If I haven’t already said it, I will now:  I miss Jill and Robert Miller!  They have been awesome friends of ours now for at least 15 years.  This morning, Jill presented a wonderful breakfast for us:  Basil Quiche, Spinach Quiche, Venison Sausage, Eggs, Bacon and Fresh Fruit!  Oh and Jill and I had Key Lime Pie for breakfast too!   Our other Best Friend here Arkansas, Rod Dunn joined us for breakfast, arriving on his Harley Street Glide.

Rod came to ride part of the way with us today!  The first few points of interest we zoom by, take me back down memory lane.  We passed the turn off for Pinnacle Mountain, where I used to go trail running 2-3 times a week.  Then I spotted the sign for Wye Mountain.   This is where we went to the Daffodil Festival every spring!  So much fun.

Rod guided us through some backroads that I had completely forgotten about.  We then end up in Hot Springs, which Terron and I drove through every single summer weekend when we lived here, on our way to Lake Ouachita.  This lake is amazing!  Nobody’s allowed private homes on the lake, so it maintains its pristine beauty and wilderness setting!  We owned a total of 5 different boats when we lived there and spent nearly every weekend on the lake, water skiing, camping and hanging out with friends!  Terron gets on the CB and tells me, in addition to missing our friends here, he really does miss the lake.  I agree!

It’s almost time for Rod to for leave us, so we stop in Mt. Ida for a cold drink.  This is one of those cute little stops with cold pickles on the counter!  We chat about old times and discuss the 102 degree heat with the clerks.  They’ve never been to Washington so I tell them how great it is and how I really believe Arkansas is a miniature version of Washington, since it has two mountain ranges, the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, tons of hiking and fishing with so many lakes, rivers and streams.  I buy a few lottery tickets and I tell Rod that he’ll get a cut if he collects the winnings for me.  (He’s an AR State Trooper, Special Agent, and I’ve known him for years, so I trust him!)

Terron and I head off on our bikes to begin our way of picking up as much of Route 66 as possible.  We are still cruising through the Ouachita National Forest, from Arkansas, well into Oklahoma. (BTW Ouachita is pronounced:  Wash-eh-taw)

There are so many old cemeteries along these back roads and each one is so well groomed and neatly kept.  And there are so many flowers at almost all of the gravesites.

Terron and I are still chuckling today at the Dollar General store in every single town we pass!  And some of these towns are so cute!  Talihina, Oklahoma is full of buildings all made of rock or brick.  The whole way through town, I don’t think I saw a single structure with siding or wood on its exterior.  Down the road, another town had all brick streets through its downtown.

Oh and have I mentioned just how hot it is today?  It was soooooo hot, that even the cows were hot!  We rode past a large pond where we saw tons of cows in the water!  That’s how hot they were!  Most of the cows were wading up to their bellies, but one must have been really hot, because he was immersed all the way up to his neck!  Terron later told me he was laughing so hard, he couldn’t get the camera out fast enough to take a photo!

This makes us want to stop for ice water, so we pull into a gas station/convenience store literally at a crossroads; no town.  While pumping gas, a man rolls up in his pickup next to me for fuel and asks where we’re headed.  I tell him we’re now headed home to Seattle, after riding all the way down to Key West.  He’s absolutely flabbergasted!  He’s a true Oklahoma cowboy who just can’t believe what we’re telling him.  He asks a number of questions and gives us a few sights to see in Oklahoma and beyond, shakes his head again at this trek we’re on and wishes us well!

I really do thank all of you reading this and wishing us well!  And please, let me know what ‘must-see’ points of interest are out there, along the old Route 66!  Tomorrow’s a big day for me!  By the end of the day, I should be able to say I’ve been to all 50 states!

Ahhh and a treat at the end of a hot day, we hit the convenience store across from our hotel and treat ourselves to ice cream and blueberry cheesecake fudge!