66 on 66

Oh m'gosh, what a day on Route 66! I'm short on time tonight and have lots to tell, so I'll try to be concise.

First there was the wagon train. Ok, we've had a cattle drive on Route 66, so why not a wagon train? We met this one between Chelsea and Vinita. Nobody can ever say that Route 66 is dull!Turns out the group was heading for Vinita for the Will Rogers Rodeo which begins next week, and using the opportunity to advertise the Rodeo.

When we arrived in Vinita, the Chamber of Commerce reminded us that the Calf Fry Festival is coming up next week, too. I like to refer to it as the Testicle Festival, and it's open to anyone with the balls to eat balls. (I personally like them a lot!)

We got to Afton Station and hadn't been open very long when 48 people on Harleys roared in. It was Trond Moburg, a great Norwegian guy who leads motorcycle tours of Route 66 for hundreds of his fellow Norwegians every summer. He hasn't visited Afton Station recently because the timing hasn't been right, but today the group was there with bells on. I was thrilled to see Trond and the gang, and there was a special added attraction -- our friends Ken and Melissa Turmel from Oklahoma City were riding along with them!For a short time, the town was clogged with motorcycles. . .

. . . and folks were actually lining up to buy things. That's what I like! The Norwegian are such friendly people, and all speak enough English to make me ashamed of my miserable lack of foreign language abilities.

But that was far from the end of things. Ron M. and I had lots more visitors. . . adding up to my favorite number -- 66 ! Betty stopped by, and there were visitors from Cleora, Lawton, and Muskogee OK, Justin TX, New York City NY, Brighton MI, and Yorkshire, England.

The visitors from Justin, TX were Larry Davidson from our Route 66 Yahoo group and his friend, driving Larry's absolutely awesome and very retro 1960 Ford Ranch Wagon. The lines on that boat were just amazing. Love it! The photo doesn't quite bring out the enormity of this station wagon, and it's in top condition.

At the end of the day, a handsome Italian gentleman (who's been living in New York City for the last 10 years) arrived on a loaded Harley upon which he's been traveling the whole country, not just Route 66, but everywhere else as well. There were others too, of course. Ladies from Lawton, Gold Wing riders from Muskogee, and a guy from Michigan who used to have an office in the old Packard plant in Detroit, and who was driving a very nifty older model Crown Victoria. Good, good, good day!!