Route 66, get your… punches? Slaps? What was it…

I’ve been mostly meandering on this trip so far, cruising short distances, even if the time it takes is significant. But for the next few days, driving was the name of the game. First from Alamosa to Santa Rosa (with a stop in Santa Fe), then onto Oklahoma City, and finally to Little Rock, where I went back to more of a moseying pace, but more on that later.

Santa Rosa was pretty neat, mostly because of Blue Hole. It’s this really neat swimming spot that’s only about 50 feet across, if that, but over 80 feet deep! Lots of spots to jump in and dive as well. While I was swimming, a diver surfaced in full scuba gear. Didn’t even know they were down there!

Heard some locals (I assume) talking about how frigid the water was today, but maybe I’m just used to the water in Oregon, because I found it quite pleasant, and I’m usually not one to stand the cold water!

My plan for the next day was to follow Route 66 when I could, it overlaps with I-40 a good bit, but there are signs for the exit when it diverges, usually to pass through the small towns that must once have been quite busy. Nowadays though… well, it’s kinda sad in a lot of ways, seeing all the partially demolished, closed, and generally run down buildings and businesses that dried up when the route did. The interstates certainly gave us speed, but it’s still a bit of a shame. Definitely gives you a sense of history.

Made it to Oklahoma City without much trouble, passed through Texas on the way, pulled over at a neat little rest stop at the state border.

Pretty uneventful day all told, one of the first on this trip, so I can’t complain! Wandered around the city a bit, but was mostly just taking it easy, had another long drive the next day. Glad to have at least spent a night in Oklahoma, pretty countryside here.

Onto Little Rock, Arkansas next. Made pretty good time, and had an early start, so I had time to wander around the midtown park, and get one of the best burgers I’ve ever had (the umami bomb) at this trendy spot called Big Orange. If you’re ever in the area, I’d recommend it, they make a mean old fashioned! The park was really neat though, saw a couple rabbits!

Another pretty quiet day, but I was pretty close to the next National Park on my list, Hot Springs! Holy cow! Won’t get into yet, but look forward to my next post where I will be endlessly gushing about it!