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Day 10: April 6, 2009 – Vinita to Sapulpa, OK

It was too much to expound on that little crown-jewel of a Motel last night, but now let me take a minute and paint the picture. After my salads, I took a look at my surroundings. The front window was broken out, but the piece of glass (around three square feet) was leaning against the screen to help keep out the cold and noise. A single light bulb (no globe) hung from the ceiling over my table, and the reading lamp in the corner housed a black-light bulb. The window-mounted air conditioner was stuffed through a hole hacked out of the wall, and was covered with saran wrap to keep the drafts out through the winter. And the radiant heater (circa 1872, approximately) was no longer functional – fortunately some resourceful individual found a space heater and had screwed it to the wall just above. My towels were stained, the paint (what was left of it) was peeling, and I didn’t dare take a look under the covers to see what the sheets looked like. Don’t worry, I brought my own sheets in with me. As I feasted on veggies and PBR, a few rooms down one of the tenants (did I mention this place rents by the day, week or month? Fortunately, hourly rates weren’t posted) was involved in a little lovers quarrel, complete with doors slamming, f**k you I’m leaving, gear grinding and all sorts of other general ruckus. The reunion of this happy couple at 3am was even more delightful! I slept very lightly that night, fearful of what might happen to my beloved Oldsmobile sitting outside, and woke up no less than four times over the night to nearby noises that made me go check on her. This was one time I was glad I hadn’t fixed the choke yet – if anybody tried to hotwire it, it wouldn’t stay running long enough to get it in gear.

Obviously I rose early, packed up my stuff, and headed out. Only this time the 21* felt warm against my face – apparently that space heater wasn’t enough to keep the cold out of the 3’ hole in the front window. Around 30 miles down the road, I realized that my sleep hadn’t been light enough after all – the brake pedal went to the floor, and upon inspection I found a sewing needle stuck through the left front brake line. I kept topping off the fluid to get me through the day, and figured to replace it (I had a spare in the back – who doesn’t carry spare brake lines on a roadtrip?) that evening. I’ll let the pictures tell the stories today - my battery is dying and I need to get this posted so ya’ll can catch up with me.

28. Worlds Largest Totem Pole 29. Round Barn. As you might have guessed… 30. I love old advertising! Hahahah.

Day 11: April 7, 2009 – Sapulpa to El Reno, OK

Waking up to sunshine and warm weather was a nice change of pace … so I decided instead of spending the day casually rolling through small towns and seeking out relics from the past, I was going to head to Red Rock Canyon State Park, just south of El Reno and go explore nature. On my way through Oklahoma City, I stopped in a little microbrewery to have a local beer and a bite to eat. Champs, or something like it – it wasn’t worth remembering the name! I started with a pint of Stout, and while generally a beer in this category has a subtle coffee or even chocolatey follow-through, this disappointment left my taste buds reminiscing about the last time I forgot to brush after vomiting. Perhaps that’s a little harsh, but after sampling their wheat beer next, being presented with a translucent glass of harshly filtered, over-carbonated catastrophe, I don’t think sugar-coating my experience is validated. So I left that train wreck behind and headed for El Reno.

Fortunately, the Red Rock Canyon State Park is every bit of the beautiful imagery that its name implies. The entry road drops down a switchbacked 18% grade then quickly levels out at the canyon floor. Rock walls on either side stretch anywhere from 25 to perhaps 100’, with coves and pools around every unexpected bend. And, much to my delight, I was one of only a handful of people present in the park, which made it easy to find an isolated loop of primitive camping all to myself. I relaxed most of the afternoon away, laying out in the 70* sunshine and reading a few good books. I scavenged a couple of fallen branches to build an evening campfire, cooked a gourmet supper of brown rice and baked beans with peppers and onion, and settled in with my BenchMade and a nice maple stick to whittle my way to nightfall. Two other pairs of campers arrived between 8 and 9pm but both were quiet enough not to cause any great disruption to my meditative trance. Then around 10:45 the clatter of a small diesel broke the quiet night, and an old-school Mercedes wagon came up the gravel two-track. The couple pulled up behind my fire, and asked how much to camp for the night. Unfortunately, it seems that these two didn’t have the $10 site fee… but being fellow wagon-campers, I offered a free stay by parking next to me. They were thankful, pulled in next to the Vista, and set about making preparations for a ramen supper of their own. Afterwards, we had a nice palaver around the fire until the coals faded and the cool night set in, when we all three retreated to our respective wagons for a good night’s sleep.

31. Canyon Camping – the best yet! 32. Red Rock Canyon State Park

Day 12: April 8, 2009 – Red Rock Canyon State Park, Oklahoma

Well I decided to stay put another day in this little slice of heaven and hike the trails around the canyon. I guess it makes for pretty dry conversation, so I’ll leave it to the pictures:

33. Reaching the “Summit” of the Canyon trails… 34. Hiking blind on Rough Horseshoe Trail 35. Mirrored Pool