Hello, Hobart! Almost as in Vice President.

So of all the years I've been riding out to Lake Altus and driving by Hobart, I've never actually taken the time to take a look at this small little town in Kiowa County, Oklahoma. Serendipity was my friend today; I never thought one could learn so much in such a small town. Before I get ahead of myself, let me start by mentioning to all the motorcyclists that HWY 115 north of Meers turns into a mess of gravel shortly before Saddle Mtn and Hwy 19.

On one of the curves these ruins can be found. Well, not directly on the curve, but you get the drift. I've never stopped because I didn't want to give up one of the few fun 90 degree turns. Anyhow, I finally pulled over to check it out. This is the Victory School which was built in 1929. Apparently the little building ruins to the right and left of the school were outhouses.

Welcome to Hobart. Which was named after Vice President Garret Hobart (VP 1897-1899). Turning off onto Main Street will bring you into the heart of the charming Oklahoma town.

If you find yourself in Hobart, I highly recommend stopping by this museum. Going in, I really didn't think one could spend a couple of hours in that small old train depot. You'll find a ton of information on the Southwestern Oklahoma area. Admission is free, but they do accept donations. During the summer, it's open Monday through Saturday. Winter, Monday through Friday. I'd like to thank the wonderful lady in the museum who offered her informative services.

This is a retouched picture from 1916 on the set of one of the first motion picture made on location. The film was called "Buffalo Hunter" and filmed in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. I think they ran out of money and weren't able to complete the movie.

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 The old pictures found here are all located at the museum. Plus many, many more. If you go, you'll most certainly learn about the Babbs Switch tragedy of 1924 where Santa accidentally started a fire which claimed the lives of 36 people at the Christmas service at the Babbs Switch School. Bad Santa. The memorial can be found between Roosevelt and Hobart.

Places to eat in Hobart!

Sure, there's a Sonic, but why eat at a chain when you can support a local business??? Since I wasn't able to stay and eat in Hobart (next time, I promise!), here are some places to check out:

Bedlam Sports Bar & Grill-110 W 11th St

Big-A-Burger- 418 S. Jefferson

Jay's Bakery-117 W. 5th St

Kozy Diner-214 Main Street

Main Street Grill- 219 S. Main St

Chinese and Mexican food can also be found.

I'd heard of a place called Friendship so I had to check it out since it was on the way home...well, basically. Welcome to Friendship. It seems to be Altus' version of Porter Hill. Maybe with so few neighbors, you have no choice but to be friendly. Not much to be seen here. 3-4 houses, a fire department, and a church.

More pictures on WGR's Facebook album!
This blog is brought to you by the lovely (biased opinion, we know) Stone Turtle – Lodging, a small family owned and operated hotel / lodging business near Lawton, Oklahoma, Fort Sill,  the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Meers and Medicine Park. Yeah, that’s right we’re a small lodging business close to all the awesomeness Oklahoma has to offer!!

Bye Bye Birdie

May the little bird that met my front tire at 65 mph rest in peace. It certainly took a dive at the wrong time.
Otherwise, it was a lovely afternoon for a ride! Three other riders showed interest in getting out and putting some miles on the bikes. When the time came to meet up, only two other riders showed. The 5 minute wait policy was long up, so we decided to head out. Of course, we took a major detour to our not specified destination of Altus. We rode the lake road to Medicine park a couple of times before riding up Mount Scott where we happened to meet up with our missing rider. Funny how life works out sometimes. Since we had our four and the detours out of our system, we made our way over to Altus via HWY 115 and Hobart. I just hung back and stopped here and there to take some pictures for the blog (have to justify my fuel bill somehow, right?).

Pictures from this ride can be found on WGR's Facebook page.