Jay and Lisa's archived ride reports

[jay547]

6-05-2016: Lisa and I took a ride up around the Watts and Flint Creek area of northeastern Oklahoma.

We had to wait for a train in Wagoner.





It was boiling hot so we stopped in Hulbert for a water break. They have a little free library in the town park. Someone had left the door open and the books had gotten wet.



Can you spot any green in this pic?



We cruised the country roads around the lake.





We stopped at Sleepy Hollow in Proctor but they were closed for the day/week/year/forever. What a waste of a nice sign.



The little railroad town of Watts seemed to be closed too.





Apparently, Dr. No lives here.



An STN member must've made the sign for him.



The iron bridge over Flint Creek. Built 1930.





The water looks clean enough to drink.



There used to be a cool, old mill here but it's gone now.
Here are some pic's I took of it back in '98 when I was working in the area.

[Sport-Touring]

[rajflyboy]

Thanks for showing us the heartland of America  

[jay547]

6-06-2016: I took a short solo ride around the Lake Bixhoma and Leonard area south of Tulsa.

An abandoned bridge over Snake Creek. Built 1914, bypassed 1997.





I'm a low budget rider.



Bansky made it all the way to rural Oklahoma.



I rode the access roads around Lake Bixhoma.





I stopped here for a shade break.





Back across the dam toward Leonard.



The remains of old highway 64 west of Leonard.






And the old bridge abutments on Snake Creek. The near one was the highway bridge, the far one was the railroad bridge.



Back home, the streetbikes are waiting patiently for their next ride.

[micah2074]

Cool. I’ll be coming through there in August. Part of my plan is to ride 64 till it ends in AZ.

[jay547]

Cool. I’ll be coming through there in August. Part of my plan is to ride 64 till it ends in AZ.

I've probably ridden all of it in Oklahoma, the western half of it in Arkansas, and the eastern half of it in New Mexico. The Oklahoma part will be lots of small towns with the exception of Tulsa and nearly 600 miles long. Once you get west of northeastern Oklahoma, it will be lots of really small towns, a few ghost towns, and plenty of wide open space. New Mexico will be fun. Be sure to ride up Capulin Volcano.

I work one block north of 64 in Sand Springs. If you come by during business hours, be sure to stop in and say hi.

[micah2074]

Will do. US 64 is kind of like my personal Route 66. It’s been a big part of my life and given me lots of great memories since my early childhood. When I make it to its western end in August I will have traveled every mile of it. Form Manteo, NC to Teec Nos Pos, AZ.

[jay547]

6-11-2016: Return to the Navigational Channel Hiking Trail.

I’ve been occasionally riding out to the Navigational Channel and trying to ride to all the old foot bridges from the abandoned Jean Pierre Chouteau Hiking Trail.

 
Lisa’s daughters were visiting so she didn’t want to go with me. I headed out alone, east on Hwy. 51, then exited at the Verdigris River Bridge.






I rode south along the river through an open field for about ¾ mile to the trail. The trail then followed the top of the dike. It was very overgrown and hard to discern.




After about another ¾ mile, I came to the top of a slope that was completely overgrown.




I got off and walked to the bottom. At the bottom was a small, muddy creek with steep banks and no way to cross. I was still about a mile from the first foot bridge so I turned around and headed back to the highway. I rode back to the next county road, turned down it and headed back toward the river. I would ride to the foot bridge from the south.

The trail was a little easier to find here as the jeepers had rutted it out pretty good. I came to another small creek but I was able to ride across this one. Just beyond the creek was the end of the jeepers’ route. The trail was easy to see beyond this point due to the heavy tree canopy - there wasn’t much ground cover. But the tree limbs had grown over it and I had to keep ducking and got swatted in the face a few times. I came to a point where the tree limbs were so thick that I couldn’t go on. I could see a plowed field off to the west so I turned down the side of the dike and rode through the trees until I came to the open field. I followed the tree line to the end of the field and found an old, cleared opening along the bottom of the dike.




I followed it until I came to the foot bridge location. Google Earth showed the bridge intact as of March, 2014.






Apparently, one of the floods of the last couple years took it down.
 









After that disappointment, I turned around to head down to the next foot bridge which would be about 1 ½ miles south of this one. I followed the tree line along the plowed field as far as I could, then turned back up the dike to the trail. I had to ride through a bunch of vines just as I got to the top of the dike. Some of them grabbed my bike and stopped me dead in my tracks. I clutched and held the throttle open until I powered through them – I could smell the clutch burning.

As I got back on the trail, I shifted to second gear – except my foot didn’t hit the shifter. Damn it! The vines had bent my shifter back behind the peg. I stopped and kicked on it a few times which only made things worse - now it was stuck in third gear. I’m going to have to ride this tight trail in third gear. So I’m going as slow as I can in third, which is still probably twenty-five mph, trying to duck and dodge limbs. I made it through that section okay but the little creek is up ahead. On the way up, I had ridden through it slowly in first gear, now I’m going to have to hit it in third. It was muddy and slick and I made it through without falling but since I was going so much faster, I got a wet, muddy shower.

The rest of the trail was relatively easy and I made it back to the county road. I stopped and checked my tool kit for anything to straighten out the shifter – nothing suitable. I was going to have to ride it back to town, about twenty-five miles, in third gear. Either that or stop and call Lisa to come get me with the truck. I wanted to avoid that, of course.

I rode down the country roads, checking the intersections for traffic as best as I could, and rolling through them. I got a lucky break at the highway, no one was coming so I didn’t even have to slow down. I had planned to take the highway the rest of the way home but as soon as I came to the first signal, it turned red. There was a convenience store on the corner so instead of stopping at the light, I pulled in there.




I asked the clerk if he had any tools. He checked his car and had a lug wrench. I tried to use it but I couldn’t make it work. Just then a grungy old guy pulled up in a rusty old mid 70’s van. He asked if I needed some help. I asked if he had any tools to which he replied that he was a mechanic and had tools with him. He had a large set of channel locks that I used to straighten the shifter enough to make it functional.
 



I offered to pay him and he said he didn’t want any money. I could see the look in his eye and I thought, “Here it comes.” “I could use some gas though. I’m unemployed and trying to get back to Tulsa to visit my mom.” I gave him a five dollar bill. Ha, he drove away in the opposite direction of Tulsa, without stopping at the pumps.

I rode the rest of the way home without incident, got on the computer, and ordered a new shifter. The next foot bridge will just have to wait.

[motrhead]

 You are really making me miss my DR!

[jay547]

6-19-2016. Okay, Ft. Gibson, and Porter, Oklahoma.

Once again, I chose to ride along the navigational channel. Lisa decided to come this time. This route would follow the north and east sides of the channel. I saw a couple of the foot bridges on Google Earth that looked like we would be able to ride to them.

We rode east on Hwy. 51 then turned off toward the Afton Landing Recreational Area. It was a nice shady, tree-lined road.





The road ended at the water so we had to go back to the highway and ride a couple more miles before we turned back on the county roads. We followed the county roads along the river until we got to Okay.







This little guy was crossing the road so animal-lover Lisa had to stop and talk to him.



At Okay, we rode down to the river to the abandoned Verdigris River bridge. This bridge was bypassed and abandoned in the early sixties with the opening of the navigational channel.







From Okay, we rode south following the river, until we got to the river bend. At this point, we were now at the Grand River, just beyond where it joins the Verdigris and Arkansas Rivers.





Here would be the two foot bridges. I knew one was just to the west of the road so I followed the trail in. Lisa didn’t want to go and stayed behind at the road. After a few hundred feet, I arrived at the bridge. I had finally found another that was intact.











The next foot bridge was about a half mile east and once again, Lisa decided to wait. The trail this direction was more difficult to ride. It had a couple deep ditch crossings and was more overgrown. When the trail got really tight, I decided to walk the rest of the way rather than get the heavy pig DR in a place that I couldn’t get it out of. I walked about five hundred feet and came to the bridge. It was not an original but a new, wooden replacement.



The original had fallen into the creek.





Leaving the foot bridge and to avoid the bad part of the trail, I rode along the tree line in this field most of the way back to the road.



We then rode to a park on the Grand River, just outside of Ft. Gibson. I found the east end of the trail. No motorized vehicles?



We took a short break in the park and tried to cool off. It was in the upper nineties this day.









Lisa found some stray cats but they wouldn’t let her get anywhere near them.



We stopped for pic’s on the cool, old, one-lane iron bridge over the Grand. They are in the process of replacing it.











A little wheelie on the bridge. It may not be there next time.



A photo op at the historic Fort Gibson before heading home.





And a final stop for some delicious Porter peaches.

[rajflyboy]

You love bridges  

[jay547]

Bridges make for good rides - following along the rivers and creeks.

[jay547]

7/10/2016:  I did a solo ride around the Haskell/Twin Hills/Bixby area southeast of Tulsa.

I had planned to first visit a 1909 bridge over Snake Creek outside of Bixby but the county had closed and gated the road. I’ll go back someday on my daughter’s DR200 and drag it under the gate. The 650 is just too big and heavy.




I headed east on county roads towards Haskell. There, I encountered a rare, exotic Oklahoma game bird.







My route turned southeast on Champ Johnson Road. I had to google his name and I figured out why he was called Champ – he fathered eighteen children with his wife. Maybe it would’ve be more fitting to call her Champ?

A few miles down the road was Harper’s Chapel. I don’t believe they’ll be having services there any time soon.














Just beyond the chapel was the old Mountain View one-room school on the east side of Concharty Mountain. I pulled into the long field entrance by the school and met a guy on a tractor. He said the school had closed in the early 60’s, that he now owned the property and used it for storage. The school building was up on the side of the hill and was fenced off. I told him that I often take pictures of old structures and had just left Harper’s Chapel. He said that I could go through the gate and ride right up to it.






















A couple white owls were roosting in the attic. They were just a little too fast for me.




South of the school was this low water crossing with an interesting layered rock formation.







A few miles west of Haskell is J. Paul Getty’s first oil well. He began drilling in January of 1916, a month later it was producing seven hundred barrels a day, and by the middle of the year, he had made a million dollars.
This site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The wooden oil storage tank is still in place.




Just outside of Haskell is Haskell Lake. It was very pretty - a nice surprise.













A Fred Flintstone picnic table.




Passing through town, I stopped at the National Guard Armory, a WPA project built in 1936.







Leaving Haskell, I headed toward another rider’s place in the Twin Hills area. He always has a standing invitation for anyone riding in the area to stop by. I wanted to check out the trails on his property. Naturally, he wasn’t home.

I passed the Pleasant Valley Church. I think there’s a Monkees song about this place.




I turned north on Bixby Road to head home. This arch bridge was on the old roadway alignment over Rock Creek. It was built in 1915 and bypassed in 1995.










In Bixby, is the World Trade Center Memorial. On display is a beam from one of the downed buildings.







This lighthouse was my last stop of the day. It’s not really out of plumb, I just suck at holding the camera level and I was too lazy to edit it.

[rajflyboy]

Jay is the Bridge Meister  

 

[Blue is Best]

Great pictures. As always.

[jay547]

Jay is the Bridge Meister  

 

I am a contributing member of Bridgehunter.com.

[rajflyboy]

I am a contributing member of Bridgehunter.com.

Bridge Hunter

That’s a great Nickname for You  

[jay547]

7/17/2016: Beland - Boynton, Oklahoma Ride

We took a ride through the countryside and through some of the small towns between Okmulgee and Muskogee, looking for old bridges, schools, and buildings. We found a few.

The first several miles of the ride was mostly featureless, empty agricultural fields. This area had very few houses and we didn’t see a single person. But Lisa did manage to find the one dog in the area.




Our first scheduled stop was at Stebbins School, a rural school a couple miles west of the former community of Crekola. Judging from the size of the building, it was probably a two-room school. I was unable to find any information on it other than it was in existence in the early 1900’s and it was in district 32. It was likely closed in the 50’s or early 60’s.










Next we passed through Beland, an unincorporated community of about a dozen houses, formerly a stop on the St. Louis – San Francisco Railroad. Beland was originally named Chase and a post office was established in 1903. A prominent black attorney bought the entire townsite in 1906 and planned to create an all black town. The name was changed to Beland in 1908 and the post office was discontinued in 1926. Just south of town was this small iron bridge. Probably built in the 20’s and still in use.




East of the town of Boynton, is this closed bridge over Cloud Creek. Built in 1911 and closed ca. 2012.








Due to the closed bridge, we had to backtrack several miles before crossing another bridge over Cloud Creek. This one was built in 1929.






Maxine don’t take no chit.




In Boynton, we first checked out the old state armory, built by the WPA in 1936.










And followed up with a stop at the Boynton Depot on the abandoned St. Louis – San Francisco Railroad. This was quite a nice facility at one time. It’s a shame they let it go.




















The House of David in Boynton.






A few miles northwest of Boynton was this bridge over Cane Creek. Built in 1911 and still in very good condition.



It was 96 degrees this day so Lisa found a large, shady tree to rest under.




Once again we found our route was blocked and we had to change course.




We stopped here for some catfish but they didn’t have anything fresh.




Heading toward Morris, we found Liberty Elementary School, closed and abandoned in 2009.  The gym appears to be WPA construction but I could not verify it.













The vandals have had their way with the classroom building.



I took one of these printers to upgrade my home system.







I tinkled on the keys.



No rural Okie school would be complete without a storm cellar.






Since we missed out on our catfish dinner, we chose to partake in the gourmet offerings of KFC in Okmulgee.




Considering that we skipped lunch, it turned out to be somewhat satisfying. That finished our day and we headed up the highway toward home. More country road rides on the way...

[jay547]

7/31/2016. Titanic and Stilwell Ride.

I went for a solo country road ride in eastern Oklahoma. I hauled my bike to the Tahlequah city park and rode out from there.



I rode up to, then under the old bridge over the Illinois River. It was built in 1920 and abandoned and bypassed in 1964.
Edit: this bridge has since been torn down.  











I followed the river for a few miles then turned east on the county roads.



I saw a sign for a cemetery down a side road so I went that way. It turned out to be a “dead end.”





There are many fresh-water springs in the area. This is not one of them.



The community of Eldon had a post office from 1911 to 1936. It has one remaining business – now closed.





The last time I went through there, it looked as if someone is in the process of restoring and reopening the store.

I continued on and during my ride, I found Salvation.



I turned down Highway 51 and crossed the Barren Fork Branch of the Illinois River. This bridge was built in 1946 and still handles heavy traffic.



A few turns down county roads and I arrived at the community of Titanic, which had a post office from 1916 through 1927. Yes, it was named after the ship.

A stone barn and store (now closed) in Titanic.







Two common sights in rural Oklahoma: a windmill and a lone chimney from a burned down house.



I asked for and received safe passage from the guardian cow.



I stopped at the two nearest houses to let them know a cow was out but no one was home. I think they were all busy shopping at Eldon.

One of the places that I wanted to find today was Rabbit Trap School, mostly just because of the cool name.









The WPA plaque is gone.



From "The History of Maryetta:"

Rabbit Trap began in a one-room building just west of Walkingstick's Garage on Highway 51. In 1939, the building was torn down and the present two-room stone building was built about two miles north by the WPA project. Rabbit Trap consolidated with Wauhillau in the early 1960s.

I passed through England, then had to wait for a train – actually two trains. This is the Kansas City Southern Railroad. Founded in 1887, it is the third oldest Class I railroad (having annual carrier operating revenues of $250 million or more in 1991 dollars) in North America.





I could’ve had fresh corn on the cob for lunch.



From there, I followed the bottom lands of the Barren Fork until I reached Wright’s Chapel.











Wright’s Chapel School.





Back when there were only two genders.



Outside of Wright’s Chapel was Rose Ranch, notable for their unique sign.







I crossed the border into Arkansas and rode across Sugartree Mountain.



This low water crossing gave me a steam bath. I had to stop for a minute to let my goggles defog.



At the base of the mountain was Salem Spring.







I turned back into Oklahoma looking for the ghost town of Piney. Piney was settled in 1824 and was the first capitol of the western Cherokees in what is now Oklahoma.

I crossed the Barren Fork twice trying to find the road. It was deep enough to fill my boots with water but not too difficult to cross. I saw a couple swimming so I asked them if the road led to Piney. They had never heard of it. So much for knowing your heritage.





I followed this “road” back to the county roads to Piney.
 


Nothing remained of the town except the cemetery. No wonder the couple had never heard of it.



Did I mention this was a common sight here?





Just off Highway 51, I found this bypassed and abandoned bridge over Evansville Creek, built in 1935. It was on private property so I asked a neighbor who was outside if it was okay to go down there - I didn’t want to get shot. He said to go ahead.











That was my final stop for the day, other than getting fuel. As I gassed up, I noticed a stormfront getting close. The rain hit after just a couple miles. Of course, it stopped about a half mile from the truck...

[jay547]

8-14-2016, Stilwell to Nicut Ride.

This time I talked Lisa into going along. I picked out some nice, hilly, gravel roads to ride in far eastern Oklahoma.

We hauled the bikes down in the truck and unloaded at Adair Park in Stilwell.









Our first stop was at Starr Spring just about a mile south of town. It produces an estimated half million gallons of water per day and was the early supply source for Stilwell. It was pure enough that it didn’t require treatment.






A few miles southwest on the banks of Sallisaw Creek, we visited the Flint Courthouse replica - a recreation of the original courthouse where the Cherokee Nation held court in the Flint District from 1883 to 1902. The original structure was sold in 1902 after the abolishment of tribal governments and moved to Stilwell to be used for office space.






Someone left a cup inside. The joke's on them, I finished their drink.




The spring just below the courthouse - note  the arrowhead shape.




The old military road ran along Sallisaw Creek by the courthouse. The road was the main route between Fayetteville and Ft. Smith, Arkansas to Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory. I was able to find an old section of the roadbed. It’s not very visible in the pic’s but is easily discernable in person.






We rode east from there along the county roads until we were almost to Arkansas. About a mile from the border, we turned south and rode through the hills. This area was very remote with just a few scattered houses.






About nine miles down the road were some rounded, concrete structures that I had spotted on Google Earth. I wanted to see what they were. As we approached, it looked like a small village. As we went through, it just looked creepy, like a commune. It was downright eerie, the people there honestly looked like zombies. We rode through without stopping. When I got home, I started googling and found out that it was Elohim City.

From Wikipedia:
Elohim City is a private community in Adair County, Oklahoma. The 400 acres rural retreat was founded in 1973 by Robert G. Millar (August 16, 1925 - May 28, 2001), a Canadian immigrant, former Mennonite and important leader in America's Christian Identity movement, a theology common to an assortment of extremist groups. The community gained national attention for its alleged ties to members of the Silent Brotherhood in the 1980s and with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s.

We continued on through Curt’s Ranch.




And on to the bypassed Highway 101 bridge over Lee Creek. Built 1946, bypassed and abandoned 2011. We stopped here for our lunch break – a Coke and a Payday bar.










Travis Martin was here. He’s somewhat famous around these parts.




So, is Travis’ girlfriend the winner?




A ride report is just not complete without a wheelie pic.




We passed through Nicut but the store was closed. No problem, I knew there was another store just a mile up the road.




Oops.






At least they still had some air.




A low water bridge on Little Lee Creek.



It's no Travis Martin, but it's still a pretty good sized creek.




We turned down Killer Road.




And found Killer Cemetery. It was full of Killers.




From there, it was back to Stilwell and a stop at the depot before heading home.




Now that we’re almost done, she decides to start taking pictures.

[jay547]

It was at this point that I quit writing reports for all my rides. I've done a few random reports since, so I'll post them up too.




Full Eclipse, Partial Ride Report. Subtitle: It's a Small World.

Lisa and I decided to ride up into Missouri to see the full eclipse. We heard hotels were price-gouging so we checked around and found one about a month in advance at the regular rate. A guy on another forum, where they actually ride motorcycles, also got a room in the same motel. We agreed to meet and hang out.

Lisa and I rode up on Sunday and took the scenic route through the Missouri Ozarks. After about 415 miles of good riding, we arrived at the motel in Sedalia. Mike from Ft. Worth (the other rider) showed up about fifteen minutes later. We went to dinner and agreed to meet for breakfast in the morning, then ride up to the little town of Boonville, on the Missouri River, for the viewing.

After breakfast, we made our way to Boonville. We rode through town, then across the Missouri River Bridge looking for a place to sit and watch. We didn’t find anything there so we turned around and rode back across. A couple bikes passed and we gave them “the wave.” We had earlier passed a then-empty A&W. It had a decent parking lot, plenty of shade trees for waiting, and a nice sloped hill behind it to watch from. Lisa decided that that would be our spot. The selling point for her was that they had food and a bathroom. The selling point for me was the root beer.

We parked behind the store and began the wait. I noticed that I had a voicemail. “Jay, this is Hugh. Where are you guys at? We passed you on the bridge.” It was Hugh and Steve, a couple guys from our area whom we occasionally ride with. Steve and I even raced mx together many times. They came back and “pitted” with us. Steve, who has an FJ like mine said, “I was all excited just to see another FJ. Hey, that’s Jay! And that’s Lisa too!” Hundreds of miles from home and we run into two of our friends in the middle of nowhere Missouri.

Steve kept saying he didn’t care much about the eclipse that he was just there for the ride. Well, the full eclipse turned out to be awesome. Even Steve admitted as much. It was amazing. When it went full, it was like turning off a light switch – instant darkness. Not slightly dark but midnight dark. Words just cannot describe it adequately. We will definitely do another ride to the next one in 2024.

Lisa and Mike, breakfast at Denny’s.



Root beer.



Waiting behind the A&W.



Mike, Hugh, Lisa, and Steve.



Darkness on the edge of town.



At the full eclipse, with flash.