Day 2: Eastern Oklahoma

We started our day out like we meant business, with a full breakfast at Boomerang Diner in Tahlequah, OK. The "small" breakfast did not disappoint with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and biscuit & gravy. Mmm! I knew right then that it was going to be a great day.

The rest of the day did not disappoint, either. Despite our late start and big breakfast pushing our TAT arrival to nearly 11:00 AM, we wore ourselves out over 150 miles of trail.

The roads swapped back and forth between packed dirt and gravel of all sorts and colors. There was nothing of significant riding challenge, but I wouldn't call it boring. Much of the joy of this ride is just the beauty of it. Rolling hills and turning leaves made Oklahoma feel like Vermont. A different time of year, with the heat beating down, and I can see how this section of the trail could be dull. The interesting riding is definitely spaced out further by some long, straight gravel roads. Anyway, I'm still enjoying myself.

The daylight doesn't last long in November, so we stopped for camp in late afternoon. I think our secluded, lakeside campsite might be the best we've had. It clearly used to be a campground, but seems to now be unmaintained. Just finding the roads in was an adventure challenge, and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the lake, trees for hammocks, and just the stars and armadillos for company.