DAY 241: LONE GROVE - RINGLING, OKLAHOMA

It rained last night. As I posted last evening's Blog, the drops began falling. It rained off and on most of the night...and in the morning there was a bit of puddling on the roadway; otherwise, one would never know it had rained. LONE GROVE, OKLAHOMA was still dry.

All day, the clouds ranged overhead. A few drops fell here and there. It was cool and perfect for walking. Walked West on US 70 for 6 miles and return to SPIA. Filled her water storage tank (30 gallons) from the Convenience Store Spigot (thank you), and drove to the town of RINGLING, OKLAHOMA, some 20 miles West, where SPIA is once again parked for the afternoon - and later on, for the night.


With the thick overcast and intermittent rain falling - and evaporating as fast as it hit the ground - it was quite dark all day. The Sun finally showed itself around 2:00 pm.

Took a short nap and again began walking...this time, back East on US 70 towards WILSON, OKLAHOMA, a small whistle stop 9 miles from RINGLING. Walked for 3 hours = 12 miles.

Regarding the camera that saved my life. It is being a bit obstinant in that it sometimes is slow to react to the power switches...three times it said I must turn it OFF and back on. Then too, the contrast (I believe it is the White Balance) is not responding to Mother Nature lighting. To obtain acceptable photographs for this Blog, had to use MSN Photo Software to adjust the light/dark and contrast. If I had my old Photo Shop software, every photograph could be perfect.

Tomorrow, will use the new(er) camera to see if it can do any better.

The road seems to be getting longer ...but somehow, I still seem to get to the Horizon and beyond.

To tell the truth, there is not too much to catch one's eye in this stretch of Oklahoma. This scene is nice, but was very far away and might break up if enlarged too much.

Early on in the morning, the roadway was still with puddles of water from the rain.

Notice: No berm ... no place for me to walk, except in the grass or in the travel lane. So, I walk the white line and move over a bit when a vehicle comes by. Got "Honk Honk" twice...nasty Honk Honk, not nice ones.

It is true that the lanes are a bit narrow in this stretch of US 70. Drivers and Walkers must be a bit more cautious here.

An airplane flew by...it flew by, turned around and flew back going the other way...Probably a Student Pilot practicing his steering.

When I was learning, I spent hours at about 500 feet flying around the fence line of a pasture...it is kinda tricky, especially when flying slowly and in a stiff breeze...the ground is pretty close.

Scenery along US 70 is very picturesque. I never tire of it. Notice the nice wide berm in this section...a bit of road building is going on here and there.

and the Horizon seems to be getting farther away.

Crossed two bridges today...both had stream beds below and neither had a drop of water.

yes, this is a stream bed. With water, it would have lots of turtles poking their noses above the water. From above them on the roadway, you see the entire turtle under the surface. When they dive, the go directly to the bottom and RUN across the mud, sending up a rooster tail of mud behind them...then they disappear - I guess they bury themselves to hide in the bottom.

These two were very brave the first time I walked by. On my return trip, I stopped and chatted with them. They quit barking and just stared at me. In the end, they followed along with me - on their side of the fence without any more barking.

Most interesting scenes were a long distance away today. A herd of cattle in a nice juicy field.

The Welcome sign entering RINGLING, OKLAHOMA.

Many towns in Oklahoma are quite proud of their local Sports Teams.



US 70 passing through RINGLING, OKLAHOMA.

In the morning, will leave SPIA parked - she is just to the left of the above shot - and walk West on US 70 towards the town of WAURIKA, OKLAHOMA. There, we leave US 70 and head North on US 81 until reaching US 270 about 80 miles North...then US 270 swings to the North East reaching WOODWARD, OKLAHOMA , 75 miles further West.

At that point, my current walk will be complete. We will have walked from the Peace Arch near Vancouver, B.C. Canada to Los Angeles area, to Key West, then back to the Peace Arch via OKLAHOMA CITY (WOODWARD).

The total distance is approximately 10,000 miles. I will have walked the entire distance in a total of 12.5 months (one year).

A new option has raised it's head for consideration after reaching WOODWARD, OKLAHOMA.

Too early to discuss it...be assured that I will continue walking and the blog will continue to post.

It is now 6:15 pm. The sky is still overcast. Every few minutes a few drops of rain fall. I anticipate a goodly amount of downpour during the night.