WEDNESDAY: Last day in Oklahoma today. Chelsea said goodbye as she was headed out the door for work, and shortly thereafter, I got up. I went out to the truck to put things back together, and found the weather delightfully tolerable. The storm from last night must have cooled things off significantly, but it still smelled like Northern California to me, mmm. I gathered my things and repacked stuff, stopped for a quick breakfast of shredded wheat and strawberries, and packed up the truck. After saying goodbye to a sleeping Kyle, hugging Lizzie and Joe, and brushing my teeth, I hit the road... to Ada. I had to get some postcards in the mail, and I needed stamps, too. THEN I was on my way northward.
Thanks to my mom's desire to travel vicariously through me, she re-routed me away from interstates and onto two-lane highways. With this routing, I had some interesting stops and scenic drives. My first stop? Langston, Oklahoma - home of Langston University, the first historically black university in Oklahoma. I stopped and took pictures of the post office and the football field at the university. It's pretty small, so I was back on the road shortly afterwards. I got into Kansas and quickly thereafter turned sharply to the west. Heading that way on US Rt. 160, I got to go through the Red Hills - gorgeous! Yet another very pleasant surprise on my journey. I continued listening to Life of Pi on my way towards Colorado... what a story. I stopped again in Dodge City, a town I recognized almost immediately once I saw the train depot. I'd been here before on the California Zephyr as a kid! I walked up and down front street and west towards Boot Hill. Lots of things were closed, which was a bummer, but it was fun to check out briefly. After filling up on gas and dinner, I got the heck out of Dodge.
I kept on heading westward US 50/400 and got to Garden City, Kansas, a town that supposedly has a bison refuge. By the time I was in town, I'm almost positive it was closed, but I just wanted to see where it was, but I saw no signs for it, then got lost all the way into the next town before I got back on the right route towards Colorado. Oh well, you can't see it all. From there, I kept on through the most western parts on Kansas right on into Colorado, finally stopping for the night in Lamar, Colorado at a Super 8. Grateful as I am to be able to see friends any way I can, it was nice to sleep in a bed again for one night. And now I'm in Mountain Time!
Oh yeah... roadkill count for today: 9 armadillos, 3-4 turtles (so sad!), lots of UDOs (unidentified dead objects)
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