Well, the day started off dull and grey then blackened considerably as a major CB cloud rolled through. Thunder was almost simultaneous to the lightening attesting to its proximity. We were still in the bunk at this point and didn’t give a tiny rat’s a–. It passed through quickly and the day continued warmish with 18C and overcast. Perfect weather for exploring the Oklahoma sections of the “Old Mother Road” or Route 66.

Every small town along the route had some story and something unique to offer. The actual route is mostly gone but there are whole sections next to the secondary road that you can drive on for a few hundred meters before you need to retreat because a bridge that once existed is now gone. But the newer road does go through the same little towns and hopeful villages as before. Old stores shuttered and whole towns that are mere memories of the past glory days. Some areas appear to be trying to capitalize on the mystique of the old route that ran from Chicago to Santa Monica and saw it’s heyday end in the 60’s but these efforts are obviously a struggle. But there continues to be much interest. We stopped at a unique winery called Stable Ridge (it is Oklahoma after all) and tried various offerings that were just fine. We were told that 68 Australians had come through earlier in the day in 32 cars and they were intent on following every little bit of Route 66 that remained. This is not an uncommon pursuit apparently. Later in the morning we went through a small village and low and behold it was crowded, yes, the Aussie flotilla has invaded the near ghost town with big southern cross flags and much fanfare… We escaped further to the west for lunch in the little village of Border Town. This was the easternmost point of the the great land grant where everyone got a chance at free land to start a new life. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were featured in a movie called Far and Away that covered this period. From the notes for this event, it appeared the day started with green prairie everywhere and by nightfall there were major tent cities everywhere… what an idea… Anyhow, Okie (also Sooners) don’t stand on much on fancy so lunch was pulled pork (excellent) and a 1/4 pound hot dog on big bun with chilli and cheese a plenty. 5000 calories and OMG! Drinks were root beer (big paper cups that the waitress kept filling). I asked for coffee and was offered Nescafe so opted for tea. When I asked for milk it came in powdered form and of course, all was in paper cups.

We then stopped at a round barn from 1890 or so that had been rebuilt about 20 years ago, They used to hold dances in the upper area during the depression era. And then on to Pops. They have 150 brands of soda which I suspected were all just flavours to be added to a base of soda water but in actuality they have assembled the best 150 sodas (pop) from around the world. Sounds weird but I picked up a ginger beer from Jamaica and another from the states and Carla found a blood orange from Bundaberg in the Queensland area of Aus. I have had their rum before and it is not too bad at all. Very neat if not so authentic to the Route 66 theme.

We had pre-called Verizon from the day before at the welcome center upon entering Oklahoma. I laid out the sad, sad story and the manager Jonathan promised to sort through so this afternoon was a quick visit to a corporate store and suffice to say that the MRT is now one high-speed, fully wired turd with access even from within our present location, the Red Rock canyon, yea.

We arrived here in Red Rock before 17:00LT (a first for us) and settled in to a nice spot with power and water and some great neighbors. This state park is in a canyon with about 20-30m high walls. But the canyon is just 1/4 mile wide where we are and a river shares the bottom. Apparently nearby you can still see the tracks from the wagons that were west bound a couple of millenia ago. Sort of cool. These canyon walls are also popular for rappelling from for those that are into that sort of thing.

As for good neighbors, when I put out the awning (spelled Aaaaawwwwnnnniiiiinnnnnngggggg here in Oklahoma) our neighbors suggested this might not be best due to unsettled weather left over from this morning. I looked about at the fluffy white clouds, warm air, setting sun and acknowledged their concerns as this part of the world is known for changing weather in the form of tornadoes etc (I always laugh at the oft heard comment that if you don’t like maritime weather, wait 30 minutes and it will change. Except for fog rolling in Novi weather is pretty darn stable by comparison to most places we have been on the planet…) Anyhow, we started a nice fire, set the table outside, had some drinks going and I pointed out the darkening sky to Carla. Within 10 minutes we had retreated to the MRT interior with all outside packed away. Hail hit first, then torrential rains and winds and near-continuous lightening. Clever neighbors aren’t they!

Following is a rough map of our route so far. we have traveled a lot of distance so far but also experienced a lot. We fully appreciate that you could spend a lifetime along this route we have chosen and probably still not see it all. But the world is large and there is much to see so onward we go…

More Route 66 tomorrow and into Texas along the Mother Road.