Day #12 Elk City, OK to Oklahoma City, OK

Ceremony in Oklahoma City

Last night 2 tornados touched down nearby….Today we awoke to 35 mph winds out of North, unfortunately we are going East…OHP Motor Lt Steve Howell and Trooper Brian Medeiros arrived on their Motorcycles in the Gusty 45 degree winds. The First Group (Bruce, Nancy, Tony and Dawn) started off with a brutal crossing wind, the worst we’ve had thus far. Blowing them at times almost off the road we started to use the vans as wind blockers. We stopped by the Town of Corn for a picture in front of Town Hall.

Group 2 (Rob, Pat, Dennis and Kevin) started off with the winds slightly less but still strong. As they went on hill after hill came up, they really didn’t have any flat areas to speak of. They passed numerous cattle ranches and even saw an Emu that was running across a field towards a Llama. Farther along we saw some Buffalo grazing on another ranch. Scenic but tough…

Group 3 (Fred, SB, Steve and Craig) started off with a couple of hills before it started to flatten out closer to Oklahoma City. The winds were consistent and strong. Rarely was the wind at their back. SB said he saw an ostrich chasing a horse?

All the riders want to commend the tremendous job done today by all the OHP Motors. They definitely kept us safe today…

During the evening a ceremony was hosted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol at their Headquarters Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. A multi-agency honor guard raised the colors and a 21 gun salute was provided by the OHP Honor Guard. The ceremony was conducted by Kevin Hoffman with an invocation by Chaplain Sam Garner. Commissioner of Public Safety Kevin Ward was the keynote speaker. He spoke so fluently and was so well prepared that we are now considering taking him with us to handle all of our public speaking responsibilities. Craig White spoke on the mission of the Unity Tour and he and Bruce Christensen presented the engraved batons to Lonnie Wright, Director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Sgt David Baxter of the Oklahoma City Police Dept. Dennis Dempsey did a reading of the names and the ceremony was concluded by the playing of taps by a member of the OHP Honor Guard.

Our evening was concluded with a short visit to the Oklahoma Federal Building Memorial Site.

Which bike would you like to ride across the USA?

Group 3 using the Van for wind cover..

This is one of the back country roads we used..

Group 2 heading for another hill..

Group 3 led by Craig, followed by SB, Fred and Steve..

OHP Motors

Kevin, Dennis, Pat and Rob into the wind...

Tony with the Baton...

Group 1 turns past a Church and into a tough crossing wind.

This little guy made "Fred" feel like he was in Texas....

The Team stops for a picture in Corn, Oklahoma

Group 1 using the Vans for wind protection...

The Oklahoma City Federal Building Memorial