Again did not get out of Helena, AR until 10a or so. I was up early too. Oh well. I have this Garmin ‘Zumo” GPS, designed for motorcycles. You can task it with or with out all sorts of roads, routes etc. I loaded it for Norman, OK. It was supposed to take me 8 hours on country roads and put me there about 530p. Got it.

Beautiful riding. 55-60 mph on most roads. Scenery was great. A crop duster entertained me for a while. I wonder what I was inhaling? I saw my first armadillo road kill. I thought about getting a picture but then realized it really wasn’t too interesting.

After about 50-75 miles I had a premonition that I should look for a rest room. Older men can sense these things.. Well it was very rural and none of the little burgs I was passing through were exactly bastions of commerce. In another 15-20 miles, there it was. Like the Emerald City.  Making it’s presence known. Huge. Modern. Upscale.

Mack’s Prairie Wings. America’s premiere waterfowl outfitter. I went in and was instantly amazed and impressed. While I didn’t see the wizard or the man behind the curtain, I did find the restrooms. If you have the urge and are in the area, I highly recommend.

I do not think I have every seen more ammunition in one store. Rows upon rows of shelves.  Pallets in the aisle.  Any weapon – guns, bows, crossbows. Don’t mess with Arkansas. Boats, fishing, any way you get the idea. In the middle of nowhere. Huge place.

These things would make great neighborhood watch tower.  Note some are two seaters – for that special someone.  Irena always told me if I ever come across one of these, I should bring it home.  She will be disappointed.  Just won’t fit on the bike.  I’ll have some ‘splaining to do I guess.

Realizing I couldn’t spend the day there, I mounted up and took off.  The GPS picked up where it left off and I obediently followed its prompts. In due time, it brought me through Little Rock. I was not expecting that. Nice city, what I saw of it. Traffic was heavy, I stopped for fuel and I was back funneled with the masses. I would have like to have gotten a few pics. Neat modern bridge crossing the White River right down town. I pulled into a parking lot and tried. It apparently was a law office with no views to be had. The only views were from the partners offices. Junior partners and associates look out over the parking lot. I waved to them.

I was dehydrated and hot. I looked for a fast food place on the right side of the 4 lane thoroughfare. It makes for easier egress in heavy traffic. For some reason everything was on the left side.. Eventually I found a Wendy’s. I ordered a large drink, went over to the self serve machine and found they were out of ice. How can that happen? Undeterred, I went into the kitchen and they were more than happy to fill my cup full of ice. I should bring this to the attention of Dave Thomas. How the crew came through. This is big stuff folks. These are my adventures. 🙂

Crossed into Oklahoma at Fort Smith.  I looked for a “Welcome to Oklahoma” sign for a pic. Nothing.  Nada.  I even stopped on the state line according to the GPS.  Truly.  Maybe they don’t want you to know.

Fueled up in some town. Locals always like to chat. Very friendly people. Did I mention it was hot? Passed by a bank with one of those time and temperature signs. 98. Humid as well.  Build a big beach.  Put out some chairs.  Add some palm trees.  A big body of water.  Maybe a breeze.  You might have something.  Oh yeah, lose the agricultural by-product smell.  Otherwise all you have is hot.

I was stopping almost every hour, sometimes sooner. Pouring water over my head. I think I drank 7 or 8 liters during the ride (plus another 2 or 3 when I got to the hotel). It was eating into my time. 15-20 minutes on every stop.

At one water stop, truly in the middle of nowhere, a deputy sheriff pulled in to get something to drink as well.  Nice guy, we chatted for a few minutes. On my way out of the little encampment he had pulled over a truck.  Figuring he was busy, I decided to put a few extra mph on.

The miles rolled on.  I was getting cranky. It was 530p. The initial 530p arrival had been recalculating was now 745. With 100 miles left to my initial destination, I would need another fuel stop, and water.  I made a call. I surveyed everyone on the bike and all agreed. Time to find shelter. I was in the middle of no where. After 30-40 mi I was coming across nothing. Then there it was. Twice in one day!  An apparition.  An oasis..

I was on the mighty Choctaw Nation reservation. Very nice hotel across from their casino. Nice rooms. Cold air. Wifi. Ice. 1st floor. Shady side. The nice lady gave me $5 off the rate. Unloaded the bike. Showered. Checked in with Irena. Walked across the street to the Casino for a sandwich. Now sitting in my Kermit chair with a cigar and drinking scotch that comes from a plastic bottle.  There are four other cars in the lot.

Checked WX going west tomorrow. Its supposed to be hotter. How can that be? More scotch from that plastic bottle.

Life is good.