May 22nd – Lubbock to Boise City

After checking the weather forecasts there seemed no reason not to set off for our pre-booked destination of Boise City, Oklahoma which is in the panhandle just north of Texas.

We had a long ride ahead so decided to fortify ourselves with breakfast even though that wasn’t included in our room rate. As it turned out we were greeted by the garrulous and effusive chef who told us we could eat for free providing we signed up to the Holiday Inn “Premier Club” (which would cost us nothing except for the stress of receiving spam emails for the rest of our lives). We were taken off one by one to sign up in what looked like some kind of rivalry between the chef and the desk clerk as to who could sign up the most PC members this week. Anyway, if you are reading this Mr Chef (and I’m sure you’re not) thanks for the free breakfast and we hope you make Employee of the Month.

As an aside, from reading American novels and watching western films I’ve always thought “biscuits and gravy” for breakfast sounded really appetising. I now know that it is actually scones with a white, vaguely cheese-flavoured sauce.

After breakfast we packed up and set of. We stopped for gas and the cashiers asked where we were headed. We said – Oklahoma – which drew the response “What y’all gwin theyah fowah”? Stifling the urge to say “because it’s there” or “mind your own business” we just said it was on our route and left to much shaking of heads and “Y’all be careful now”s.

We took the Interstate 27 out of Lubbock and were riding in more or less ideal conditions other than very strong crosswinds in places. The landscape was flat and agricultural with a few large concrete grain silos and cotton “gins” at the roadside but otherwise little sign of habitation.

The traffic was fairly light but at one point a large articulated truck sped past us at over 80 miles an hour! As I pulled out to follow him past some slower moving trucks I was horrified to see a State Trooper in my rear view mirror with his lights flashing! He pulled in ahead of me and Mark but to our immense relief he then followed the speeding trucker into a rest area (or maybe he was just in a rush to use the comfort station himself). Anyway after that we kept a very close eye on the mirrors and the speedo for a while.

We passed through Amarillo at about the half-way point of our day’s ride and therefore crossed Route 66 at some point. The city seems very prosperous and well-established. We stopped briefly in the centre for a photo-opportunity. It would probably have been nice to see more of it but we had further to go today.

Before leaving Texas we stopped to refuel at a place called Dumas. When paying we were asked if we would like to donate to the Oklahoma tornado victims which we happily did. When looking for his dollars, Mark accidentally got out his British money, which the cashier insisted on inspecting in minute detail and then pronounced to be “real purdy”.

Fairly soon after that we crossed into Oklahoma which again seems to be vast expanse of agricultural land so wide that it is almost possible to see the curvature of the earth on the horizon. For much of the remainder of the journey there was often a strong smell of fertiliser (oh come on now let’s not beat about the bush – it was chickensh*t) in the air. Sorry people of the town of Cactus but that’s what it smelt like and frankly I don’t know how you stand it.

After 243 miles we arrived in Boise City which boasts a population of about 1200. This is real small-town America and arriving at the motel felt like being in a remake of Easy Rider as interpreted by Norman Bates from Psycho. We’re now sitting in our room with the door open watching large pick-up trucks pull up and disgorge thin, wiry men in baseball caps clutching cases of Bud. Fortunately they all seem to be friendly.

The Okies, as they call themselves, seem to like our British accents!

Shortly we will go off and try the local diner “The Rocking A” which offers “home cooking” – hopefully we won’t find ourselves on the menu.

All being well we’re planning to get to Santa Rosa in New Mexico tomorrow.

PS we have now covered just over 2500 miles.