Day 4 September 21 Tahlequah, OK to Amarillo, TX 428 miles
Day 4 Route Tahlequah, OK to Amarillo, TX
Today is day 4 of our Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride. This was a long ride day (428 miles) and it ended up being really windy for most of the day. Because of the wind and we were riding on I-40 at 70 MPH+ we got our worst gas mileage of the trip. I got a little better than 36 mpg. I think LC and LT got a bit less than that.
On one of our other rides we had stopped at a Route 66 museum so I thought we would do that again. We stopped at the one in Clinton but it wasn’t the same one. It was interesting but much smaller. As we were leaving we ran into one of the guys and his wife we met at the “Trail of Tears”. They were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. They also thought this was not the same museum they had previously visited… and it wasn’t. When we got back on I-40 I saw a sign a bit farther down I-40 at Elk City that said “Route 66 National Museum”. We didn’t stop because of the time but LC and LT stopped there on their way back home. LT said it was the one we were looking for. They spent a couple of hours touring it.
When we got to Amarillo I had trouble getting us to the motel. It wasn’t easy to get to even with a GPS. The GPS tried to take us down a one-way street the wrong way. Any way we got there. It was a long day riding in the wind.
LT with Bikes at Amarillo Motel
When visiting LC this past summer LC said he wanted to ride the Million Dollar Highway in September after the “Trail of Tears”. That became know, as plan A. LT mentioned riding to Arizona in support of Arizona fight against illegal immigration and that was plan B. We weren’t sure where we were going after Amarillo. It was going to be either Arizona or Colorado. We weren’t sure if the weather in Colorado would be warm and dry enough because at high elevations, we could encounter really cold and maybe snow. As of today either way we would choose to go, rain is forecasted for the next couple days. The weather forecast for the southern part of Arizona was looking to be really hot. Tucson had 104 degrees the day before and the forecast was more of the same. I had watched the weather in Arizona and Colorado for the past month before our trip. Colorado’s temperatures had been running above average and that was holding true with the forecast. Since rain was forecast for the next 2 days we opted to do the Colorado route backwards. That would allow us to get to Colorado after the rain cleared out. That proved to be a good choice.
Tomorrow we ride the Palo Duro Canyon and then head on to Fort Sumner where the infamous Billy the Kid’s grave is… so they say… More on that tomorrow. Come follow a long as we explore and take in beautiful western scenery.
Below are the posts from each day of our ride. Come follow along as we ride to enjoy the fun and beautiful scenery…
Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride introduction
Day 1 & 2 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 3 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 5 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 6 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 7 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 8 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 9 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Day 10 Million Dollar Highway Motorcycle Ride 2010
Ride safe and I hope we see you down the road somewhere…