Confessions of a Hit and Run Tourist - Day Four

[Riverbrian]

I have recently completed a solo 18 day road trip covering 8 ballparks, 9 games, 14 states, national parks, normal tourist traps and not so normal stops. My fairly new 2022 Kia Seltos had 6,400 miles on it before the trip and the journey tacked on 8,522 additional miles. Some of you may find this interesting and some may say what's the big deal, it's a crazy man with a torture filled vacation plan. I was encouraged to tell the story here by individual day because it would be a very lengthy post if not broken down by day. Some days are not that interesting, some days were more interesting than others and some days need a new adjective, but each day was different and they were days that I couldn't experience in my living room. 

Feel free to comment, shake your head at my moments of stupidity or tell your own experiences of the places I experienced. This is hit and run tourism... I didn't have a lot of time to hit all the stops but I wanted to hit all the stops because who knows if I would ever be back in any of the areas travelled. I researched and scheduled the trip to the minute and followed the schedule to the letter. 

Day Four - August 1 - Oakley, Kansas to Arlington, Texas

I was up and at it early this morning with a 6:30A departure. I certainly didn't stay long at the hotel, getting in late and leaving early but the Hotel was absolutely acceptable. Towns of 2,000 people in the middle of nowhere typically don't have acceptable hotels, most times they don't have a hotel. However, Oakley has the advantage of being at the confluence of I-70 and two U.S. highways so there were multiple cars in the lot and a decent sized truck stop across the street. I was moving before the truckers were, the first stop would be just down the road a bit as I took off for Monument Rocks. It was a short drive that seemed like a long drive because to get to monument rocks and to get out of monument rocks it takes about 10 miles of dirt road driving. I looked at the dirt road and contemplated skipping Monument Rocks because I have a 10 hour drive ahead and I couldn't get my head around starting this trip on a dirt road but this is what is there is western Kansas. In consideration of the scenery I have already seen and the scenery yet to come, I can't say that it was the worth the few miles on a not well maintained dirt road.

Monument Rocks are a series of chalk formations that were left in the middle of nowhere by aliens. Kind of like the American version of Stone Henge without the stones or henge. There was no gift shop or posted information, the sun was just lighting up the sky and there was one other vehicle hanging around, it was like we were trespassing in a back forty of some ranch and Rip Wheeler was soon to show up crabby. OK, I've seen it, I've added dirt and mud to my trip with my back window and car splattered. On the way out, I meet up with another batch of unsupervised cows in the roadway once again. These cows didn't want to move so I had no choice but to grab a rope out of the trunk and lasso them, it was a good thing I went to the rodeo in Cheyenne to learn how to do this.  

Next stop on the Western Kansas cruise line was Dodge City, population 27,000, out here that's like New Orleans. You drive through the 21st century to find a little pocket of 19th century with a gift shop with a fee to walk around and see old stuff, while you hear horns honking on the streets nearby. The effort here was about a 2 on a scale of 10 so you could say I'm 0-2 as far as positive impressions of what there is to see in Western Kansas so onward I go. 

Next stop was a scheduled lunch at a BBQ place in Woodward, Oklahoma. I found the restaurant with ease and I also found an empty parking lot and this curious  hours of service sign that stated this place was open 6 days a week but closed on Monday, oops didn't research that part while making my plans. I found another BBQ place while contemplating why the first place wasn't open on Monday in the first place. The replacement I found was drive through only, I ordered the brisket and was surprised when it was served in a cup with cheese melting over the top of it. It wasn't what I was expecting when I said "Brisket" but time is tight so I completed the transaction with out argument. I found an empty parking lot to sit in my car and have a cup of lunch. 

Next stop was the Hotel in Arlington, which was situated directly across the interstate from the Massive Cowboys stadium, which I could see in all it's Cowboyness from my window along with Globe Life off to the left. I unpacked a bit and headed down to the lobby to catch the shuttle to the Rangers vs Orioles game. The lobby was filled with baseball fans and I ended up speaking with two groups of people who were also on separate baseball stadium road trips but they were only getting in a couple of stadiums, when I mentioned that this was the 2nd of 8, I was immediately crowned the king of the Holiday Inn lobby and shuttle, which earned me preferred seating in the front row of the shuttle. It was 106 degrees when I arrived in Arlington, when you step out of an air-conditioned vehicle, it shocks you like a lobster being dropped into a boiling pot and you make a similar sound. I won't lie... I was grateful that the stadium came with a roof. 

The brand new ballpark in Texas. was obviously impressive but I'll say it, they failed to put character into the facility. It is just a large building with new things and nothing to make it stand out from the others. I like to walk completely around stadiums after I locate my section. Be warned that you will hit a wall that forces you to walk back all the way around just to find your seat. They did have some different food choices and I chose the Elote which instead of being served on the cob was served in a cup. I guess it was cup of food day for some reason. The Orioles spanked the Rangers. 

Back to the hotel for some sleep, I'll be departing at 9:28AM. 

 

[Squirrel]

7 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

but the Hotel was absolutely acceptable.

So it had a continental breakfast?

7 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Next stop was the Hotel in Arlington

Did it have a continental breakfast?

[Riverbrian]

12 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

So it had a continental breakfast?

Did it have a continental breakfast?

Yes and Yes

Hot breakfast at both places. I was ready for breakfast in Kansas because I kinda skipped stopping coming out of Denver, I knew I would have to be up early and I just wanted to get to pillow as fast as possible.

I took advantage of the Sausage Gravy over a biscuit and sausage patties, and sausage links and sausage yogurt. 

In Arlington, I opted out of the hot breakfast though, selecting a bowl of cereal and banana because I knew that I was having lunch at a top level BBQ place. 

[Squirrel]

1 minute ago, Riverbrian said:

sausage yogurt

?

[Riverbrian]

4 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

?

Disclaimer: Warning - Sometimes my food choices are not pretty. 

OK, I just was going with the theme, I chose the blueberry yogurt over the strawberry. 

[Squirrel]

1 minute ago, Riverbrian said:

Disclaimer: Warning - Sometimes my food choices are not pretty. 

OK, I just was going with the theme, I chose the blueberry yogurt over the strawberry. 

Blueberry yogurt with sausage gravy is almost as bad, but not quite 

[Nine of twelve]

On 8/20/2022 at 7:22 PM, Riverbrian said:

 

 I chose the blueberry yogurt over the strawberry. 

Strawberry yogurt topped with blueberry yogurt. Fruity.