The Land of Lincoln, The Big Mo and The Sooners

The Illinois state line passed and it was time to dump it down to 55 miles per hour. More like “The Land of Limping” in this part of the heartland. The speed limit here is 55 for trucks and 65 for everybody else. It’s supposed to change to 65 for everyone on January 1st, but that doesn’t help us now. The rough roads here are one thing, but creeping along on an interstate at this excruciatingly slow speed is another. At this velocity, I can almost see the kernels on the corn in the fields that are plentiful in the Midwest. Like my favorite funnyman, Ron White says, we were going "slower than the speed of smell." Later than sooner, me and the Slowkys will make Shy Town.

The mileage signs indicate that the hub of this region is at hand. Chicago is strangely beginning to look familiar…I’m almost losing track of how many times I’ve been here in a relatively short period of time. I like this town, it looks like an eclectic place to explore, kind of like New York. I did find a terrific Greek place to eat about 4 visits earlier. However, being here for any length of time has never been in the cards. This town is an extremely busy freight hub. Our center in Elk Grove Village, next to O’Hare Airport cranks out opportunities like a machine gun. Step into town and you’re in the line of fire. Someday, I would like a chance to hang around for at least ten minutes.

True to form, the Qualcomm started going off like a bottle of champagne as soon as I checked in. Congratulations, you’re going to Tulsa, Oklahoma! Now, Oklahoma is OK, but this not being my first rodeo, it meant that I would probably end up in Texas again, I thought to myself. This is great since I like Texas. Besides, it’s damp and chilly here in Chicago with no sun. That’s right, we’ll go where there is better weather. The Sooners is a favorite nickname for Oklahomans, or in some circles, Okies. If I remember, the name came from a bunch of settlers in the 1800’s who got there sooner than they were supposed to. If that’s a fact, they sure weren’t coming through Illinois!

Pick up was in Bedford Park, Illinois and then the big wheel down to OK. This would be a twilight start and a nighttime run back down state at 55 mph, watching what was left of the daylight drift by at an annoying speed. St. Louis popped into range and a chance to gas it a bit once over the mighty Mississippi.

If you’ve never seen the Arch in St. Louis, put it on your list. It’s a magnificent piece of architecture that gleams in the sunlight or nightlight. On that earlier trip I made to Colorado with my friend Lars the 80’s, we stopped in St. Louis for dinner. We intended on travelling on to Kansas City, but a chance visit to the Robert E. Lee Riverboat changed all that. A bartender in the lounge named Gunner expounded on the attributes of St. Louis like the chamber of commerce when we asked how far to KC. He painted a glamorous picture of the town and presented us with a long list of where we could eat, stay and enjoy nightlife. We ended up staying in this Mecca by the river for three days. On the last day, the museum beneath the Arch beckoned to me. The artifacts, art and life size renditions of cattle and cowboys painted a picture of why St. Louis was the Gateway to the west. On top of all this was the famed Arch itself. There is a tram type ride where you can actually ride up into the Arch and look out the windows at the top. I wanted to take the excursion up, but Lars looked a little queasy from barroom sports the night before and all I could see was some guy “Ralph” joining us in the tram car. I’ll get on that thing yet. Ok, now, which way to Kansas City?

Night had settled in and the next road accomplishment on the map was Joplin, Missouri in the southwest corner of the state. Once past Joplin, and it was a breeze into Oklahoma and Tulsa was right there on the eastern end.

Morning brought abundant sunshine to Oklahoma and the drop off was made in a jiffy in T Town and it was on to Stillwater, OK for another pick up opportunity, headed to Santa Teresa, New Mexico. I was right, this run would be another sojourn through Texas, only this time through Amarillo cattle country in the panhandle.

The only way in to Stillwater was on a 4 lane state highway, which proved to be a refreshing departure from the interstates. The countryside was surprisingly pleasant offering rolling hills and lakes that looked like they would be a good place to fish in a john boat. Eventually, the inviting rural scenery turned to a more suburban setting on the outskirts of town. The deeper I travelled into this center of activity, the more evident it became that it was a college town. Stillwater is home to Oklahoma State University, the football Cowboys. Go Cowboy signs dotted the streets and buildings . College students appeared in the obligatory backpacks and bicycles. I recalled that this is also Country Music legend Garth Brooks’ land as he was a class of ’84 graduate here, earning a degree in Advertising. Track and field was his sport, throwing a javelin, his specialty. One of the many bars and nightclubs where he got his start to Country music super stardom was the popular “Tumbleweed” right here in Stillwater. Today, he and his wife, Trisha Yearwood make their home in Owasso, OK near his birthplace in Tulsa with his three daughters. On October 15th, he announced that he was coming out of retirement to play Las Vegas in one the Wynn Hotels on weekends so he could maintain his family life during the week here in Oklahoma. Now, there’s a good gig if you can get it.

This freight pickup involved a power boat plant. Walking through the facility I daydreamed of taking one of the shiny new watercraft back down the road to one of the lakes I saw.

Santa Teresa is a stone’s throw from El Paso, Texas in the badlands of New Mexico. What in the world are they going to do with boat parts there? Here we go, another interesting traverse through the rest of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Maybe I’ll find some more Huevos Rancheros on the way. Little did I know at that point that the remainder of my 27 days out on this trip would be spent like a human pinball in a truck.