Day 18 - October 19 - Canyon, TX to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - 274 miles

     I had to return to Oklahoma City as I headed east, because the BMW was due for an oil change. Since I wanted to keep this fine machine running well, I scheduled an appointment for Day 19 (October 20) in the morning so that I could get the work done, then push on in an easterly direction.

    I arrived in Oklahoma City in mid-afternoon, and stopped by the shop to see about possibly getting it done early. Turns out they were overloaded with work, so I went on to my hotel. I do have to tell you that if you ever have a chance to stay in any of the Cambria Suites hotels, go for it! My lovely and talented wife Beth made me a convert to "Trip Advisor" years ago, so I always look there first when heading for a new town. 

    Anyway, Cambria Suites in Oklahoma City came out on top. I didn't know what to expect, but I got a suite which probably had about 500 square feet of space in it. Beautifully furnished, quiet, and good Internet service (via Ethernet cable or WiFi). Price was: $82/night. Wow! Having sampled a whole range of cheaper hotels on this trip, I could write an article about bad breakfasts, weak coffee, useless and slow "high-speed" Internet connections, and bad pillows. The Cambria Suites had none of these, and breakfast was not even offered, which was fine with me. It was a stellar place indeed. 

   One thing I haven't really mentioned about this trip is the burden I'm carrying on my BMW. Besides me (of course), I have two pieces of side luggage filled with a couple of emergency mechanical items, camera, notebooks, & rain clothing. Behind me on the rear seat and luggage rack rides another piece of luggage in which I carry my clothing, computer, and other stuff. Once it's all together, the weight is pretty significant: 1) Bike: 600#, 2) John: 220#, 3) Luggage et al: ~70#. Total: Almost 900#. The bike is stable at almost any speed above about 5 mph, but below that feels a little top heavy. Once I unload the top luggage and some of the stuff in the side bags, it feels almost nimble, by contrast. 

   I unloaded a bunch of stuff at the Cambria Suites, and then took local streets about six miles into downtown Oklahoma City. As with many of the places in which I've been in Oklahoma, things didn't seem bright and cheerful and bustling. I never know if this means anything, since I don't see everything.

     My real purpose in heading downtown was to see the memorial at the site of the former Murrah Federal Building which was bombed by Timothy McVeigh, and Terry Nichols on April 19, 1995. All will remember that the bombing killed 168 people including 19 children. I have since learned that the damage to the building and surrounding area totaled $652 million dollars.

   The memorial is generally pretty simple in design, and has series of chairs each inscribed with the name of a victim. Large chairs represent an adult, and each small one, a child. Here are some photos of the memorial I made that day: 

There are two large panels at each end of the memorial through which one enters the area near the reflecting pool. One of these (above) has the number "9:01" which represents the time before the bombing.  The other has the number "9:03" which was the time the bomb detonated.

The chairs representing the dead victims (there were hundreds injured) are placed in the location of the destroyed building, and the physical placement of each chair represents on which of the nine floors of the building the victim was when he or she died.

Some may remember that a fence was placed around the site of the bombing early on. Parts of that fence have been retained as part of the memorial, and new additions of personal memories are added constantly to it. Here are some photos of the fence:  

     Well, it's a moving experience to go to the memorial, and think about the motivations of those who caused the death and destruction. There is a very complete Wikipedia piece about the event and the investigation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing   I talked with a guard there just before I left, and he told me he was living about 20 miles from Oklahoma City at the time of the bombing, and clearly remembers feeling the ground shake when he was in school that day. 

    I rode back to the hotel thinking about those 19 children...

    After a couple of hours of reflection, I decided that it was time for dinner. Since I was going to leave intense beef country, I decided a steak for dinner was the thing to have. I went to a nearby restaurant aimed at carnivores, and had a mighty fine piece of beef. Expensive tenderloin, with sweet potato fries, and a very fine salad, and broccoli (yes Beth, I'm eating my veggies!), accompanied by a just-passable glass of Pinor Noir.