It's been a while. . .

. . . but I'm back. My daughter Sarah has gone home and I'm sad about that, but it was great to get back to Afton Station today. The fort was held down by Marly and Betty B. while I was gone, and a fine job they did indeed! Betty B. was enlisted when Marly had a phone call which caused him to have to leave on Thursday, and "Super Salesman" Betty sold lots of merchandise while she was there, as well as offering her friendly smile to quite a few visitors. And as usual, Marly was the perfect host, with his combined knowlege of Route 66 and automobiles. Things were in good hands!

Sarah and I took a little trip to the Talimena Drive, which is a scenic mountain jaunt between Talihena, OK and Mena, AR. Talimena Scenic Drive in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The last time I was there, the fog was so dense that it was impossible to see beyond the hood of the car. This time, it was beautiful!

We spent the night at the lodge at Robber's Cave State Park. More beautiful scenery and great accomodations. Robbers Cave State Park TravelOK.com - Oklahoma's Official Travel & Tourism Site
We made a pilgrimage to Lovera's in Krebs, OK, a fabulous Italian market that specializes in Italian cheeses and sausages made on site. We bought a lot of cheese. Yum! Welcome - Lovera'sThe next day we visited the Heavener Runestone State Park (also in Oklahoma) where we learned about the Vikings who visited Oklahoma (yes, really!) and how their writings on stone have been preserved for centuries. Heavener Runestone State Park - Heavener, Oklahoma
Finally, we made a quick visit to Fort Gibson, OK, a pre-Civil War fortress perfectly preserved as it was when it protected the citizens of the western frontier. Fort Gibson Historic Site - Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
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Ok, so back to Afton. . . Today was busy and varied, and I was very glad to be back. Ron M. went with me, and Betty W. and Tattoo Man were both there for a good bit of time, too. Additionally, we had visitors from Lawton OK, Alamagordo NM, Wichita KS, Tulsa OK, Blue Springs MO, Locust Grove OK, Pierce City MO, British Columbia Canada, Grove OK, and Cashion, OK. The folks from Cashion OK, the Greenwoods, were on their 25th Anniversary trip, and seemed to be enjoying their vacation and each other.

A group of six motorcycle riders from Tulsa stopped by, and their motorcycles looked really nice parked in front of our building.We were finally able to raise the American flag given to me by Betty B. It looks wonderful. Thank you so much, Betty!
Ron Hart, the Executive Director of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce and his wife stopped by and told us about his plan to create a mobile Route 66 Information booth that can be moved from place to place in order to spread the word about the charms of the Mother Road. Route 66 Chamber of Commerce homepage

And finally, at the very end of the day (in fact, I was locking the front door at the time) friends Richard, Suzanne, and Duncan Moeur drove in. They're doing a BIG Route 66 trip from their home in Arizona, and it's far from the first. Little Duncan gets taller every time they stop by. Wish we could have visited longer, but I was in a bit of a rush to get home for a previously planned engagement.