Road Trip America, Pit Stop #3- Oklahoma

Today we got up early in Fort Smith, Arkansas and crossed the bridge into Oklahoma.  Miles and miles of quiet highway with small, quiet forgotten towns were speckled along the way.

Our first stop was to see the Oklahoma City Memorial.  It was a pretty dreary, cold and gray day today.  We discovered Oklahoma City is pretty industrial and quiet.  We were able to park right across the street from the memorial.  The memorial is quite beautiful and moving, remembering those lost in the horrific bombings of the Murrah building back in 2005.  There is still a partial wall of the original structure with the steel rods exposed set against the backdrop of a field of empty chairs and reflecting pool that looks smooth as ice.  The memorial is bookended by two towering structures.  It is a beautiful reminder of a sad event in American history.  I was particularly moved by the smaller chairs next to the others and the Christmas wreaths hanging from each one.

After the memorial, we continued to pass through town on the way to Amarillo.  Through the rest of Oklahoma and into Texas it was long stretches of road with not much to offer the eye but cows and windmills.  We stopped for lunch at a little cabin off the highway in the middle of nowhere outside Clinton, OK called Jigg's Smokehouse.  you walk into this tiny smoke shack and are greeted with tables and the smell of smoked meats.  The walls are adorned with memorabilia of those who have passed through, most of which were business cards stapled to the walls.  I ordered a BBQ beef brisket sandwich and my husband got the "Kitchen Sink".  This sandwich was ridiculous!  It was about two pounds of ham, summer sausage and what appeared to be 5 other smoked meats topped with a special BBQ sauce and cheddar.  It was like a delicious brick.  My BBQ brisket was awesome.  The sauce is really tangy and sweet but still has a hot kick that builds up the more you eat.  Great lunch!  We both left our business cards to be added to their collection.

Feeling like we just ate another Thanksgiving dinner, we continued on for another few hours to Amarillo, TX where we will rest our chilled bones for the evening.  Getting up bright and early to hit the road by 7 for sunrise photos at Cadillac Ranch followed by (if we make it in time) the Winslow Meteor Crater and on to Flagstaff, AZ.  Hopefully we'll get some good photos and good eats along the way.