Let the plains roll...

Day 3
Topeka KS- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

When in doubt, throttle out. That's the mantra a hotrodder at heart lives by. Betty's leak has either slowed down or stopped with the bolts tightened. It's hard to tell because tranny fluid goes every where when it leaks. Either way something as small as a leak will not be enough to slow this freight train down. As the miles tumble our end goal of Phoenix comes closer into view. On the way Kansas gives us rolling plains dotted with windmills. It's here that the cattle graze over the lands to feed America.

Oh yeah, that's a TW200 enduro in the bed.

Stiff 20 mph headwinds make travel a working adventure. Betty is churning out 2500 rpm's at 70 mph to keep the wheels burning against nature. It's kind of a catch 22 when it comes to rolling down the highway. If we go much slower she works harder and downshifts into 3rd. Might as well get the same gas mileage at a higher speed. How fantastic is that mpg you ask? Well today we are chomping through dinosaurs at 6 mpg. Most days it is closer to 8, but just barely. 

We snag a spot to park at Central State Park in Oklahoma for the next two nights. Warm weather has the locals out in full force and the park is nearly full on a Sunday night. Unfortunately 50% of those locals look like they live out of derelict campers and have their crap stacked up all over their sites.

With our set up complete we check the clock. It's mid-afternoon which still leaves us time to see some stuff. In the middle of Oklahoma City is a revitalized area called bricktown. A water canal lined with restaurants and shops starts off with a bronze monument called Centennial run. 

It's one of the largest bronze sculptures in the world. Consisting of 45 individual statues that were frozen in time to show the 1889 land run that was held at the city. People hungry for new land were cut loose at high noon to gallop west and claim pieces of land as their own. Standing next to the figures puts some perspective on the event that was held. I'd say it is one of the best executed sculptures we have seen. Very cool.

A stroll down the canal sidewalks shows us a bit of bricktown with some Oklahoma vibe. It's a quiet Sunday with little going on. A few adults are exercising, but it's mostly kids who are out killing time.

Less than an hour passes and time is up. Not much to see here so might as well mosy on. Halfway across town is the Oklahoma city bombing memorial. For those of you not aware this is the site of a domestic terrorist act. Some useless piece of crap was unhappy with the government and decided to kill 168 innocent people to get even. These people were employees, not elected officials. Nineteen children were taken from this world by a monster without a spine. In the buildings place stands a memorial to those who died on that terrible day.

We head home to site #107 reminded how lucky we are to have our lives and each other.

 Our lives are not glorious nor or we changing the world. At the end of the day our lives are what they are. Your born, you live, you die. Enjoy an Oklahoma sunset and count your blessings to see tomorrow.