Oklahoma and us didn't get off to the best start. First stop was Tulsa and about the most urban, construction-encased RV Campground we have visited. Rows of trailers, amid acres of heavy construction. The entrance was hidden behind a "Road Closed" sign. We only found the entrance because the manager, who was very nice , walked out to the road closed sign to wave us in. There were two silver linings, the bathroom floors were immaculate, and we were just passing through.
In truth our plan had been to push on from the Ozarks through Oklahoma in two days with our real target being Santa Fe. Day one ended in Tulsa and day two in the modest western Oklahoma town of Elk City, where we are now. We certainly didn't give Tulsa a fair shot. We know from our friends Gary and Denny Cook, who lived there many years, that Tulsa is a fine, cultured town with much to offer. We will return in our next life for a proper visit.
The three hundred miles from Tulsa to Elk City was lots of bleak prairie, black cows, and a ferocious cross wind.
Elk City itself seems to be weathering the plains quite well. It has an old-fashioned Main Street, which is actually part of the historic US Route 66. The street is full of stores still doing decent business ( unlike several of the small town Main Streets we have seen in the past few days ). The City Hall is a fine modern brick building and the Library, just around the corner is a small gem. Side note: middle America has more Dollar Generals, Dollar Stores, Family Dollars in each town, some on the same street, than we have Starbucks! We even found a replacement plastic cereal bowl, reminding us each morning of our trip through this leg of our journey.
On our first meal out, we decided on a Mexican takeout dinner from Pedro's- delicious and authentic stuff should you ever be passing through.
Still, it must be said that we have seen a lot of rural poverty in the past few days. The kind of grinding poverty that could almost come right out of Grapes of Wrath. It seems different from the rural poverty we see in Maine, and is discouraging here in a state with seemingly oil and other natural resources.
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