We woke up this morning to a sunny day in Oklahoma City. Our intention was to make a quick trip to Walmart and then begin the day’s travel with a mini-Route 66 journey. After a nice hotel breakfast we put on our gear and went to Walmart. When we got back, one of the items was missing and it wasn’t in any obvious hiding places. So, I put my gear back on and got on the bike to see if we had left the item at the register.

As I was starting my bike, Beth pointed out that the rubber grommet of one of her shock absorbers was sticking out farther than the one on the other side. I had no idea how I was going to fix it, but on the way to Walmart I decided I’d get some larger washers at a hardware store. The lost item was not at Walmart, but Home Depot was in the same strip mall, so I got some washers there. Back at the bike I made the repair and went into my saddlebag to get some Loctite. I have two tubes of Loctite and both of them are on my work bench at home.

We loaded all our gear and stopped at Auto Zone, just down the road. I bought Red and Blue Loctite, used the Red on the nuts, and got us back on the road. The morning got off to a rocky start, but the bright side was that the rain to the west moved north and cleared, so we didn’t have to put on rain gear.

Our route took us on sections of old Route 66. We went up and down the hills and around the corners. Fortunately there was no standing water and no mud in the low spots as there was three years ago. We stopped for pictures at the pony bridge over the Canadian River.

At a our lunch stop we met Kim and Glennadine, two Motor Maids from Virginia. They are headed for the Grand Canyon before arriving at convention.

A few miles down the road from lunch is the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. It tells the story of the road by decades, from the 20’s to the 70’s. They’ve got some old cards on display as well as tons of photos and explanations.

We continued west on I-40 and stopped at the old Conoco station in Shamrock, TX. The ladies there served coffee and chatted.

Beth noticed the contrast between the old gas station and the new Tesla charging station alongside.

We continued west on I-40 and stopped at Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo. These old cars are getting more and more decrepit. The thing to do is paint graffiti on them. My Road Glide friends asked me to check to see if “Shark Week” was still visible, but I’m sure it was under 17 layers of paint by now.

We made it to our destination, The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM. It’s a classic Route 66 motel that has garages. Ours even has a fresh concrete floor!

We walked a couple of blocks up the street to Dell’s Diner and had dinner with a delightful couple from Fort Worth, whom we met outside the restaurant.

After dinner we sat outside the room and enjoyed the cool, dry evening and the neon lights of the motel.

Tomorrow we head for Monument Valley.