Day 5: Hot Springs, AR to Clinton, OK

439 miles, 9:15 hours, including stops.

Another road day, heading west from Arkansas after leaving my mother and her husband (too soon). We stopped first in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to see the house where my grandfather was born, back on April 3, 1903. This place had seen better days, but it appears that the current owners are putting efforts into renovation. Fort Smith in general did not look like it was doing much better than the house.






From Ft. Smith, we crossed the Arkansas River and were in Oklahoma. We stopped at the welcome center to take a break and enjoy the teepee-themed picnic area.






Then it was back in the car and the long drive to Oklahoma City. Surprisingly, the official state map did not show the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, but we found it anyway. It was a very moving experience - especially when we found out where the truck bomb had been parked on the site. It was a great design, with the chairs representing each victim. I had Will look at a video podcast walking tour of the site before we stopped, and that really seemed to increase his interest in the site.












West of OKC, the landscape seemed to change, much like the landscape changes west of Fort Worth, 150 miles to the south. The sky seemed to go on forever, and we could see several thunderstorms at least 10 miles away.

We stopped at an old Route 66 rest area just off of the Interstate and north of Hinton, OK. This was probably a pretty nice stop off, a few decades back.






If we camped tonight, we would have camped a few miles south of this rest stop. It wasn't that hot out, but I am still glad we are in the Hampton.
My friend Larry told me to be on the lookout for wind turbines in Western Oklahoma. I thought they would be a challenge to pick out, but they were all over the landscape. Amazing to see!






We are staying near where Larry's father grew up, and he had several suggestions, including checking out Braum's Ice Cream. We braved the winds of Clinton to go over there and got two massive ice cream cones for $1.25 apiece. We couldn't even finish them!

Tomorrow, we check out the sights in the Texas Panhandle and overnight in Old Town Albuquerque in a genuine Route 66 motel. But right now, Will wants to head down to the pool.

Location:Clinton,United States