The heat is a good reason to start early.  The high will get to 90 and it will only get down to 70 during the night.  As the heat is too much, I go ahead and take a night in a motel.  Tulsa offers many options.  Good nights rest will do me well.

Before I arrive in Tulsa, I had a few stops to see interesting sites.

I am always excited to find the classic bridges still standing.

I will stop and watch the water for a long while.

The Blue Whale is one of the Route 66  attractions that is unique and a place where you want to stop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Whale_of_Catoosa 
I was surprised to learn that Catoosa is the port of Tulsa.  From this port  the ships will get to the Mississippi River. 

Another high 80 to 90 degree ride day. Clear, humidity at 47% and a 16 mph with from the South.  At least it is not quite a headwind, but it is a crosswind can give you fits with the gear bags catching the breeze.  You need to always be ready to adjust the handlebars and shift your weight.

White Oak does not have a place to stay.  This is all that is left of the favorite motel of the past.  The internet is the best way to make your arrangements.  Places can fill up with car travelers.  At lunch I will call ahead to reserve my room or campsite.  I let them know that I am traveling by bike and do not always know when I will arrive, so hold that room.

I am a member of www.warmshowers.org and this serves as a place to stay 30-50% of my time on the road.  This community of members supports touring cyclists by opening their homes.  Most hosts  want a heads up before your arrival.  These folks always exceed expectations and thanks to those who open their homes to us biking.

I have quite a collection of signs from the many towns and cities that I have passed through. This looks like nice town.  Chelsea is known for the first oil well in the state of Oklahoma in 1889. 

Bushyhead, OK was named after the gentleman in the photo above.  He was the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1879-1887.  He was a young boy during the Trail of Tears, the  legistlated migration of the American Indians in the eastern United States.  Chief Bushyhead was educated in the east and attended Princeton through his sophomore year, at that time he needed to return home due to the death of his father.

This concrete totem pole can be found outside Foyil.  It was built by Ed  Galloway from 1937-1948. The exterior is made of concrete. Ed said that he wanted something to do in his retirement.  Ed, I know what you mean, but I went off in another direction. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9058

Will Rogers was killed in a small plane accident in 1935 .  I remember my dad talking about Will Rogers and his down home humor.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW2aKWk4lcU He was born in the Cherokee Nation. He won fame from the stage, film,  cowboy, humorist , newspaper columnist, and social commentator.  

Don't start something different on a tour.   Today I tried a new seat post that  has a spring action to take of the bumps.  The Brooks leather seat has springs and the give of the leather, but I was hoping for  more comfort on the road bumps.  

The seat should be level so as to not put uncomfortable pressure on certain points.  The springs are still very stiff and riding everyday wears on the rear.

The seat post is a couple of mm smaller than the frame tube. It felt tight but after less that a mile I could feel the seat sinking.  It soon became obvious that this was not going to work.  I knew that a hardware store was only a mile away and I would buy a clamp to keep it from moving down.  You can see the clamp in the photo above.   It solved the problem, but I will return the original seat post.  I will look to a spring loaded post that is the proper diameter.

One of the first Oklahoma towns I went through was Commerce.  This is the town the Mickey Mantle went to high school. This area had lead and zinc mining and that is what Mickey's father did.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle He not only had a great smile, as seen in this 1957 photo, but he was an all-around athlete .  Mick went straight to the minors from high school and in 1951 he was on the roster of the famed New York Yankees.  When I was growing up, Mickey was the player many idolized.  I remember attending  a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Yankees and Mickey hit a home run. I was so excited to see him doing that.

These murals may be seen in Quapaw. http://route66times.com/l/ok/quapaw-murals-on-main.htm Y More example of  the murals will surprise you.  I am glad that these have survived over these many years.

 This beautiful structure is the Coleman Theater in Miami.   I admire their statement on the website.The Coleman Theatre is dedicated to providing quality arts and educational programming that fosters appreciation and community pride, while maintaining and promoting the historic significance of the theatre  It is so important to keep such jewels of  the American smaller towns.  The theater opened its doors in 1929.

The Avon  Motor Court still is standing and serves as another reminder of the many cars that came through Afton.  

This looks like a great place to visit.

I enjoy riding every day and I look for a variety of locations and terrain.   I bet that some would not consider a ride in a subdivision as enjoyable. Here are some of the reasons why I ride in residential areas.

1.  CLOSE BY:  I do not have to mount the bike on the back of the car and drive to my starting point.
2. QUIET:  The speed limit is 25 mph. Cars pass at a cautious speed and distance.
3.  RESPECT:  This connects to #2. I think people view me as a neighbor and they care about  being viewed in positive light.
4. GOOD SURFACE:  The roads are usually in good condition.  Bumpy  parts are usually short
5. CREATE A PATH OR LOOP:  I work my path to have a clear view of the traffic as I come to intersections.  I look for right turns that I will have the right of way.   Quite often I can create a loop of a mile or two.
6. NO OBSTACLES:  Walkers stay on the sidewalk and you have plenty of space from those dog walkers.  You do not need to shout at the people with earphones.
7. TRY DIFFERENT GEARS, PACING:  Find a hill that is good to work on how to improve using the gears.  Find a stretch to blow it full out.  Work on doing the turn at high speed.  Avoid obstacles. Thread the needle.
8. ENJOY THE SIGHTS: Lawns, seasonal decorations
9. DOGS STAY IN THE YARD:  The invisible fence.
10. SNOW REMOVAL:  You will have a clear path in the  winter.
​11.  What else can you add?

It Is not boring to say that it was a dry day.  It got up to upper 80s.  I was fighting a headwind most of the day of 13 mph. 

From Joplin there were a few more miles in Missouri and  a small part of the ride in  a corner of Kansas and down south into Oklahoma.

 Luckily the street was not this crowded today.  Galena, KS was just a lead mine to begin  with and the town was formed and it boomed.

The train station houses the history museum.  That is well worth the stop.  Drop money in their jar.

The Eisler Brother Store and been in Riverton  since 1925. Today is gives you what you need.

Empire dam falls are due to the local power plant.  I liked the view.

i remember the road side park on the two lane roads that we traveled when I was a kid.  When I looked up what Google could show me, I find that the idea came from a Michigander, Herbert Larsen.  In 1918 he was a recent U of Michigan engineering grad working for the highway department.  He could not find a place to stop and do a cookout while he was traveling.  He purchases a plot along U.S. 2 in the Upper Peninsula and created what he could not find elsewhere.  The idea really caught on.  Now we call them rest stops.

Another dry day and into the low 80s.  For the many tour logs that I have read I do not get as much weather news as I would like.  The stormy weather can come in any season, but I am most interested in temperature and wind speed with direction.  Today there was a south wind at 10 mph and that meant that there was a little headwind.  I will check tomorrow's weather after supper. The news a dust cloud from the Sahara Desert should cause a haze.  I wonder what will be evident.

Missouri loyalties with north and south were very strong.   This battle came about due to this  division  and resluted  in this  early battle in the Civil War.

The George Washington Carver National Monument opened in 1943.  He is national known during his life for his work in agriculture.  He was born in  Diamond, MO.  He did research and teaching at Tuskegee for 47years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

You never want anyone to miss this.  A BIG sign.

 This house was built by Col. William H. Phelps in 1868, but in was not completed until 1895.  He was a lawyer and became involved in the developing railroad and politics.

In Webb City I enjoyed the King Jack Park.  These praying hands statue reminds me to pray for safe travels.   The city is named after John Webb who discovered lead on his farm while tilling the soil.  It sounds similar to Jed Clampet.

The park was a beautiful place to enjoy a wonderful day.  The statue on the right is of a miner. I bet it is Mr. Webb.

Joplin at the Turn of the Century (1896-1906).  I remember looking at the Thomas Hart Benton murals in the Indiana University Auditorium lobby.  I enjoyed this one just as much.