June 4, 2018 Weatherford, OK to western Oklahoma City

59.45 miles. I walked out the door this morning to cool temps, cloudy, skies a mild south wind, and just perfect conditions. I hooked up with US66  on Weatherford's East Main Street, and didn't get off it until the last few miles of the ride. The narrow, concrete, traffic free road, carried away from I-40, usually a half mile to a mile and a half, so I could most always see or hear the traffic, but I was away far enough to have some peaceful riding. I saw tons of the Oklahoma State bird, the scissor tailed flycatcher, my first Robin of the season, a roadrunner, two huge hawks, and a normal contingent of rabbits and dead coyotes and armidillos. The topography was pleasingly rolling, even though it rolled and turned way more than I 40, as was also previously true. I could hear the wind rustling in the leaves of the trees (I'm so happy to have trees). There was water in every run, even though the farm ponds seem to be a foot or two low. This area, like every place I've ridden since Phoenix, is in drought condition. It's going to be a rough year in the west and south. RT 66 was lined with flowery weeds in various stages of bloom, and tons of Indian blanket flowers. They are the exact same blanket flowers as you get on the Outer Banks, only they are way more plentiful here, and they added the name ' Indian ' here.  Wheat is the prevalent crop, as amber waves of grain sometimes spread as far as I could see.
The first twenty miles were gently rolling, as I mentioned before, but after a mild descent into the Southern Canadian River valley, I crossed an old RT66 bridge, built in 1932, that was about a half mile long, and then a relatively stunning climb, that I wasn't expecting. I climbed about 175 ft in 3/4 if a mile, which is pretty steep, went down a hill to US 281, which ran conjointly with 66, and had to climb just as much again, even though it wasn't as steep. I had a total of about ten miles in there that had some serious hills. Then, as I got closer to El Reno, things calmed down again. RT66 ran conjointly through town with business 40.
Pam and I never hooked up because I was not that near the interstate, so I ate a sandwich that I had packed, as I rode. The closer I get to OKC, as you might expect, the worse traffic got. 66 became a thoroughfare for oil and gas trucks, replacing the farming implements that had been passing me further out.
I decided that i had better get off of 66 before I had the " grill of an eighteen wheeler" moment of which I have often spoken. Thats when the GPS, which I really no longer trust at all, started to take me pretty far out of the way. I just knew I was going to end up in a dirt road, and I'll be damn if  didn't. I was on the southern edge of town, and when I turned into the dirt road, the GPS said I only had to stay on it for six miles, and I'd be at the campground. I was really cussing, but fortunately, after two miles, pavement appeared. A mile or so later, the pavement improved significantly, and in another mile or so, I was passing beautiful new homes, and soon thereafter I was in the thick of town, and just a 1/4 mile from the campground. So, as it turns out, it wasn't that bad afterall. I had time to hit the campground pool for an hour while Pam was getting her nails done ( yep, it's true), and then we walked a half mile or so to Mama Moe's pizza, and feasted. I was pretty wooped for some reason, so I hit the hay pretty early.