I guess I could blame it on my age. Sometimes I need to “relearn” some important things. Today was a “relearning” kind of day. My lesson – if I’m going to be on the road for 400 miles (which we were), DON’T drink 6 cups of coffee. Guess what happens when I drink 6 cups of coffee. All you have to do is multiply the number of cups times 10 and that’s how many times I need bathroom breaks during the day. At least I got my daily steps in – back in forth to the many men’s rooms along the way from Springfield, Missouri to Ada, Oklahoma. Total distance traveled – 395 miles today. Bathroom breaks – I lost count after 24.

We found an interesting spot for breakfast – The Farmhouse Cafe. The food was good – the usual bacon and eggs. The service needs a little work / encouragement. That seems to be the norm anymore – maybe it’s me. At least the diner was close to the hotel.

We needed diesel. I have been impressed with the truck. We’re getting 23 MPG. That’s double what I get when I’m pulling the camper. With a 35 gallon tank, we can cover a lot of ground without stopping. Modern diesels require something called DEF – Diesel Exhaust Fluid – in order to meet emission standards. Since the owner (me) forgot to fill the DEF tank before leaving home, it was necessary to purchase some when we were leaving Springfield. A full DEF tank should be good for 3000 to 5000 miles depending on driving conditions. I bought enough to make sure we could get home.

It was time to pull out of Springfield and head for the site of one of our favorite YouTubers – Cross Timbers Bison. His ranch happens to be near Sulphur, Oklahoma. It was only 300 miles away (in a straight line). Nothing around here has a direct route. I just knew I was tired of interstate driving so I used all of my “Rand McNally learned skills” on a paper map and found a route that had small bits of interstate at the beginning and at the end but 2-lane U.S. highways in between.

The weather man said to expect rain in Springfield this morning. For once, he was right. We drove in rain continuously until we hit the Oklahoma border. You can see from the pic below that the Sooner State welcomed us with bright sunshine and blue skies.

Jana did way more than her share of driving today – I only had to scream 6 times. The alternate route I chose to keep us off of the interstate took us right into Muskogee, Oklahoma. All I knew about this town was that it made a great rhyming lyric in “Okie from Muskogee”. (Ha ha – now that song is stuck in your head too!). It turns out that there is a really nice museum in Muskogee called the “Five Civilized Tribes Museum”. There is a history of the 5 native American tribes that populated this area along with some amazing art work. There was a small sign that said no photography inside the museum. I would never break a rule like that – my phone did this one all on it’s own. I wish I had that kind of talent.

There was other art in the area and there was no one objecting to my picture taking. It did lack some detail and originality.

It was time to head for Sulphur to see if we could find Cross Timbers Bison Ranch. I had contacted them advising that we would be there in a black pickup truck. We meant no harm – just to take some pictures of our favorite bison – Big Joe (you’ll have to watch “Cross Timbers Bison” videos to understand who that is). My timing was really bad. I was trying to take cell phone pictures of some bison lounging in the pasture but my camera was pointed directly at the sun. I couldn’t even see what I was taking pictures of. I did manage to get a picture of one bison who appeared to have escaped the confines.

Don’t worry – no damage was done to the truck.

We left the herd with plans to come back in the morning to take pics when the sun is in a more camera friendly position.

We drove through the closest town – Sulphur, Oklahoma. Earlier this year, Sulphur was hit by a major tornado and suffered severe damage. It was good to see that recovery efforts are well underway. It will take a long time to heal all the wounds.

We pulled in to our hotel in Ada. We were both exhausted but wanted some good food. There was a Chili’s about 2 blocks away and after last night’s food disappointment, Chili’s satisfied us.

It’s a good thing we are driving a pickup truck. When we enter a hotel each evening, we have about 12 pieces of luggage to stay 1 night. Someday I will tackle that issue but today is not the day. We stood in front of the elevator with our overflowing luggage cart and waited for the elevator show up. Funny thing – the light on the button went out signifying that the car was present but the doors never opened. Not good when the alternative is to tote 12 pieces of luggage up a couple of flights of stairs. A young man came out from behind the front desk and said he would check things out for us. We heard footsteps as he ascended the adjacent stairs. This was followed by a huge loud bang. I hope the would-be helper was ok. There were more footsteps and he reappeared. The report was that “sometimes the elevator just needs a little adjustment”. I used to have a car like that.

The elevator doors opened and we looked at each other trying to decide if we were brave enough for this. (We were stuck in an elevator at an Indy Colts game – it was not fun. I had too much coffee that day too.) The young helpful man said that so far nobody had ever been stuck. I guess that was good enough. We got on pushing our gigantic luggage cart and the doors closed. Next thing I knew, the doors opened and we were safely on the second floor. I think it was the second floor – I never opened my eyes.

I am currently recharging the batteries for my digital camera hoping for some decent pictures of Big Joe. Fingers crossed the elevator works one more time.