma. I stopped to take photos of the blue whale and Arrowood trading post (old attractions)

View from the tail

Thought I was going to break through some of these old planks

Belly of the whale

Belly, second floor.  So... brain?

Across the road from the whale

I took 66 most of the way to Oklahoma City because I didn't want to pay to take the turnpike (toll).  Instead, the 66 was a nice easy ride, and wasn't too slow.  Then all of a sudden, right as I was entering Chandler, OK, I was hit by a mongontuous storm which I think produced a tornado later in the day.  There was pea sized hail (or maybe marble sized) that was coming down too.  I snapped these soggy photos of the old Phillips 66 filling station (Phillips 66 is now a big chain of gas stations - I think this was the original?)

Luckily, I had pulled over to throw the rain covers on everything when I saw the clouds - so nothing TOO wet, although my saddle bags seem to leak whenever they get wet.  I pulled out of the storm at an Econolodge, and got set up to take a room for the night.  Then I looked outside, and the sun was shining.  To be safe, I checked the weather, and sure enough, the storm was moving away from me.  So I paid the toll, jumped on the turnpike, and booked it toward Oklahoma city.  Half way there, I came upon gridlock.  I could see and smell smoke in the distance, and it was bad enough that I threaded some traffic until I got into the shade of a big truck, stopped the engine, took off my helmet, and got off the bike.  I chatted with the guy in the car behind me for a bit until traffic started moving again (slowly).  Here are my pictures from when I was stopped:

Wall of smoke

Worsening

I just found this to be a nice sight...

Turns out there was a truck (18 wheeler) that had caught on fire.  By the time I got past it, the entire thing was burned to a crisp - all that was left was the steel frame!  I guess the fire was hot enough that it ignited the surrounding brush and trees.  Entire hills worth of grass, bush, and trees were burning when I passed.  Wish I'd managed to get photos somehow.

Anyway, I stopped in Oklahoma city to gas up, and decided I was tired.  I checked into the Super 8 in Oklahoma city, did some laundry, had some dinner, and wrote these posts.  I've discovered that they're really time consuming.  I may hvae to start shortening them :S