Mile 5555: Kansas and Oklahoma
Although today’s drive was a bit longer than yesterday, it wasn’t nearly as arduous for either of us. Because I asked River to sit still in his cage through two classes and a very long car ride, all back to back without release or complaint and he did remarkably well, I wanted to reward him today with a lot of attention to his comfort and needs.
Before we hit the road from Kansas City, we stopped to play in a park. River hadn’t had a chance to really break into a full on run in a while, and he was making up for lost time this morning.
Once he seemed to peter out, I got him in the car and we hit the highway for Oklahoma City. Mini Nav was taking me on a route that was going to go down Missouri and Alabama and then cut across right into Oklahoma City, but since I already drove through Missouri yesterday, I altered my route to go through Wichita and then down south from there, so I could drive through Kansas and Oklahoma.
Kansas was pretty, considering how much nothing there was. I did notice something I don’t really see a lot of; ponds.
At some point in Kansas, we stopped in a Rest Area and ran around for a good half an hour until he was pooped again. And, he also pooped again. I let him lounge outside the car for a little bit before getting back in, to help further break up the day.
Once we got into Oklahoma, I got the feeling it was trying not to let us get out. There was a highway closure as we got into Tulsa, and no indication of any detour or alternate route to take to get out, just a “Road Closed” sign.
I stopped in Tulsa to find a place to grab a bite to eat and we found a really nice dog friendly restaurant with out door seating and I got a catfish and hushpuppy salad. River lied on the ground near my chair and ate pieces of bread and some kibble I brought along. So a few more miles down the road, we get into a town called Okmulgee, there was a horrible accident that seemed to involve multiple cars and trucks and took out the electricity for a few blocks around, including the traffic signals. There were probably a dozen police and emergency vehicles with their lights flashing, and a man directing traffic to turn just before the wreckage. And the entire town seemed to turn out to check it out, as the sidewalks were full of people milling around and saying how awful it was. So I couldn’t figure out how to get around this major closure of a lone highway in the middle of Oklahoma. I finally pulled off the road and zoomed in on the map to find a side street that looked like it opened onto the highway a few miles down the road. It was a small, residential road that I was on for a while, but finally, I got back on the main highway.
Night had fallen by then, so the last two hours were a straight shot that I didn’t see much of. Today will be the last day I have off, without teaching responsibilities or massage clients for almost a week, so I’m glad it was such a nice, leisurely one.
Once he seemed to peter out, I got him in the car and we hit the highway for Oklahoma City. Mini Nav was taking me on a route that was going to go down Missouri and Alabama and then cut across right into Oklahoma City, but since I already drove through Missouri yesterday, I altered my route to go through Wichita and then down south from there, so I could drive through Kansas and Oklahoma.
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| Still THREE MORE hours to Wichita?! |
Kansas was pretty, considering how much nothing there was. I did notice something I don’t really see a lot of; ponds.
At some point in Kansas, we stopped in a Rest Area and ran around for a good half an hour until he was pooped again. And, he also pooped again. I let him lounge outside the car for a little bit before getting back in, to help further break up the day.
Once we got into Oklahoma, I got the feeling it was trying not to let us get out. There was a highway closure as we got into Tulsa, and no indication of any detour or alternate route to take to get out, just a “Road Closed” sign.
I stopped in Tulsa to find a place to grab a bite to eat and we found a really nice dog friendly restaurant with out door seating and I got a catfish and hushpuppy salad. River lied on the ground near my chair and ate pieces of bread and some kibble I brought along. So a few more miles down the road, we get into a town called Okmulgee, there was a horrible accident that seemed to involve multiple cars and trucks and took out the electricity for a few blocks around, including the traffic signals. There were probably a dozen police and emergency vehicles with their lights flashing, and a man directing traffic to turn just before the wreckage. And the entire town seemed to turn out to check it out, as the sidewalks were full of people milling around and saying how awful it was. So I couldn’t figure out how to get around this major closure of a lone highway in the middle of Oklahoma. I finally pulled off the road and zoomed in on the map to find a side street that looked like it opened onto the highway a few miles down the road. It was a small, residential road that I was on for a while, but finally, I got back on the main highway.
Night had fallen by then, so the last two hours were a straight shot that I didn’t see much of. Today will be the last day I have off, without teaching responsibilities or massage clients for almost a week, so I’m glad it was such a nice, leisurely one.
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| River ready for bed |
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