We stopped at the Flying J conveniently situated right at the entrance to the highway. Even filling up is becoming easier as we remember the steps and procedures.
While sitting and waiting for Michael to finish up, I read this sign posted on the pumps: SHOWER POWER - Now 10-day expirations on all earned shower credits. Fuel over 500 gallons in a month, earn a FREE shower a day.
I wondered if truckers generally need more encouragement when it comes to taking showers while on the road. It also reminded me of the showering announcements I first heard when inside a previous Flying J. I found that pretty amusing. As I was walking up and down the aisles, looking at what was for sale, this message was broadcast over the intercom:
Shower customer number 68, your shower is now ready. Please proceed to shower number 7.
The announcement was repeated several times while I was in the shop, as each shower customer got called, and I began to wonder about the life of truck drivers. Places like this, besides being a convenient spot to fill up, also cater to other needs, providing a well supplied store of goods (much like a camping supply store with limited grocery items), as well as a restaurant (like Denny's) and also a place to clean up and have a shower. And every time we have stopped at a Flying J, it is constantly busy with trucks pulling in and leaving.
Certainly, the I-40 corridor is a trucking highway judging by how many trucks we share the road with.
It must be a lonely life, driving for days on end to deliver goods cross country.
We traveled around 220 miles today to our next stop. We have a week in which to make it to Pismo Beach by next Friday for the Alpine Rally. So this section of our journey will be overnights from destination to destination. Today's stop is at the KOA outside Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The trip through this section of Oklahoma was more monotonous, the road straight, the terrain flat. Again, we passed field after field, mile after mile. We also traveled through one Native American territory after another: Cherokee Nation Land, then Muskogee, Creek Island, Kickapoo, and so on. Oklahoma's is a tumultuous history. This is where the federal government in 1817 forcibly relocated five tribes from their homes along what is known now as the Trail of Tears. Today, Oklahoma has the largest population of Native Americans.
Oklahoma is also where the open prairie was opened up for white settlement during the land rush. Later, it was the scene of the famed dust bowl, forcing thousands off the land after years of drought and over-farming.
And of course, there is the infamous Oklahoma City bombing that happened in 1995.
Here are several shots I took today. Taking photos from the buddy seat is not as easy as it was in the Rialta. I am much further back, there are large rear view mirrors and windshield wipers to dodge, and a lot more glare on the large windshield. So the photos are not perfect, but will give an idea of what I see from my buddy seat as we whiz along the highway.
This is the last of Arkansas before crossing into Oklahoma.
We began to see hilltops, grassy pastures and cattle as we neared the border into Oklahoma.
The highway, the same I-40, basically took us straight across the middle of Oklahoma. Here is what the scenery looked like:
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| got a shot of a housing development close to the highway - shows the style of houses |
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| driving through Indian land, we saw several casinos along the way |
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| the orange car passing us is a classic Chevy, which dear hubby noticed, of course |
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| a few more hills appear |
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| the Arkansas River, which flows into the Mississippi |
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| more wide open plains and fields |
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| a few cattle ranches interspersed |
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| the terrain is changing and in the distance, we see flat-topped mesas appearing |
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| I-40 crosses Lake Eufaula! |
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| fields of hay bales, neatly rolled |
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| Every larger town we approached had a sign like this, advertising what there is to see there, which I think is very helpful |
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| right before the exit to Checotah, this sign announced it is country star Carrie Underwood's home - Oklahomans are obviously proud of her |
Eventually we veered off the highway, straight to the KOA (Kampground Of America) for the night. At this time of year, we didn't anticipate this park being so full. We were lucky to get one of two open sites.
After tea ( of course!) we went for a walk along the pretty-ish mile-long nature trail. It felt good to stretch our legs after the long drive.
Dinner tonight was black beans and brown rice. It has become a favorite, easy to make and easy to chow down, with yogurt and some grated cheese on top. The leftovers will taste even better the next day.
Tomorrow we head to Texas. It will be another long drive. Slowly but surely we are making it across this vast country.