Scott Nazelrod

Southwest Oklahoma Roadtrip

2006-10-20

For this trip, I went to Chickasha and took OK-19 west to its end at U.S. 283 in Blair. From there, I went north to OK-44, which I took to OK-9 in Lone Wolf. From there I went to Hobart for dinner, then west on OK-9 to Texas, where I took TX-203 to its end at Hedley. From Hedley, I turned around and caught TX-273 to I-40, which I took back home.

	First, a zoom-in on a new meat cleaver in Tabler, at the end of OK-39, east of Chickasha. Grady County's meat cleavers are all like this: thick stroke on the state outline, date sticker above the timestamp. Apparently, they're using diamond-grade sheeting here rather than the engineer-grade stuff used in District 3.
	U.S. 81 south of Chickasha is an expressway, and ODOT found it fit to bump the speed limit up to a full 70 miles per hour.
	U.S. 277/OK-19 assurance shields after the split from U.S. 81.
	One of those minature Statues of Liberty in Cement, just off U.S. 277/OK-19.
	I'm guessing a lot of people missed this turn in Cyril, where U.S. 277/OK-19 tee with OK-8. That double arrow sign is HUGE. For comparison, the shields next to it are normal size. And the yellow is almost blindingly bright, too.
	Past Cyril (where we dump U.S. 277), mountains start appearing to the south of OK-19. These are the Wichita Mountains - one of two "mountain" ranges we'll pass through.
	This is Oklahoma, so of course you have wind, and in this spot, you have mountains, so why not make money off them? This wind farm in Caddo and Kiowa Cos. (along the OK-19/58 duplex and after OK-19 splits off) lines the highway and stretches for miles.
	ODOT has been posting these special markers at each county line, in celebration of Oklahoma's centennial next year. (This is also partially why the meat cleaver was introduced.) This particular one is just west of the Caddo/Kiowa Co. line. I'm curious as to whether ODOT will go around and collect them after the centennial, or whether they'll stick around until they fall over, are mowed down by a drunk in a truck, become faded and illegible, etc. Actually, because it's on a square white blank, does that mean every time you see one of these, you must celebrate?
	More mountain scenery. I know, I know, you don't care about the mountains, you want more shots of the road.
	OK-19 at the (northern) OK-54 junction. OK-19 duplexes with OK-54 to the south for about 3 miles.
	A general view of OK-19 shows how desolate it is around these parts. And flat, too.
	The west end of OK-19 at U.S. 283/OK-6 in Blair. The east end is 172 miles the other way, in Ada, making OK-19 the thirteenth-longest state highway. According to Eric Stuve, at least. OK-19 clinched!
	Mileage sign on U.S. 283/OK-6 just north of OK-19. Why it's on a freeway-type sign, I have no clue.
	Argh! Scenery overload! (This is U.S. 283, I believe, after it splits from OK-6.)
	When you think of a highway numbered 44 that runs through Oklahoma, you generally think of something with a colorful shield and lots of lanes that Killed Our Poor Ole Route 66. Not a two-lane road in the Quartz Mountains. This, the northbound beginning of OK-44, is proof that ODOT does not care even a little about number duplication.
	Let's jump past the mountains to where OK-44 is finished duplexing with OK-9, between Lone Wolf and Hobart. Something missing here?
	The western/southern end of Hobart's OK-9 Business.
	Headed back westbound again, on OK-9.
	After ditching OK-6, U.S. 283 apparently found someone else to hang around. We'll tag along for a bit.
	OK-9 is just as desolate as the western half of OK-19, but more hilly.
	The last highway junction in Oklahoma. Say bye-bye to the pretty little meat cleaver shields, they'll be replaced by something much more boring in a few miles!
	What Comrade Yamamoto would call a "sine salad" right at the border. There's an Oklahoma welcome sign, Harmon Co. sign, centennial marker, and OK-9's first assurance shield. Following these are miscellaneous regulatory signs.
	I turned around and there was this massive thing!
	Followed by this, in an awful font! Actually, it's Clearview, the font that Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are switching to, with Kentucky, Maryland, and other states playing around with it. (Oklahoma has gotten approval to experiment with it, but so far they haven't done anything, as far as I know.) Clearview actually looks better in person, on signs, than it does on a computer screen. You get too close to it like this and it looks ugly.
	Welcome to TX-203! See, I told you the meat cleavers were more interesting.
	I like how the George W. Bush blurb is in Clearview.
	The speed limit goes up during the day. But don't think they don't enforce that night speed limit - I owe Wheeler County $175 because of it! What I don't get is how you're supposed to see a black sign at night...
	Bridge over the Salt Fork of the Red River. Truss bridges are rare in Texas; most have been replaced already. Bonnie and Clyde crashed into this river near a similar bridge on U.S. 83 back in the 1930s.
	The Farm Road shields are a bit more interesting. Here's FM-2734. (Sorry for the blurriness on the large version, these farm roads sneak up on you.)
	TX-203 goodness.
	TX-203 ends in Hedley. Signage seems to indicate that it continues, but according to TxDOT, it does in fact end at U.S. 287. Here's a mileage sign just south of the junction on U.S. 287, near a gas station. (New mileage signs are in Clearview, in upper and lower case.)
	From Hedley, TX-273 runs north to I-40 near McLean. Here's a shot of that road, which doesn't appear to be in as great a shape as TX-203.
	Just for fun on the way back I decided to clinch BR I-40 through El Reno, OK. This is a strange photo from one of the loop's many turns. You know, ODOT, they make green directional plates and arrows now. You don't have to use blue ones... (I kept this partly because of the interesting effect of the lights.)

Other than the speeding ticket, I had a good time on this trip. I clinched three highways: OK-19, TX-203, and BR I-40. I've also now completed all of OK-9 up to OK-2 (near Stigler). Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to clinch it too.

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