Only 24 hours from Tulsa

Only 24 hours from Tulsa, well actually about 5 hours from here. But it would have been 24 hours if I had written this yesterday.

Today our drive takes us through Oklahoma and on into Kansas two states that I visited when travelling along Route 66 in 2000, but two new states for Drew. So he is up to 5 of his 12 new states this holiday.

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We had breakfast in the hotel, which was not great, we hadn't tried it yesterday as the time didn't fit well with Mass. Toast and two boiled eggs for me and four danish for Drew. 

Driving through North East Arkansas was an enjoyable experience, good quality roads and nice views of the Ozark Mountains on the right. I travelled the other side of these in 2000 and indeed today our route will cross that route at Tulsa.

We crossed the Oklahoma state line and stopped for a coffee and change of driver in a place called Roland.

From Roland we continued on the I-40 until its junction with the US-51 which here is called the Muskogee Turnpike. This was our first toll road of the holiday and every 20 or so miles we had to stop and pay a $1 or $1.50 depending on the distance. The Muskogee Turnpike becomes the Broken Arrow Highway as it reaches Tulsa. I intended to take some photos of the route and where it crosses the I-44, which was our route through last time. But the storm which has been around us since Atlanta turned up again. Any photos of Tulsa would have just been photos of driving rain, as it lashed down. To add to the complication the route we were on was closed for roadworks, so in driving rain we had to find a diversion. We did, but it added to the excitement of the drive. 

A note for my sister and brother in law, the Big Texan in Amarillo is still doing its 72oz challenge. We are not going that way this time, but it was advertised on the I-40 a good 450 miles away!

From Tulsa we headed along the US-412 which again reverted to a toll road; the Cimarron Turnpike. Drew who had managed to pay the tolls and wait for the green light the first few times, went the next time without waiting for the person to change the light to green, setting off a loud beeping alarm. It was the attendant's fault for forgetting to turn the light green, but it added to our rich experience during the holiday! She switched it off and shouted her apologies. As we progressed the storm had passed and the sun came out, making this a glorious drive. However in the absence of any small towns along the turnpike we ended up stopping for petrol and lunch at a service station (as we would call it) between both lanes of the Turnpike. Our only option was a McDonald's. Drew was happy with this, but I try not to overdo the McDonald's, but what was a hungry Haydn to do??

McDonalds in the US have expanded their quarter-pounder range to add more toppings Drew had a plain quarter-pounder with cheese, but I opted for their quarter pounder with bacon and cheese (a rib off of one of the Burger King regular menu, but it was rather tasty. The photo is evidence that we didn't supersize the meal :-) 

The US-412 merged with the I-35 and we headed through Oklahoma oil territory and onto the great plains which stretch ahead. Between oil derricks, corn and cows it was like a typical image of the US from TV programmes and films.

We entered Kansas and there was even more corn. This really is the great plains. Within 50 miles of the state-line we came to Wichita, and the Quality Inn where we are staying tonight. We had booked this hotel due to it having a guest laundry and we started washing our clothes before updating this blog. The machine here is $1 for the washer and the same for the drier, it was $2 for each in Charleston, so a bargain. We gave you the washing machine in the Charleston blog, do here they are in the dryer ready to be dried.