Tulsa Topics

For the holidays, my wife and I decided to visit her family in Fulton, NY. Generally we try and make the venture to "Upstate, NY" every other year during Christmas and this was the "every other" year. My Dad thinks we've got our travel plans all wrong, going to the Caribbean in the summer and up north in the winter. I think he may have a point there.

After checking on flights and car rentals and the cost associated with each mode of transportation, we decided to take a road trip from Tulsa to Fulton in our trusty car. This is no ordinary road trip for the faint of heart, it's a 1291.7 mile each way road trip according to Microsoft's Street and Trips. I don't recommend this road trip to anyone that has a marginal relationship with their spouse and I probably wouldn't advise making such a long road trip with the kids either, but since we don't have any children I can't speak with authority on that one.

The driving time between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fulton, New York is approximately 19 hours, 5 minutes. This again according to MS's Street and Trips software. In my younger spouseless days I would've probably attempted to drive this straight through, but those days are long gone and I can't say I miss those days either. Sometimes the best part of the trip is the journey itself and on this particular trip both the journey and the destination was enjoyable.

Before the completion of this journey we would visit some major cities -- St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Buffalo..... not once, but twice. The journey would also take us to a foreign country -- Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada..... we stayed a couple of nights in a historic hotel on the Canadian side. And last but not least, the journey would allow my wife to see her family and friends during the holidays in Fulton, NY.... the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end of the journey.

All journeys should have stories and tales to tell which this one does. I've already posted 2 or 3 which you can read below. I might post another picture or two (I took many pictures) or expound on a segment of our trip, but for the most part this journey is over and the memories are all that remain.

Driving down the Will Rogers turnpike on New Years Day is a memorable part of the trip. Basically 90% of the construction delays encountered on this journey can be attributed to this segment. My wife and I both commented more than once about the privilege of having to pay just to be slowed down by construction on one of our infamous turnpikes.

In the title of this post "Onward through the fog or haze" I reference our driving conditions as we neared Tulsa on Sunday night. Starting around Claremore the visibility conditions became hazy and continued to decline the closer we got to Tulsa. When we arrived home we learned via breaking news of all the grass fires in the area. Thankfully there wasn't any fires along our path or the "Do Not Drive Into Smoke" signs that you see on the highway would've applied.

As I type this post, I continually see the "severe weather alert" telling me it's a "Red Flag Day." Hopefully we'll get some moisture soon in our area. Until then I plan on continuing "Onward through the fog" trying to shed some light where it is needed.