Labor Day Ride and More - Day 7 - Kansas

September 11, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Dad bought donuts and we had coffee before reluctantly saying our goodbyes to the folks. We began our journey back to Colorado about 9 am, having decided to give ourselves a couple of days and one to spare to get home. As it turns out - that was a wise move.

Leaving Wichita Falls, we rode by Red River Harley-Davidson where they were busy getting ready for this weekend's open house. We rode out under gray skies. The forecast for Texas did not look encouraging and we hoped to put some distance between us and the approaching storms. We made it to Altus, OK before darkening skies run us into a Walmart just as they opened and let fall a deluge. We hung out in the Walmart for a while, had a cup of coffee, bought a shamwow (to wipe the bike down when the rain subsided) and loitered in front of the store. We talked with lots of friendly Okies about the rain, our trip, the Harley and so on... I called the folks to check in. Mom said the clouds were moving from east to west (what the heck!) and advised when we saw a break in the clouds to move on. About half an hour later, we did exactly that.

It wasn't long before we rode up under more rain, but it wasn't as heavy as what fell back in Altus. We had planned to stop by and explore Quartz Mountain Park that morning, but didn't like the looks of the clouds rolling over the mountain. We got the heck out of there. The skies spit on us for most of that segment of the trip. I didn't break the camera out again until we rolled into Elk City, OK where we stopped for gas and a bite to eat at Braum's.

On a quick ride through looking for a gas station and a place to eat, we spotted a really nice park, what looked like a heritage village and a Route 66 museum. After burgers and shakes at Braum's we decided to linger and go through the Route 66 Museum. What a fun place! I've always thought it would be fun to ride what's left of Route 66 and see the history since Dad mentioned last year that a portion of it runs through Amarillo. Now, I want to do that even more.

The entrance building houses a movie theater, gift shop, and several automotive displays including some really nice vintage motorcycles. I got a good photo of the 1948 Indian Chief but because of the glare on glass didn't get good photos of the 1965 Harley Electra-Glide, 1958 Cushman Scooter or the 1946 Harley-Davidson El Model. The Route 66 part of the museum was fun and informative with motion-activated narration of each segment. Along one side of the museum is a series of store fronts including a malt shop and a filling station where you can pull your classic car or motorcycle through for a photo op. On the same grounds is the large Old Town Museum complex which houses many vintage and replica buildings depicting the pioneer lifestyle, including an old school house, the first wood house built in Elk City, a church and more, most with an excellent collection of memorabilia. We really enjoyed wandering through it all, but kept a watchful eye on the skies...

We rode out of Elk City heading north toward Liberal, Kansas thinking if the weather allowed that's where we would stay the night. The roads through that part of Oklahoma are long and straight and go on for miles and miles and miles. There were acres and acres of wild sunflowers and other wildflowers in bloom and other than a random farm house or so, very little else to catch the eye. We stopped at what has to be the loneliest rest area on the face of the earth, even though it was at a junction of two roads. We had been on the one road so long, Tim pulled out the map just to be certain we hadn't missed a turn somewhere. Ha!

As we rode through Shattuck, Oklahoma we enjoyed the sight of a large windmill museum in a park right on the road. The tiny town of Gate in the panhandle of Oklahoma was interesting in that it was home to just over 100 people and had a good many murals depicting life in the old west painted on the buildings and fences of the entire town. I would have liked to linger there to admire the art and learn about the artist, but our daylight was waning fast so we rode on through.

We rolled into Liberal, Kansas about dark-thirty. We travelled the length of the main drag before selecting a motel that was in walking distance of a restaurant that advertised catfish. After freshening up a bit, we walked down to the restaurant where I had catfish and Tim had Mexican food. The town must be a trucking hub because there were diesels everywhere. We also spied a pancake house, a Harley-Davidson dealership and across the street from our motel was a park called Dorothy's House. As in, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Oh boy! We agreed we would do all those things tomorrow before hitting the road home.

Today's mileage was 348 miles.

The Route 66 Museum and Old Town Museum Complex

The trip from Texas through Oklahoma to Kansas

Shattuck Windmill Museum