The Motorcycle Diaries

the
Motorcycle
Diaries
Choose your chopper: Oklahoma offers thousands of
miles of prime pavement and scenery ripe for riding.
By Dyrinda Tyson
O
•
Photography by Tom Luker
klahoma’s roads don’t only wind through land.
They wind through time—through plains roamed
by buffalo and the men who hunted them, through
the towns that sprung up as settlers moved in, through
countryside so still and silent it’s hard to remember modern
farms are just over the rise.
From the lush and majestic lake country in the east
to the windswept prairies stretching out to the west,
Oklahoma offers plenty of road and plenty of variety for
the motorcyclist on the prowl.
It’s a journey measured in more than miles. There’s
something about the drone of an engine mixed with
wind on the open road, a heavy-metal mantra that settles
the mind and pushes the duller parts of life aside. Terri
“T” Collier of Stillwater, editor in chief and publisher
of Thunder Roads Magazine in Oklahoma and Arkansas,
likens the effect to the sound of ocean waves.
“It’s very peaceful,” she says. “There’s a lot of serenity and a lot of meditation that I can get just by riding
my bike.”
But some journeys are, in fact, measured in distance.
“Everybody who rides motorcycles wants to ride
curves—they don’t want to ride straight lines,” says
Edmond photographer James Pratt, who has ridden
motorcycles for thirty-five years, since he was able to
defy his protective parents at eighteen and buy a bike
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May/June 2012
of his own. Some of Oklahoma’s roads, laid out in
orderly grids, may not offer a lot of those curves, but
they make up for it in hidden jewels.
“There’s a lot of intrigue out there if you understand a little bit about what’s going on,” says adventure journalist Bill Dragoo of Norman, who has spent
more than four decades riding motorcycles all over
the world.
Intrigue can range from a sod house keeping lonely
vigil in a field along a northern Oklahoma highway
to a 1902 iron bridge spanning a waterway between
Wanette and Byars in south-central Oklahoma, its
heavy iron bones impervious to the insults of time
and graffiti. It can be nature at its most mellow—the
soft scent of blooms in the spring and blazing colors
in the fall—or at its most grand, such as when the
soaring, glittering Gloss Mountains suddenly loom into
view in northwestern Oklahoma.
The problem might be deciding just where to go.
“There’s so much in our state for riders,” Collier says.
“It’s so easy to put together a ride because there are so
many cool places for us to go and see, whether they’re
rich in history, flat or curvy, with trees or without.”
To begin a spring motorcycle journey of miles and of
mind, consider these five rides spanning 533 miles in
the state.
NO HELMET REQUIRED
In addition to his ride, a biker truly
only needs only one thing—open
road. Oklahoma has abundant paved
routes to adventure, from winding
mountain byways to pathways flanked
by forest. Here, Garry Canaday, the state
coordinator for A Brotherhood Aiming
Toward Education (ABATE), takes a
break at the Gloss Mountains.
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5 Rides
the
Natural
123
miles
Wonders Ride
Roman Nose State Park to Boiling Springs State Park
t
to
camp in a teepee is the most
colorful of Roman Nose State
Park’s many overnight offerings.
Named for the Cheyenne chief who
once called this rugged land home, Roman Nose offers campsites, cabins, and
a rustic-meets-modern lodge originally
built in 1956. The lodge, which had an
extensive face lift in 2010, maintains its
retro vibe but now also offers a place to
dock an iPod.
Along this route, prairie gives way to
rugged landscape, and rugged landscape
erupts into summits that seem to glint
in the sun. They’re the Gloss Mountains
(sometimes called the Glass Mountains),
whose selenite deposits mimic glass.
Prairie and mountains? This journey is
all about contrasts.
“Highway 412 is barren, and there’s a
lot of red dirt,” says Russell Wright, a motorcyclist who grew up in Enid and now
lives in Coalgate, “but then you can see
the Gloss Mountains from a ways off.”
Every spring, the annual Okeene Rattlesnake Hunt peels bikers off State Highway
51A in Southard, sending them east along
State Highway 51 to the small Blaine
County community. Volunteers spend
weeks combing the nearby hills for rattlers
to set loose in the motorcycle-friendly
event that even includes a poker run.
Next, the route shoots through the
Gloss Mountains and swings in the
direction of Freedom, which bills itself as
“the Queen City of the Cimarron” and
proudly wears its western heritage in the
cedar-paneled buildings lining downtown.
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he unusual opportunity
May/June 2012
Twenty-six miles from the Gloss
Mountains, riders find themselves in
Little Sahara State Park, whose sand dunes
and ATVs make it feel more like the
desert than western Oklahoma. The park
boasts 1,650 acres of dunes and draws
off-road enthusiasts who bring their own
rides or rent them near the park.
“It’s a cool place to stop, look out on
the dunes, and say, ‘Wow, those people
are crazy on the four-wheelers,’” Collier
says, laughing. “And I’m one of them, at
least every once in a while.”
But for those seeking quieter surroundings, the gypsum-lined depths at
Alabaster Caverns State Park may be
worth a stop to strike out on foot for a
little spelunking.
“If you want to see a cave, that’s the
best one in Oklahoma,” says Wright.
The ride winds up at Boiling Springs
State Park, an oasis whose once-churning
waters inspired its name. The “boiling” is
actually water gurgling through the sand
at the bottom of the springs. A revamped
spring box near the park office showcases
a spring that still produces a hundred
gallons a minute.
Boiling Springs is well suited for large
groups, with two campgrounds that
feature bunkhouses and a community
center. Other campsites and cabins can
accommodate smaller groups.
The roads that lace this route together make for a mellow, relaxing ride:
pavement in good repair, relatively light
traffic, and a cruising speed that allows
riders to take in the unique beauty of
western Oklahoma.
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The Ride
From Roman Nose State Park, take
State Highway 8A through the park to
State Highway 51A north to Orienta.
(Cut east on State Highway 51 north
of Southard if you’re going to Okeene.)
Then travel west on U.S. Highway 412
to go through Gloss Mountains State
Park. Eighteen miles west of the park,
pick up U.S. 281 and travel north through
Little Sahara State Park near Waynoka.
Continue north through Waynoka (the
road becomes State Highway 14 north
of town) to East County Road 0190. Take
that road west to State Highway 50 and
ride through Freedom, then south to
Alabaster Caverns State Park. Continue
on Highway 50 to State Highway 50B
and then west to Boiling Springs State
Park. The Okeene Rattlesnake Hunt is
May 4-6. okeenerattlesnakehunt.com.
Cruising along U.S. Highway 412
near Fairview, riders may think
they’ve taken a wrong turn and
ended up in a western movie. The
towering red ochre mesas that
are the Gloss Mountains give this
stretch of highway in northwestern
Oklahoma something of a
southwestern feel.
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5 Rides
In Arcadia, POPS is a recent landmark
along a road, Route 66, filled with
historic icons. Designed by Oklahoma
City architect Rand Elliott, the
combination restaurant, store, and gas
station is a sleek take on the roadside
diners of yesteryear where bikers can fuel
up under a metal canopy and the LED
glow of a 66-foot soda bottle.
189 Magical History
Tour
miles
Miami to Arcadia
A
journey down America’s Mother
Road isn’t just a matter of miles
and curves.
“Route 66 is fun to ride just for the
nostalgia,” Collier says.
Tulsa businessman Cyrus Avery helped
design Route 66 while serving on the
board tasked with creating a federal highway system. His diagonal route effectively
channeled traffic away from Kansas City
and Denver into Oklahoma, helping
boost Oklahoma’s prosperity.
After it opened in 1926, Route 66
stretched from Chicago to California and
opened a gateway to the west traveled
by Dust Bowl-worn Okies and millions of ordinary Americans in search of
adventure. It quickly worked its way into
America’s pop culture and maintains a
tight grip on the national imagination—
and on motorcyclists.
“It’s great for people beginning to
ride who need to learn about curves,”
Collier says.
Main Street morphs into U.S.
Highway 69 south of Miami, and
Historic Route 66 signs guide riders
along its path. Relics of the past crop
up en route—the remains of the old
TeePee Drive-In just west of Sapulpa,
for example. Remnants of the original
Route 66, called “ribbon roads” for their
narrow, winding curves, dot the ride,
including thirteen miles of pavement
between Miami and Afton.
Old road or new, it’s Route 66, a priority historic route for many motorcyclists.
“It’s one of those things: If you haven’t
done it, you need to,” says Dragoo.
The ride through Route 66 towns
including Foyil, Stroud, and Chandler
winds up in Arcadia, where the front
porch at the Biker Shak can be inviting.
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May/June 2012
“If you have a porch at your restaurant or business, we’re there,” Collier says.
“We want to be outside.”
The Biker Shak deals in leathers, helmets, accessories, and custom embroidery, and its porch commands a good
view of Arcadia’s treasured Round Barn
just down the road.
“This is motorcycle heaven,” says
owner Rhonda Cole, who opened the
Biker Shak in 2007. “When people
come out here, they want to relax and
get off the interstate.”
The Mother Road attracts riders from
all over the world, including groups of
Norwegians who come through every
year. Cole grills burgers as they shop, feeds
them, and sends them on their way.
“When I first opened this store, I had
no idea it would include doing what I’m
doing now,” Cole says. “I’m hosting poker
runs and tour groups and fixing lunch.
You’ve got to go with the demand.”
Many Route 66 travelers end up at
POPS, which lives up to its name with an
enormous LED-lit soda bottle that glows
at night. Inside, its Soda Ranch consists of
more than five hundred varieties. Patrons
also can grab a bite to eat before topping
off the tank and setting off in search of
their next Route 66 destination.
The Ride
From downtown Miami, follow U.S.
Highway 69 south and turn west on
Steve Owens Boulevard. Continue as
the road curves south and west, going
through Narcissa, Afton, and Vinita. In
Vinita, turn left at Wilson Street and
follow the road as it curves west and
becomes U.S. 69 and then State Highway
66. Some cyclists opt to stay on Interstate
44, going through Tulsa and exiting at
Sapulpa to catch Highway 66 again. The
old Route 66, however, went through
Tulsa on Eleventh Street. From Sapulpa,
follow State Highway 66 through
Kellyville, Bristow, and Stroud, continuing
west through Chandler and Warwick
and ending at Arcadia. The Biker Shak
is located at 208 East Highway 66 in
Arcadia, (405) 396-2100 or bikershak.
com. POPS is at 660 West Highway 66 in
Arcadia, (877) 266-7677 or route66.com.
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5 Rides
2
50
Te x a s
Boiling Springs
State Park
the
Route Map
I l l u s t ra t i o n s
waynoka
Miami
69
412
n s a s
A r k a
1
K a n s a s
Mis s ou ri
K a n s a s
sapulpa
Roman Nose
State Park
66
Arcadia
b y
JJ Ritchey
3
Roman Nose State Park to
Boiling Springs State Park
123 miles | Page 46
2.
49
Miami to Arcadia
3.
189 miles | page 48
Medicine Park through
the Wichita Mountains
Te x a s
Wildlife Refuge
4.
5.
50
Medicine
Park
5
4
Talihina
1
Sulphur
177
Smithville
tishomingo
67 miles | page 52
Fort Washita to Sulphur
Fort Washita
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54 miles | page 53
Talihina to Broken Bow
A r k a n s a s
1.
Broken Bow
Te x a s
Te x a s
100 miles | page 54
May/June 2012
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5 Rides
54 Southern Charm
miles
O
A ride through State Highway
49 cuts through the Wichita
Mountains Wildlife Refuge
and can include sightings of
area wildlife.
67 Where the Wild Things Are
miles
C
medicine park through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
locking in at a century old and count-
ing, Medicine Park gives a splash of
cobblestone quaintness to the rugged
foothills of the Wichita Mountains. Established as the state’s first planned tourist resort
and now seeing a resurgence in visitors—many
of whom arrive via motorcycle—Medicine
Park makes an appropriate push-off point
for a ride through the Wichita Mountains
Wildlife Refuge.
“You can map out a fun day,” Dragoo
says, perhaps with a picnic or hike along
Dog Run Hollow, a trail system that
loops near French Lake south of State
Highway 49, or Charons Garden, a
stretch of rough granite landscape that
covers the park’s southwest corner.
“End to end, any direction you go,
it’s going to be beautiful,” says Candace
Morris, one of the owners of Chaps
My Ass, a Medicine Park shop that caters to bikers and outdoors enthusiasts.
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife
Refuge was established in 1901, and
more than bison have roamed these
lands. Rumors persist of treasure
stashed among the rocks, tucked away
by the James Gang on the lam or,
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May/June 2012
N
by other accounts, Spanish explorers
centuries earlier.
The highlight may be Mount Scott,
2,464 feet up in the eastern half of the
refuge. Viewed on a map, the three-mile
road leading to the top forms a spiral.
On the ground, it can feel like a tug of
war with gravity. Dragoo remembers his
first climb up the mountain, at age nine
in his mom’s car. These days, he prefers
making that ascent on his motorcycle.
“You have more room, and you have
more power-to-weight ratio,” he says.
Driving up, it’s not easy to see over
the side when the trees are in full leaf,
but Mount Scott’s peak reveals all. The
parking area that caps the mountain
gives way to a 360-degree view, the
land below dotted with scrub and shot
through with tendrils of highway.
Morris says it’s worth the effort to
follow State Highway 115 farther north
and loop around the mountain.
“You’ve got a beautiful mountain
range on your left-hand side,” she says,
“and all these amazing-looking wind
turbines on your right-hand side. It’s a
nice, meandering road.”
fort Washita to Sulphur
sure: If you’re
in the vicinity, you’re not going
to miss the spring that gives the
nearby town of Sulphur its name.
“You can smell it from a long way
away,” says Janet Raines, who has spent
a lot of time roaming the area since buying her first motorcycle, a 2006 Yamaha
V Star, four years ago.
Those mineral waters gave the area
its first claim to fame as a resort town
in 1895, drawing crowds seeking a cure
in the springs for what ailed them. In
1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps
harnessed the waters into Vendome
Well, where the occasional park patron
still fills plastic bottles with its malodorous waters.
Sulphur is the windup of a ride that
begins at Fort Washita near Durant.
The route rolls through miles of country
pastures and farmland and slowly gives
way to trees farther north. It then skims
around the east side of Lake Texoma’s
Cumberland Cove. The Tishomingo
National Wildlife Refuge lies on the
other side of the lake.
ne thing’s for
Once out of Tishomingo and across
the Blue River, the route continues west.
Backtracking to State Highway 1 eventually leads to U.S. Highway 177, which
provides an entrance into the Chickasaw
National Recreation Area. Here, prairie
and forest meet in the 9,889-acre park,
where Indians prized the waters long
before settlers arrived. Highway 177 cuts
through the eastern arm of the park, offering a smooth ride and opportunities to
stop and explore hiking trails.
The Chickasaw Cultural Center is
adjacent to the northwest corner of
the recreation area and interprets tribal
history, culture, and tradition in its rolling 109-acre campus that includes an
amphitheater, a restaurant, a traditional
village, and state-of-the-art exhibits.
But front and center, star of the show,
is the scenery.
“One of my favorite times was when
my husband and I were riding through
there in the fall,” Raines says. “The
leaves were all yellow, the wind was
blowing, and they were just kind of
showering on us as we drove through.”
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The Ride
From Fort Washita, take State Highway
199 east to catch State Highway 78
north to Nida. Take State Highway 22
west and go around Lake Texoma’s
Cumberland Cove and the Tishomingo
National Wildlife Refuge, then through
Tishomingo to Ravia. In Ravia, take State
Highway 1 north to Mill Creek. Turn
west on Mill Creek/Cyrus Harris Road,
then drive north on U.S. 177 to Sulphur
and the Chickasaw National Recreation
Area. The Chickasaw Cultural Center is
located at 867 Charles Cooper Memorial
Road in Sulphur, (580) 622-7130 or
chickasawculturalcenter.com.
The Ride
Head west from Medicine Park on State
Highway 49, which goes through the
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
Follow the signs to Mount Scott. Proceed
farther west and follow State Highway
115 north to State Highway 19, taking it
west to State Highway 54. Take 54 south
to State Highway 49 and follow it east
back to Medicine Park. Chaps My Ass is
located at 205B East Lake in Medicine
Park, (580) 529-2248 or chapsmyass.com.
Fort Washita, a National
Historic Landmark built in
1842 near Durant, is an
easy-to-find meeting spot
for bikers and history buffs.
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5 Rides
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100 the Scenic Route
miles
T
Snaking up and over the treethick hills of southeastern
Oklahoma, the Talimena
Scenic Drive provides some of
the best views in Oklahoma,
and numerous turnouts offer
a chance for riders to add to
their photo albums.
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May/June 2012
talihina to broken bow
the gateway
to the dizzying, gorgeous stretch of
road known as the Talimena Scenic
Drive. Bikers looking to get an early start
can stop at the Iron Cowboy Motorcycle
Camp south of Talihina, where they can
pitch a tent, bunk down in a cabin, or rent
a teepee that sleeps four.
Husband-and-wife team Cowboy
and K-Bob—real names J.P. and Kay
Cassata—gave up their home and
jobs in Texas in 2007 to move north
in pursuit of their dream of building
a motorcycle-friendly camp tucked
away amid the rolling beauty of the
Kiamichi Mountains.
Iron Cowboy caters exclusively to
motorcyclists over age twenty-one in
a secure, serene setting where they
can rest up, chill out, and enjoy the
natural wonders around them.
“It’s one of the most beautiful areas
because it has a lot of mountains and
curvy roads,” says J.P.
Twisting across the crest of the
Winding Stair Mountains through
southeastern Oklahoma, the byway offers
sweeping curves and dazzling views of
the Ouachita National Forest, the oldest
national forest in the South.
“If they keep the trees trimmed down,
you can see quite a ways,” Pratt says.
Established as the Arkansas National
Forest by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907,
it was renamed the Ouachita National
Forest—ouachita is the French
spelling of the Indian word washita,
or good hunting ground—after the
park boundaries were extended into
Oklahoma in 1926.
Generation upon generation has
roamed that rugged terrain—Indians,
French and Spanish explorers, and,
according to some, Vikings.
alihina serves as
The European explorers and Vikings
may be gone, but some long-term
residents remain. Collier recalls seeing
a bear looming by the side of the road
during a road trip to Arkansas.
“It was just standing there,” she
says. “I was glad I wasn’t on my bike.”
Travelers will ride elevations from
300 to 2,600 feet above sea level
along a twisting, two-lane road whose
smooth surface helps ease the journey
for motorcyclists. Pullouts every few
miles allow plenty of opportunities to
stop, breathe, and drink it all in. The
tangle of pines and hardwoods scent
the air as only nature can.
The byway continues east into
Arkansas, but a turn south on U.S.
259 twists down to Smithville past the
Three Sticks Monument. Perched atop
a rise, Three Sticks honors significant
Oklahomans of the 1950s: Robert S.
Kerr, Mike Monroney, Carl Albert,
former governor Raymond Gary, and
Oklahoma City writer and editor
R.G. Miller.
Dedicated in the late 1950s
by the residents of LeFlore and
McCurtain County, the three sticks
symbolize land, wood, and water and
collectively honor these men, as the
monument reads, “In appreciation
of the leadership in the rapid
development of our state roads, water,
forest, and recreation.”
Finally, the route pushes farther
south through Hochatown State Park
and Beavers Bend State Park, winding
its way through towering forests.
“It’s a great ride,” Pratt says. “It’s
nice and twisty, very scenic in the fall.”
It’s a ride, like all rides everywhere,
that also fulfills an important tenet of
bikers: Thou shalt be outside.
The Ride
From Talihina, take State Highway 1 (the
Talimena Scenic Drive) east through the
Ouachita National Forest past landmarks
such as the Winding Stair Mountains to
U.S. Highway 259. Take U.S. 259 south
through Smithville and Hochatown State
Park, catching the 259A loop for a circle
through Beavers Bend State Park before
picking up U.S. 259 again to go south to
Broken Bow. Iron Cowboy Motorcycle
Camp is located south of Talihina at Route
1, Buddy Reamy Road. (903) 646-7554 or
ironcowboymotorcyclecamp.com.
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