Wichita Mtns

Destination: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

From Meers to Medicine Park (including Mt. Scott) 66 miles

Yet, another detour...

So my ride started out by Meers. I took a left onto HWY 115 (yes, once again I find myself on 115) and headed into the Refuge. I turned right onto HWY 49 and rode it right out of the refuge. Some fun curves once one's passed that last cattle-gate. Took HWY 54 down to 62. Reaching Indiahoma, I took a left and rode back into the refuge past Job Corps. Fun road! Just that the speedlimt is 25...And, it gets a traveler out to the refuge headquarters. Ah...the memories of... Um, never mind.

Took a right and headed back towards Medicine Park. Mt. Scott is worth a drive up for the view, so be sure to ride up the refuge's 2nd tallest "mountain."



Awesome hiking opportunites.



Medicine Park Car Show 2010

Rode to check out the street-rod show out in Medicine Park yesterday. If you weren't able to check it out for yourself, here's a little teaser of what you missed. More pictures are posted on WGR's Facebook page.

Have to say, though, I found that the turnout last year was better.

My rides have kept me out towards Medicine Park and the Refuge. And, I'm hoping to get the new tires put on this week. Because, I'd say it's about time for some new rubber...



Sunday Afternoon Ride

Destination: Cement, OK

Miles Logged: 85ish

What better way to end Fall Break than with a nice ride? The idea was to check out Cement's old downtown and then take a left somewhere and head north to catch 92 somewhere. Didn't quite pan out that way...

Started out in Elgin and rode through Fletcher and Cyril. Took Old 277 to the new hwy (some nice curves, but watch out for that stop sign, it can sneak up on ya). In Cement to get to the old downtown, just turn left at the stop sign. From there the plan was to ride North. Didn't really workout, and we rode east and toured the...lovely town of Cement. Stayed on 277 and took 81 north to Chickasha.  Rode through Verden and Anadarko on the way back.

  

Note, that by visiting downtown Cement on a Sunday you will draw attention to yourself. It wasn't long before the Cement Cop felt like questioning our motives.

Today's OK history lesson: Cement.

The Keechi Hills (naturally formed mounds) can be found in Cement. There's even a museum in downtown dedicated to the Jesse James legend that his gang buried some of their loot in the Keechi Hills (Buzzard's Roost)....

A cement mill was built in 1901 by Acme Cement and Plaster Co. The town's reputation of being "no man's land" gave it a pretty rowdy rep until the prohibition in 1907. It's alleged that Frank James lived in Cement before moving to Fletcher. The town peaked in 1930 when it had a population of over 1100 (wow- I know).
 
For more pictures, check out WGR's Facebook album.



Cooperton, OK

Destination: Cooperton

Population: 13

Any excuse to ride HWY 115... Decided to head out to Cooperton. Leaving from Meers and coming back to Lawton it's about 85 miles. There are so many different roads a rider can take. And, I know 'em all like the back of my hand.


Took HWY 115 up to 19. Turned South onto 54 (Cooperton), Caught 19 again and headed to Roosevelt. Got onto HWY 183 (veered off to drive through Great Plains State Park, which is pretty nice). Good to know that the sheriffs drive little chevy cars...Staying on the road driving through the park, it'll curve back around to 183. From Snyder we just hit HWY 62 back to Lawton.

My interest was piqued when I read about Cooperton here, and then I did some googling and got my info here.

Cooperton is actually a pretty big grid work of gravel roads. A lot of delapidated houses. A church, the school, the bank, and what looks like an old chapel are still there. Note, that if you check it out, you'll be the talk of the "town."

Your Oklahoma history lesson for the day: Cooperton

Cooperton (originally called Cooper) was established by CPT Frank Cooper in 1899. When it was decided that the territory was to be divided by lottery, Cooper asked for (and was granted) over 300 acres. By 1910, Cooperton had a population of 100. And, the town had a general store, post office, 2nd general store, livery stable, drug store. The town

continued to grow and soon there was a bank, hardware shop, cotton gin, mill, two hotels, churches, school, and a newspaper called the Cooperton Banner. By 1940, the population was about 187. The population soon decreased due to mechanized farming, high farm prices, and better roads and transportation. The High School closed in 1965. The Elementary School closed in 1972.

More pictures can be found in 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!!

HWY 115

Destination: HWY 115



I have to admit that this is one of the best roads I've come across in the immediate area. It's about 14 miles (fromMeers to Hwy 19 JCT) of Sweepers and a couple of hard-turns. It runs along the north side of the Wichita Mtns.

15 turns in 14 miles. Okay, okay, so it's not Deals Gap(318 turns in 11 miles) or anything, but all the same it's pretty good for Oklahoma. Take note that my 15 count may be slightly off. It's kind of like when I make my coffee, I lose track of how many spoonfuls of coffee I put in the coffee maker.

The last corner on the north end (up towards Mtn View) is by Saddle Mountain.

The bigger loop is nice, too. But, sometimes I just ride Hwy 115, and turn around and do it again.

OK history lesson for the day: Saddle Mountain.

Saddle Mountain was a Baptist missionary for the Kiowas established in 1896. By 1903 there was a chapel/schoolhouse. The church was closed in the 1960s and the building was moved to Cache, OK. Isabella Crawford, the missionary who came down from Canada in 1896, is buried in the cemetary by Saddle Mountain.

More pictures can be found on WGR's Facebook.

Cookies

So as I was...um...studying the other day, I came across a website about ghost-towns in the U.S. and O!Canada. Under Oklahoma I found two that I know very well. Cookietown (yeah, I'm slightly obsessed with this "town") was listed.

My mind is now at peace, Cookietown once had cookies.

Apparently, Cookietown used to have a general store, circa 1928, (and that was it) and the proprietor, Marvin Cornelius, would give out cookies to kids (so the legend goes). One kid didn't want to leave "Cookietown" and thus the name was established.

This general store is still supposed to be recognizable (now whether that means that there's a building, a foundation, or a cobblestone to mark the spot- I don't know). I guess this gives me an excuse to pack a few cookies and head out to Cookietown again.

My Favorite Detour

Destination: Medicine Park

If there's one thing I'm good at (besides pulling off my charming sunshine-like disposition...), it's taking a detour. It's 12:55, and I am expected to show my face at 1:00, I see a road that looks cool- I'mma take it. Medicine Park is basically on my way home, so I tend to ride through a lot. If you're in SW OK, then you definitely have to ride through. There's a mc shop (Chaps My Ass), The Tavern, and two restaurants.

 A favorite route is taking the Lake Road from HWY 58 through MP, and then ususally heading down Big Rock Road. I learned the other day that Lake Rd is actually called Elm. Go figure.

Big Rock road runs through Big Rock Estates. Note to watch out for teeny-boppers trying to practice their drifting skills on the way up/down.

More pictures can be found on WGR's Facebook.

Off Topic...

Country Rentals

Totally off topic, but if you or someone you know is looking for a place to rent in beautiful SW OK, I totally recommend checking out Stone Turtle Ranch.

Bringing it back on topic, Motorcycles welcome! Tour guide available (I know some really good roads).

Another Summer Ride

Destination: Hinton, OK

Trying to catch up on some of the many miles I've logged. A friend came out from LA and we rode up and met a friend up in Hinton, OK. Cruised down the winding road into Red Rock Canyon State Park. Fun road. But, as most fun things Oklahoma has to offer, it comes in small bite-size increments. Nevertheless, the ride up going past Fort Cobb and Lake Fort Cobb is pretty nice. And, the road into Binger, OK has is a grade 8%. Too bad the speed limit on that part is about 25 mph...

From Porter Hill to Hinton, it's about 60 miles. Red Rock Canyon is on the East side of the Hwy 8 going through Hinton.

Silver, No Name, and Blueberry

From Red Rock, we all drove back down to Binger and then headed out towards Union City. From Union City we hit 152 going out to Mustang and then OKC.

Hit up Bricktown and the Memorial. Eventually, we ended up in CycleGear (what I imagine Heaven to look like).

Blueberry's 1st Mod

Yes, Blueberry finally got it's first modification: a driven 520 conversion kit. -1+2. And, it's blue. And, there's no more weird noise (a major perk).

So maybe changing the chain and sprockets the day before a major ride wasn't the greatest idea in the world. There's that hindsight thing again. But, it's not every day where a mechanically inclined friend is around to help you change your chain and sprockets. At least not every day in my world which is surrounded by cats. Just call me Little Edie. And, not the Drew Barrymore version of Little Edie. If you're gonna watch Grey Gardens, watch it right.

So it wasn't the most opportune time, but it was a time, nonetheless. We pulled off my old chain with a little drill-bit blade. Pulled off both sprockets. Put the new sprockets on and everything around it back on only to have to take it all back off. It wasn't until we were ready to put the chain on when I realized that I needed a chain-riveting tool. Yup. There I was with no back tire on my bike. And even if I had the back tire on, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere without a chain. So I did some major texting to try to track down a rider with this tool. I even found one who would loan it to me. Turns out that just because it looks like a great fit, don't cut the chain until absolutely certain. And, even IF you are certain, don't do it! It ended up being a few tiny millimeters too short. No pulling, stretching, dragging, squeezing, or praying could change that. Figures that all this would happen on a Sunday. A day where no local bike shop is open. A day where nothing wanted to go right. That's the kind of day it was.

Time to brainstorm...once again. It dawned on me that Cyclegear may sell master-links. I called the OKC branch and asked them to hold two master-links for me. So we had an unexpected 150 mile total road trip to take. For a couple of master links. Driving to OKC just for 8 oz of metal really is not my style. But, I wasn't about to let the possibility of a Talimena road trip slip through my fingers. While at Cyclegear, I also got oil and an oil filter for my next oil change. At least I didn't drive up for just 8 oz of metal. Back at the house, we put the chain and wheel back on Blueberry. So what if my chain now has two master-links instead of one. It's a frickin' blue chain! Looking back it probably also wasn't the brightest idea to test out a new chain so far away from home. Good thing these things never cross my mind when they ought to.

Lessons I've learned from this modification:
◦You need a chain rivet tool
◦Just because it looks like you can take one more link out, DON'T!
◦Buy an extra master link...or two.
◦When tightening the master link with the rivet tool, loosen the tool periodically and make sure the link's not on too tight.