Day 3: Oklahoma! (And western Kansas)

 

Call me sentimental, call me crazy, but when I travel like this, I often feel the romance of the places I visit. I think of the history and the imagery that lives in my imagination, fueled by so many movies and shows.

Yesterday morning, after a simple breakfast, and getting my fridge in order. Oh? You don't know...here's my fridge:

I have cold drinks and snacks, plus ice. As I can, I refill it, usually in the morning. Monday, I asked for ice at a McDonalds, the manager said, we don't give away ice, but he was nice and gave me some. I swear, I remember from my childhood McDonalds offering to fill coolers with ice -- to get customers in the store, of course -- but no one I've asked remembers that, including that kind manager. But hotels will do it. Only, here's a pro-tip: don't check out till after you get your ice, as you may need your room key to get access to the room with the ice machine.

Anyway, first stop in Tulsa was the Golden Driller.

If you shudder, as many want you to do, pause and contemplate how awful life would be on earth had petroleum never been developed.

Next, Oral Roberts University. You can read all about this spiritual entrepreneur, but the fact is, he built something pretty impressive in his university. Lots of modernist (if that is the right term) architecture, I wonder what serious architects say about it. Here are a couple of shots:

After this, the oldest Catholic church in Oklahoma, the Cathedral of the Holy Family.

I didn't realize till later I failed to get an exterior shot, as I was snapping pictures of other churches just down the street:

The more modern building to the right is part of the same complex. If you look closely, you'll see part of the front door on the older building is boarded up with plywood. Across the street is what looks to be a closed Church of Christ Scientist. The front and side were festooned with colorful cloths, and behind some of them, it appears homeless people have made their dwelling.

After this, the "Cave House," which some website said was worth seeing.

Around 12:30 pm, I headed west from Tulsa, crossing a large lake I assume is man-made, as part of the Arkansas River. AS I rocketed west (speed limits were generally between 65 and 80), the landscape gradually changed, as there were fewer leaf-bearing trees, and more firs and also more scrubby plants. I also noticed recurring pumps, which might be for oil -- or water. 

I admired the directness of Oklahoma signs: "Merge right now!" and "Speed 80: no tolerance." Also, kudos to Oklahoma drivers, they know what the passing lane is for. Road work along the Cimmaron Turnpike revealed orange-red dirt; I imagined that dirt blowing across the state, in the Dust Bowl era.

The terrain was lonely, and only a few cultivated fields for a long while, but plenty of cattle. Saw ranches with front gates, but no house in sight. At I-35, I turned north, then caught U.S. 64 and headed further west in Oklahoma. Saw a "parking area" -- not "rest stop." No bathrooms, no buildings. Past here, I started to see more crops: corn and wheat; is there a red-colored wheat? Saw that, too. 

Hey, Oklahoma: you have boring, albeit logical, street names -- i.e., numbered streets and avenues. I listened to country all the way. Oh, and saw this sign in far-west Oklahoma: "Hitchhikers may be escaping inmates" -- just before reaching Alva, which after a long stretch of nothing, seemed like a big city.

After Alva, and going up a curving rise and passing behind some hills, a vista opened up that took my breath: "this is the West!" It looked like a dozen John Wayne movies. This is when I saw some fluffy green plants, kind of sage-colored, and then realized: that's sagebrush. Pretty soon it was everywhere. Saw my first buffalo as I neared the town of...Buffalo.

I turned north on U.S. 183, which took me into Kansas, and as it did, the trees nearly disappeared. Hills and hills with nothing but crops -- or grass. Also began to see some facilities with very large numbers of cattle. Again, making me think of John Wayne's "The Cowboys," although that ended in Montana, I think.

Arrrived at Dodge City, Kansas around 5 pm, and looked around. There's an entertainment facility here, but the pricing assumes you're spending many hours there. They have a gunfight at 6:30 pm, a "country dinner," and a variety show. The clerk at the hotel didn't seem impressed, and I opted not to go. Did I make a mistake?

The hotel is on Wyatt Earp Boulevard, which is populated by lots of restaurants, almost all of which are Mexican. No offense to Mexicans, but I don't really love Mexican food north of the Rio Grande (I enjoyed it very much when I have visited Mexico). The golf course restaurant seemed the only alternative, apart from fast food (and a Thai restaurant).

Now it's time to hit the road to Ft. Collins, Colorado, which again sounds like a place a John Wayne character visited, but I didn't find anything after a quick search. Feel free to verify this in the comments.