Tecumseh, OK to Dustin, OK 54 miles.  Another day with rolling hills 1100 feet to 700 feet.

I passed many creeks and ponds.

TOM:

Day 22 - Tecumseh, OK to Dustin, OK 54 miles. Another day with rolling hills. The elevation changed from 1100  feet to 700 feet.  There was no wind effect today.  The wind was light and often blocked by trees. After spending the night in Broken Arrow with Maureen and her family, we drove back to Tecumseh where we left off yesterday.  By the time we returned and got ready to start the trip it was 11:40 AM.  The speed was faster at the start than yesterday, since I did not need to climb 400 feet as yesterday.  The speed continued to be a little faster because the elevation dropped from 1100 feet to 700 feet and there was no wind effect.  The end result was that the 54 miles was covered in 4 hours and 4 minutes for an average speed of 13.2 miles per hour.  At Dustin I met Lucille and we drove to Eufaula, OK where we could get a motel room.  Dustin did not have any motels.  The day continuted to be more humid and I saw more trees and  water than yesterday.  I passed through the towns of Seminole and Wetumka on the way to Dustin.  Two days ago we passed through the town of Binger which is the home town of Johnny Bench as posted on the City Limit sign.  This was a shorter day and was fun.  I missed Eric again today but remembered the good times we had during the last three weeks.

Day Twenty-Two - 5/15/2003

Lucille:

May 15 - Thursday - We left Maureen and Dave's home in Broken Arrow near Tulsa at about 8:30 and drove 2 hours back to Tecumseh where Tom would resume his bike trip.  We agreed to meet at a drive-in in the small town of Dustin, about 55 miles away.  Not having to find my way around any large cities today, my courage returned.  I did some shopping in Tecumseh, then  proceeded on Highway 9 toward Dustin.  I noticed a Seminole historic museum as I passed the town of Seminole, and fortunately I stopped.  It had such an interesting display of historical artifacts of the Seminole area.  I was the only visitor and so the curator explained so many things to me as I walked around.  One unusual thing on display was a buffalo vertebra with an arrowhead penetrating it.  There was an old quilt on display that had many names embroidered in red on white fabric.  In the early 1900's, the Seminole women made the quilt to raise money for the war effort.  People wanting their names on the quilt paid 25 cents for the privilege.  Nearly everyone from the area had his/her name on the quilt.  The quilt was then raffled off and the proceeds from the raffle ($125),  and the money collected for the names were sent to the Red Cross.  I learned that Oklahoma is called the Sooner state.  During the period in Oklahoma when the government was offering lots of land around here, some folks ignored the rules for claiming the land and came sooner than they should have, and they became known as the Sooners.  There was a very large collection of old woodworking tools in this museum that I think Tom, Ed, and Al would have enjoyed seeing.  As I have been driving along, I've been hearing a lot of country music on the radio.  I have also been listening to the CD about Route 66 that I bought in Seligman, AZ.  One of the songs on the CD is about Lucille, the mother of the Mother Road, who has weathered mother nature and faced father time.  Sounds like me, huh?  Tom arrived in Dustin shortly before 4 and we put the bike on the car and drove to Eufaula where we are staying at the Eufaula Inn.  We had a good dinner at Gators which had a nice view of Lake Eufaula. 

Today it was rolling hills and lots of trees.

Total Trip Distance: 1886.66