Heavy rains made for muddy riding through a beautiful state. I managed a quick activation (US-4425) just before the rain started but the high winds preceding the rain made the audio from the activation's recording unsuitable for posting to YouTube.

Thanks all, for the contacts.

Lunch was at the cafe in Oark where I met a great group of people who invited me to join them at their table. Everyone was from somewhere else and the conversation was all about travel. 

I saw more wildlife in Arkansas than in the previous three states combined, mostly deer but also two coyote. 

I rode the beginning and end of the Oklahoma TAT, skipping the many miles of sameness that constitutes the middle. This meant two days of highway riding from Bartlesville to Boise City in 104F (40C) heat and 40 mph (65 kph) winds. It has to be experienced to be truly appreciated and I'll admit that it had me reevaluating life choices.

I'm currently in Trinidad (Colorado) and today's ride was beautiful in its solitude. The ride from Boise City to Trinidad was a lesson in changing geography and I saw exactly one other human the entire 200 miles, waving at me from a train.

Pronghorn antelopes, horses and cattle.

Want a bit of pronghorn antelope trivia? They are the 2nd fastest land animal in the world, they are not even remotely related to any deer species and their feet are padded to cushion them at speed. Their closest genetic relative is the giraffe. And, unlike deer, they can't jump fences and have to go under them. If you look closely, there's one doing just that at the end of the following video on the right-hand side of the road.

Tomorrow I hope to activate a park here in Colorado, most likely Lake Pueblo State Park. 

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Directly on YouTube 

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