Nomad Life - Day 60

For some reason, I was awake much earlier than I'd hoped - I tried (briefly) to get back to sleep but it wasn't possible...  Instead, I started teleworking at 0500 (0600 Eastern Time) and then took a short break for a little walk (about a mile) and some birding (using the Merlin app) near the Quality Inn and then ate breakfast in the hotel lobby.  Returning to my room, I resumed teleworking.  Even though I'd requested a late checkout (noon), I kept getting bothered by the cleaning staff and front desk - as a result, I left my room and checked out of the hotel at about 1145 (after nearly 6.5 hours of work).  Ironically, the clerk at the desk by that point said that I was eligible to stay in my room until 1300 because of my Choice loyalty status.  SMH.  Due to the time crunch, I ended up skipping a formal lunch (instead, ate snacks in my car).  I got some (very inexpensive) gas at the QuickTrip that was located next door and departed Broken Arrow by 1205.  Since Oklahoma has many, many toll roads, my western progress required some out-of-the-way routing - Google Maps was not very much help and I decided to mostly ignore it.  Instead, I drove through the southern reaches of Tulsa on surface streets and ultimately crossed the Arkansas River at East 96th Street (accessed from Riverside Drive).  Next, I made my way to US-75, which I used to drive south.  Wanting to avoid Oklahoma City, I didn't follow Google Maps (which wanted me to keep going south) - instead, I utilized OK-117 and OK-66 (which followed the path of the historic US-66).  In this area, I encountered a gas station with $2.36 per gallon - wow!  All of the extra work to outwit Google paid off, eventually, when I reached OK-33, a road that basically paralleled all the other toll roads across the state.  Overall, I'd probably lost about 10 minutes in fighting the map recommendations but I had also avoided all tolls and the OKC metro.  Relieved, I settled in for several hours of almost straight line driving across the prairie.  I started to see a lot of oil rigs and massive windmills while towns were few and far between.  Most of the time, I was able to maintain at least 65 mph but, at other times, I could bump up to 70 and the limited traffic kept pace.  I passed through a couple of hamlets while I was listening to an audio book of Jack Kerouac's "The Road" that referenced similar places in OK/TX - small world!  Throughout this drive on OK-33 (which eventually turned towards the Southwest), I rarely had to pass anyone or stop at lights and was very happy with my choice of routes.  Signs I passed in various places indicated that I was very close to the famous Chisholm Trail.  Approaching the town of Thomas, I switched to OK-54 and used it reach I-40 in the town of Weatherford.  From there, the speeds got even higher (75-80 mph) and the high plains (I had already passed 3000 feet above mean sea level) slopped as far as the eye could see in all directions.  During this section of my drive, I noticed signs for the The Great Western (Cattle) Trail.  When I passed near the town of Altus, which I'd flown into several times during my Navy career, I finally figured out that it was the home of the Oklahoma Space Port.  During the rest of my drive, I saw signs (at each exit) for museums and other sites related to Historic Route 66.  I would have liked to check out each of these landmarks but was making good time and wanted to time fuel, food and bio breaks that would allow me to reach Amarillo before dark (so I'd have time for some outdoor activity there).  Just before I reached the town of Elk City, Mollie called and we spoke briefly before I arrived at the Burger King there (1615).  I ate my dinner inside the restaurant, did some teleworking (30 minutes) and then got back on I-40.  Afterwards, I resumed my call with Mollie and we had a nice chat (mostly about her job).  During the conversation, I crossed into Texas and started to encounter light rain.  Once I was off the phone, I stopped a few times: at a fancy new rest area on a high bluff, at the leaning tower of Texas in Groom (Britten Cattle Company ?) and at my first Buc-ee's on the outskirts of Amarillo.  At the latter location, I got a funny photo of me with a statue of Buc-ee and shared it with my daughters (they liked it).  Five miles later (using I-40 West), I arrived at my hotel, the Econo Lodge Amarillo East (1900).  After getting checked into my room and verifying that the internet worked, I departed for a walk near the hotel (1930).  Along the way, I found some interesting lakes, explored the parking lots for other hotels, interacted with some RVers at the Cracker Barrel next door and walked around in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum parking lot.  After three miles in the cool (60s) evening air, I got back in my hotel (2035) and did my last hour of teleworking.  Before finishing my day, I caught up on several days of blogging (I'd fallen behind); I was finished with my computers by 2215.  Less than 30 minutes later, I was settled into my bed.  Very glad to have gotten today's long drive completed!