Today was a day of driving.
We rolled out of bed at 8am, loaded up the car and headed off to Dexter, Missouri to meet up with Nem for breakfast at McDonald's. I've been very impressed with all of the Micky Dee's here in the States. They've all seemed to have had a face lift and are much nicer than their Canadian counterparts. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with relaxing conversation and pleasant company but much too soon it was time to bid our farewells and hit the road again. We were determined to put as much distance in today as we could.
Missouri in Nem's neck of the woods is really flat, with farmland stretching as far as the eye can see. Little towns dot the horizon, but for the most parts it is farms, farms and more farms. We even saw a crop duster, and it was fun to watch it's aerial displays. Our travels took us across the entire southern end of the state, and farmland eventually gave way to rolling hills. I took over driving after lunch, and the road we were travelling, highway 60, was one of the most enjoyable I've ever driven on. All ups and downs and twists and turns. We threw on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and so, passed a very nice afternoon.
All good things must end, however, and for us that ending happened on the O
klahoma state border. All in all, I am not very impressed with Oklahoma; it's not a very tourist friendly state. The first inkling we had of this was when we pulled up to the Tourist Information Center, just on the other side of the state line, and found it locked up tight. We were a little put out by this, as we were hoping to pick up a hotel coupon book which had served us so well in Tennessee. But life doesn't always work out the way one hopes, and we're more than willing to roll with the punches, so we hopped back in the car and zoomed off.
klahoma state border. All in all, I am not very impressed with Oklahoma; it's not a very tourist friendly state. The first inkling we had of this was when we pulled up to the Tourist Information Center, just on the other side of the state line, and found it locked up tight. We were a little put out by this, as we were hoping to pick up a hotel coupon book which had served us so well in Tennessee. But life doesn't always work out the way one hopes, and we're more than willing to roll with the punches, so we hopped back in the car and zoomed off.Then, we encountered our first toll of the trip. We had plenty of warning that it was coming, but we're very unfamiliar with the concept and as Illidan would say, we were not prepared. Knowing it was just up ahead, I started to fumble in my wallet only to look up and discover we were in the express transponder lane with no way to get over to the little booths. Yes, folks, we breezed through the toll without paying.
We pulled over to the side of the road and stared at each other for a few minutes in horror, frozen by indecision as to what exactly we could do to rectify our mistake and half expecting police sirens and bull horns. My supervisor, Sean, had warned me before the trip of what they do to people in our current situation. Most unpleasant! We hesitantly got out of the car and made our way back to the little building in the hopes that our plaintive "we're Canadian" excuse might convince them to be lenient with us. Their reactions were actually kind of disappointing. Apparently, they've encountered Canucks before and to them it's just par for course. We paid the toll, were instructed to call a hotline for further instructions (likely to mail in a receipt of our payments to forestall a ticket being sent in the mail), and that's that. Back to driving!
Our recent misadventures set a bad tone for the rest of our day, and driving through Oklahoma City did nothing to lighten the mood. We somehow ended up on the turnpike instead of taking the Interstate through the middle of the town (mostly due to poor, poor navigation on my part... Hitchhiker is a very engrossing story) and had to go through toll station after toll station. It was stressful, and we were very happy to see the other side of the city come and go.
As a side note, we've been very pleased with the quality of the roads we've traveled on so far in this trip. I know from experiences in New York State that upkeep in some states can be a low priority, but Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri all keep an excellent road system. And they somehow manage to do it without sticking a toll booth in every couple miles. Now, in Oklahoma, a state that has all this extra revenue from motorists, I find myself not so impressed with road conditions. One thing I am curious about, however, are the many signs on the side of the Interstate which read "Do Not Drive Through Smoke". I can only imagine what they might mean.
We eventually decided to crash for the night in a little town called Elk City, not too far from the Texas border. We found a hotel called Economy Express, which totally caters to our desire to lodge cheaply. Despite being obviously old, and a little run down, the rooms are spacious and clean, and look very inviting to a pair of weary travelers.
Tomorrow, we can leave this state behind and make our way into Texas. We very excited to meet Aly and Ram in Lubbock. Google Maps clocks the trip from here to there at 5 hours, so we're going to allow ourselves to sleep in a bit before hitting the road.
Goodnight, all! =)
