Entry for Sunday, 17 September 2000

Eddie Adams and his Father, Hollis Adams, from Pawnee, OK. Taken in Boise City front of the Longhorn Motel.

The landscape here is typical of the entire ride from Boise City to Guymon.

We are now entering oil country.

This photo speaks for itself.

Abandoned farm houses like this one are not uncommon in this country.

Jack Harder in his cafe in Four Corners, OK (pop. 6)

Jack Harder's Cafe and Truck Stop in Four Corners.

This sign tells where people live and where things are from this intersection.

My lunch spot was in the shade at this abandoned farm house.

Last Modified on 9/17/2000 at 20:36:04

Day's Narrative: Yesterday after posting the day's events on the web page I looked at the map to see what today's ride would be like and discovered that there were no towns on the map from Boise City to Guymon, a distance of 62 miles. This is really unusual for a US highway. Disbelieving my map, I went to the motel office to inquire. Sure enough, the owner said there was only one store between there and Guymon and it was at Four Corners, 35 miles from Boise City. Was it open on Sunday? He had no idea.

Clearly I had to assume that it would be closed. That means I have to carry extra water because the temperature was expected to be 95F, about 35C. So that evening I got out my Camelbak backpack which holds about 2 liters. That with two large bicycle bottles should be enough.

This morning as I was getting my gear together outside the motel room I had the good fortune to meet Eddie Adams and his Father Hollis Adams who were returning from a fishing trip on the San Juan River near Farmington, NM. I say good fortune because Eddie has traveled all over Oklahoma as part of his business arranging federal loans. He knew good low traffic roads, bad high traffic roads, towns with good motels and towns where one would not want to stay. I got my maps from the motel room and redid the entire bicycle trip with Eddie's advice there in the parking lot. Hollis Adams owns a feedlot in Pawnee.

There were two restaurants open early this Sunday morning in Boise City and Jo Ann's Cafe had to be better than the other one, because Connie and I had eaten lunch in the other one yesterday and I was not impressed with my meal. As I walked into Jo Ann's Cafe there sat Eddie and Hollis Adams. They asked me to join them for breakfast. We had breakfast together and discussed many things. The conversation was so good I finally realized that is was about 8:30 and I really had to get on the road.

In case the cafe in Four Corners was closed I bought a sandwich at one of the convenience stores before leaving. A ride of 62 miles is a little long to go without food.

Connie caught up with me at 9:00 am just four miles outside of Boise City! I had gotten off so late, and she had gotten up earlier than usual. Well, so much for her resupplying me half way to Guymon. To make the best of the situation I got a banana from the van for lunch.

When I arrived at Four Corners the Cafe was open. I met the owner, Jack Harder, bought a Coke and sat down to talk a bit. I told Jack I hadn't expected the Cafe to be open. He replied that he had only been closed one day since he opened eleven years ago. I asked if that was Christmas. He answered that it had been a funeral, and probably the next day he would be closed would be for his funeral.

Jack was originally from Wisconsin, has spent time with the Army in Illinois during WW II, and also had a home near Gunnison, CO. He was here because his wife came from the area. I asked him when it had last rained. He said they last had a light shower on July 1.

Connie was at the motel in Guymon when I arrived at 2:00 p.m.

Tomorrow I will ride about 40 miles East out of Guymon then head south 20 miles on US 83 to Perryton, Texas. Today the wind was from the South at about 20 mph. If that is the same tomorrow the last 20 miles will be really slow.

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© Ray & Connie Poore, 2000