From Cuba, MO to Tulsa, OK

Select a Ride Report from this list. April 11: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ April 12: A Day in Phoenix April 13: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ April 14: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM April 15: Las Cruces, NM to Carlsbad, NM April 16: Carlsbad, NM to Midland, TX April 17: Rain Delay in Midland, TX April 18: Midland TX to Austin TX via the Hill Country April 19: Austin TX to Houston April 20: Houston TX to New Orleans, LA April 21: A Day in New Orleans April 22: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL April 23: Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL April 24: Tallahassee, FL to Orlando, FL April 25-26: Too Dazed in Orlando April 27: Orlando to Miami Beach April 28: Miami Beach to Key West April 29-30: Wasted Away in Key West Addenda and Errata May 2: Key West, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL May 3: Fort Lauderdale, FL to Melbourne, FL May 4: Melbourne, FL to Jacksonville, FL May 5: Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA May 6: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA May 7: A Day in Atlanta, GA May 8: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC May 9: Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC May 10: Winston-Salem, NC to Lynchburg, VA May 11: Lynchburg, VA to Washington, DC May 12-14: Three Days in Washington, DC May 15: Washington, DC to Newtown, PA May 16: Newtown, PA to White Plains, NY May 17-18 White Plains, NY to Stamford, CT May 19-20 Stamford, CT to Boston, MA May 21 Boston, MA to Portland, ME May 22 Portland, ME to Burke Hollow, VT May 23 Burke Hollow, VT to Amsterdam, NY May 24 Amsterdam, NY to Meadville, PA May 25-26Meadville, PA to Columbus, OH May 27 Columbus, OH to Chicago, IL May 28-30 Chicago: My Kind of Town May 31 Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL June 1-3 Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO June 4 Saint Louis, MO to Cuba, MO June 5 Cuba, MO to Tulsa, OK via the Ozarks June 6-7 Tulsa, OK to Oklahoma City, OK

Select a Travel Leg to review my plans for that day. Leg 01: Ramona, CA to Kingman, AZ Leg 02: Kingman, AZ to Phoenix, AZ Leg 03: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ Leg 04: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM Leg 05: Las Cruces, NM to Sanderson, TX Leg 06: Sanderson, TX to Austin, TX Leg 07: Austin, TX to Houston, TX Leg 08: Houston, TX to Galveston, TX Leg 09: Galveston, TX to New Orleans, LA Leg 10: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL Leg 11: Pensacola, FL to Tampa, FL Leg 12: Tampa, FL to Miami Beach, FL Leg 13: Miami Beach, FL to Key West, FL Leg 14: Key West, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL Leg 15: Cocoa Beach, FL to Orlando, FL Leg 16: Orlando, FL to Jacksonville Beach, FL Leg 17: Jacksonville Beach, FL to Savannah, GA Leg 18: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA Leg 19: Atlanta, GA to Knoxville, TN Leg 20: Knoxville, TN to Lexington, VA Leg 21: Lexington, VA to Washington, DC Leg 22: Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD Leg 23: Baltimore, MD to White Plains, NY Leg 24: White Plains, NY to Boston, MA Leg 25: Boston, MA to Bath, ME Leg 26: Bath, ME to Quebec, QU Leg 27: Quebec, QU to Montreal, QU Leg 28: Montreal, QU to Toronto, ON Leg 29: Toronto, ON to Cleveland, OH Leg 30: Cleveland, OH to Fort Wayne, ON Leg 31: Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago, IL Leg 32: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL Leg 33: Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO Leg 34: Saint Louis, MO to Joplin, MO Leg 35: Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK Leg 36: Oklahoma City, OK to Dodge City, KS Leg 37: Dodge City, KS to North Platte, NE Leg 38: North Platte, NE to Pierre, SD Leg 39: Pierre, SD to Underwood, ND Leg 40: Underwood, ND to Beach ND Leg 41: Beach, ND to Lewiston, MT Leg 42: Lewiston, MT to Great Falls, MT Leg 43: Great Falls, MT to Missoula, MT Leg 44: Missoula, MT to Kalispel, MT Leg 45: Kalispel, MT to St. Regis, MT Leg 46: St. Regis, MT to Spokane, WA Leg 47: Spokane, WA to Pateros, WA Leg 48: Pateros, WA to Seattle, WA Leg 49: Seattle, WA to Portland, OR Leg 50: Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR Leg 51: Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA Leg 52: Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA Leg 53: San Francisco, CA to Sparks, NV Leg 54: Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA Leg 55: Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Ending Mileage:

	Actual	As Planned
Day of Travel	Tuesday, June 5, 2001	Tuesday June 5, 2001
Departing From	Cuba, MO	Joplin, MO
Destination	Tulsa, OK	Oklahoma City, OK
Distance (in miles)	426	273
Distance (in kilometers)	686	440
Departure Time	9:15 AM
Arrival Time	8:45 PM
Total Travel Time	11 hours 30 minutes	6 hours 13 minutes
Average Speed (in mph)	37 mph average	44 mph average
Average Speed (in kph)	60 kph average	71 kph average

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I wake up late this morning, just past 8:00 AM. I take a look out the peephole and am nearly blinded by the sunlight. YA-HOO, I do a little good weather dance and challenge myself to be on the road by 9AM. I have a lot of road to cover and want to be able to hold a nice pace. I'm out of the room just before 9 and head across the interstate for a quick breakfast at Burger King and some gas.

It is already 72 and humid. No rain gear today. No chaps today. I head out of Cuba toward Steelville. I wonder if it is named after someone named Steel. In Salem, I stop to read a historical marker and learn that in the mid-1800s there was a decent sized iron mining industry in this region along with several operating steel mills. I also learn that many of the rivers here are fed by springs. The native Americans and early settlers used the network of rivers for commercial purposes.

The drive down to Mammoth Springs on Missouri 19 is great. The road is in good condition and lightly traveled. I stop at a historical marker that documents the Trail of Tears. This was the forced relocation of Florida Indian tribes to the Oklahoma Indian territory. I know the story -- another shameful event in the American drama -- but I'm surprised by some of the details. This marker is very sympathetic to the native American point of view. I'm surprised by the fact that the some of the tribes had made big strides in terms of adopting European way of living. The marker discusses the fact that many business were abandoned in Florida including a newspaper, mills and stores.

For about ten miles between Salem and Mammoth Spring, the road becomes an asphalt roller coast. The road has been constructed up and down ridges and hills with very little modification of the terrain. So the road goes up and down and up and down in a straight line. It is so much fun to fly down the vacant road.

Mammoth Spring is an interesting place. The spring is documented as the tenth most productive fresh water source in the world. Just less than ten million gallons of water issue from the springs each day. In the past, the springs were used to power lumber mills and later to produce electricity. The water has a very high nitrogen content casting the water an odd blue color. The springs do not spray in to the air as the water is neither hot nor under considerable pressure. The springs are the headwaters of the Current River. The town itself is very small -- only a couple thousand residents. The businesses are concentrated along the two highways that junction at the springs.

This is the source, it really doesn't look like much.

Here is the dam at the electric plant. This gives you an idea of the volume of water that comes from Mammoth Spring

This is a view across the small lake between the spring and the dam. I've overexposed the picture to highligh the dramatic clouds.

The ride to Eureka Springs continues a beautiful day. Eureka Springs is a major playground in north east Arkansas. A lot of gay people live here and many restaurants and bars are 'gay' on Thursdays. I think that is pretty cool. In this area there are a lot of Ozark crafts for sale. From the roadway, it just looks like stuff that should be hauled back out into the field were it was found. But there are lots of people scrambling through the piles and stuffing their cars full -- so maybe it looks better up close.

The ride out of Eureka Springs on Arkansas 12 and 45 is absolutely beautiful. The countryside is broken forest with farmland. Barns, silos and farmhouses complete the bucolic scene. The road drops down beside a river. The road is nice and twisty. I get stuck behind a very old Land Rover and am forced to take a more relaxed ride than I might have otherwise.

Once on Arkansas 412, the road leaves the hills and is down on flatland. Between small towns there are more farms. Finally I run into Fayetteville and notice a congregation of motorcycles at a restaurant. I circle back to see what is happening. Kawasaki of Fayetteville and a local radio station sponsor the biweekly event. There are probably 50-60 bikes on the parking lot when I arrive. I talk to a couple of riders and then have a dinner of chicken tacos. More bikes have arrived and are continuing to arrive. I need to get rolling as I have about a hundred miles to Tulsa and is already after seven.

So I admit to a preference for the flat six. This is one of my favorite color combinations and the bike was beautifully detailed.

More flat six action -- this time the basic cruiser model. He's added the six into six pipes. I never did find either owner.

It is very normal for Gold Wing owners to have stuffed toys on the back of their bikes. This bike had a Tinky Winky on the antenna.

I'm really surprised by the beauty of eastern Oklahoma. I take the Cherokee Turnpike. The scenery is excellent and the road is nearly vacant. I feel like I have a private highway. This is what Hearst would have done if he had thought of it. At the tollbooth, I have to make the usual performance: stop, side stand down, glove off, dig for money, glove back on, take off. The toll booth attendant offers to trade positions -- she would love to take off on the bike. She tells me not to worry about taking too long, she isn't doing anything else.

Finally I get into Tulsa, well actually Catoosa to the east of Tulsa on the highway. Its a working class motel. They seem to be the best value for the money. Decent rooms, nice TVs, cable and a laundry room. Yes, it is time to do laundry again. So here I am, its now 10:30 PM, I'm checking my laundry while keeping an eye on the tornado / thunderstorm watch being broadcast on TV. I love Tulsa because it can have so much weather in one day. It may change fast in Chicago but they can't pack as much weather into a day as Tulsa. On the TV, the NBC logo is in the right hand lower corner. In the left hand corner is a map of the Tulsa area. It alternates between a map showing the watch / warning areas and a Doppler radar image. The laundry is finally done around 11. The tornado watch expires but the thunderstorm watch continues overnight.

What a great day. Read on: Tulsa to Oklahoma City with a stop in Okmulgee.

Depart Cuba heading south on Missouri Route 19.

Remain on Missouri Route 19 as you pass through Steelville, Salem, Eminence.

Cross state line into Arkansas

Remain on Route 19 into Mammoth Springs.

Turn south onto Arkansas Route 9.

At intersection with US Route 62 head west.

In Eureka Springs, turn south onto Arkansas 23.

At intersection with Arkansas Route 12, head west.

At intersection with Arkansas Route 45, head south.

At intersection with US Route 412, head west.

Cross state line into Oklahoma.

At beginning of Cherokee Turnpike, enter Turnpike heading west.

At end of Cherokee Turnpike, transition onto Interstate 44 heading west.

Arrive Tulsa.