Day 17 - Raton, NM to Oklahoma City, OK

I knew I was going to lose an hour's time as soon as I entered Texas and hit Central Time again, so I dragged myself out of bed and onto the road by 6:30am. It was pretty chilly! I guess I've always thought of New Mexico and Texas being all sand and desert, but the elevation in northern New Mexico really makes a difference. There was snow still on the sides of the road in some places! I saw 4 jackrabbits and several more pronghorn before passing into the lone star state around 8:30, no make that 9:30 with the time change.

That seemingly small panhandle of north Texas is deceptively wide - it seemed like I was forever going east across there. I passed north of Amarillo, through Dalhart, Dumas, Borger, Pampa, and Canadian before entering Oklahoma - finally! From there, I rode through Arnett, Vici, and Seiling before turning southeast towards Watonga and Geary. I took the last 35 miles to OK City on the interstate and checked into my hotel around 5:00. Today I learned that there are more trees and fewer livestock in Oklahoma than in Texas, but both states must lead the nation in road-killed skunks!

I made the mistake of laying down on the bed to talk on the phone. A short nap ensued before I went back out to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a tribute the the 168 victims of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. I had expected this to be a very somber visit, but I was truly moved by the memorial and the significance and symbolism of each individual part. There are 2 gates, one at the east entrance and one at the west. The east gate shows the time at 9:01am, the minute right before Timothy McVeigh's bomb exploded, representing the city's innocence prior to the event. The west gate shows the time at 9:03am, the minute immediately after the bombing, representing how life was forever changed by the event. A reflecting pool stands between the gates to soothe the wonds of those whose lives were altered by the explosion. On the south side of the reflecting pool stands a field of 168 empty chairs, one for each victim of the tragedy, inscribed with his or her name, and arranged in 9 rows representing the floor that person worked on or was visiting at the time. Smaller chairs represent the children who died in the attack. On the north side of the reflecting pool stands the survivor tree, an American elm tree that withstood the explosion and now stands tribute to those who survived. Surrounding the survivor tree is the rescuers' orchard, an array of fruit and nut trees representing all of the emergency personnel who responded to the disaster. Next to the museum building is a children's area, lined with ceramic tiles decorated by children all over the world and sent to Oklahoma City as a sign of solidarity with the city as it struggled to come to grips with the tragic events of April 19th fourteen years ago. Finally, outside the west gate, the original fence set up to cordon off the building still stands with thousands of tokens of remembrance left by visitors to the memorial. A very sobering experience, for sure, but definitely well worth a visit if you are ever passing through OK City.

Finally, dinner time! I found my way to Bricktown, surrounding the minor league baseball stadium, and had dinner at Earl's Rib Palace, which was on the Top 10 OK City restaurants I found online. And, bonus - there was a marble slab creamery right next door! Now I'm definitely ready for a good night's sleep so I can make it through Tulsa and into Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas tomorrow!