James Pratt

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Exploring northeast Oklahoma on dual sport motorcycles

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It doesn’t get much better than meandering down a blacktop road at 40 mph in Osage County on a big single-cylinder thumper, the wind carrying the fragrant aroma of evergreen and honeysuckle, horses grazing in a nearby field, and my wife following me on her own bike, weaving along the twisty roads as if we were synchronized swimmers. We were on a two day weekend trip to northeast Oklahoma on our BMW dual-sport motorcycles, riding paved and occasionally gravel county roads, exploring out-of-the-way landmarks and locations gleaned from hours of research in the seldom-perused corners of the internet.

I had recently purchased a slightly used BMW F650GS Sertao dual sport bike to go along with my wife’s similar BMW G650 X-Country bike. Our goal for 2020 was to take more weekend trips, and this was our first overnight motorcycle trip of the season. At the last minute my wife’s brother and his wife came along for the ride, two-up on a venerable Kawasaki KLR-650.

We packed light with just some essential tools, rain gear, and an overnight change of clothes. Our destination? We really didn’t have one other than to ride east and then north, then ride south and back west. Oh, we had some ideas of places we wanted to see, but our usual mode of travel is to just explore and see where the road takes us.

Kay and I packed light for this overnight trip. I carried a few tools, rain gear, some running shoes, and a change of clothes, all rolled into two Wolfman luggage Rollies. My BMW F650GS Sertao in front, Kay’s BMW G650 X-Country in the back.

Elmer McCurdy’s grave

Elmer became much more famous after his death than prior to his demise.

Leaving Edmond, our first stop was to show Kay’s brother David and his wife Lynn one of the more interesting graves in Oklahoma. Located in a little known corner of a Guthrie cemetery, Boot Hill was a place where outlaws without family or home were laid to rest. The most famous grave is the headstone of Elmer McCurdy, who became famous not from his criminal exploits, but from the after-death exploits of his mummified corpse.

Indian Meridian

Leaving Guthrie, we meandered on some county roads and a bit of gravel to find our way to the Indian Meridian marker just south of Langston. This marker was erected in 1922 to mark the spot where all land surveys in Oklahoma originate. It was originally the point dividing Oklahoma from Indian Territory. Luckily the marker has been restored and stands in the middle of a seldom-used street south of Langston.

This obelisk stands at the point that was originally used to divide Oklahoma from Indian Territory, and the point from which most Oklahoma land surveys originate.

Lunch in Stillwater

Our next stop was Stillwater. With the COVID-19 pandemic still fresh in our minds, we had to search for a place to eat. Our original plan was to eat at Stillwater’s well known Eskimo Joe’s, but we had all eaten there many times and a long line prompted us to try Granny’s Kitchen in downtown Stillwater. We were able to eat outdoors with plenty of room between tables for social distancing.

Afterwards Kay wanted to record a video showing how happy she was to be riding again.

What a cool landmark in Stillwater. There are actually two of these transformer creations created at G&M Body Shops.

Ingalls shootout

Ingalls, Oklahoma was home to one of the fiercest gunfights in Oklahoma history. US Marshalls from Guthrie and Stillwater heard remnants of the Doolin/Dalton gang were holed up near the town. They descended on the town on the morning of September 1, 1893 to make arrests, and three US Marshalls and one local citizen were killed during the ensuing gunfight.

A stone monument in Ingalls commemorates one of the fiercest shootouts in Oklahoma history.
An information sign explains the Ingalls shootout.
I am not sure if these are original buildings from the time of the Ingalls shootout, but they look cool anyway.

Pawnee Bill Wild West Ranch

Pawnee Bill was a well-known showman. His Wild West Show traveled the world for several years, depicting life in the wild US west. Eventually he and his wife settled in Pawnee and built a ranch to house their show during the winter months. This ranch is ran by the Oklahoma Historical Society and is open to the public. Each summer they host a recreation of Pawnee Bill’s original Wild West Show.

The Pawnee Bill Wild West Show museum was closed because of the pandemic. We parked in front of this tower where Pawnee Bill could watch the goings-on at his ranch.
An informational poster explains the layout of the ranch.
We drove along public roads on the ranch and encountered these horses. They were in no mood to move off the pavement, so we had to go around them in the grass.

Pawhuska and Pioneer Woman Mercantile

After a brief stop at Pawnee, we again headed north and east towards Pawhuska. One of our plans was to visit the famous Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska. Made famous by Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman blog fame, this thriving tourist attraction draws up to 6,000 visitors per day from all across the United States and is well worth the trip to Osage County.

I have hundreds of interesting waypoints marked on my Garmin GPS. As we meandered northeast towards Pawhuska, a maker popped up on my GPS indicating this statute in Skedee. Upon arriving, I remembered visiting this unusual place before, commemorating the friendship between Chief Baconrind and Colonel Walters.
This old gas station and a few houses is all that is left of Skedee, Oklahoma.

After leaving Skedee, we followed county roads to the small town of Blackburn, hard up against the Arkansas River. Blackburn was certainly bigger than Skedee, with a nice road leading north across the Arkansas. My GPS showed a road across the river, although it was not a major highway.

After crossing the Arkansas on what looked like a brand new multi-million dollar bridge, we traveled not more than a mile and discovered a “road closed” sign. It seems recent rains had washed out a major portion of the road. However, I could see where local farmers had been driving around the washed-out portion, so I rode my bike along the detour, then encouraged everyone to follow me.

This nearly new bridge crossed the Arkansas River just north of the small town of Blackburn. Little did we know the road was washed out less than a mile ahead.
I rode around the washout first, then encouraged the rest of the crew to follow. Interestingly enough, another mile north and the road turned to gravel. It left me wondering why anyone would build a brand new multi-million dollar bridge across the Arkansas, which leads to a dirt road?
We stumbled upon this preserved Marland Oil gas station in Hominy, Oklahoma.
Late in the day, after about 160 miles of back-road riding, we made it to Pawhuska. The Pioneer Woman Mercantile had just opened two days before, yet it was once again packed with tourists. It was a two hour wait for a table. We looked around but decided to only visit the bakery and other shops in town rather than wait for food.

Bartlesville

We spent the night in Bartlesville. Per my normal routine, I was up at 5 am for a run. I always like running in new places and spent a couple of hours exploring the trails and running paths.

I normally run 6-10 miles each morning and didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to run in Bartlesville.
I enjoyed the sunrise while running through a local park.

After breakfast, we loaded up the bikes and did a quick tour of Bartlesville before turning east for Nowata. I would love to come back and spend more time in this lovely city. Years ago I used to fly my Cessna T310R airplane into the Bartlesville Airport and do network design projects at Conoco-Phillips. The city has changed since then, but for the better it seems.

As often as I have been to Bartlesville over the years, I never visited Frank Phillips home. We stopped by but it was closed because of the pandemic.

Bowling Balls and Cement Mixers

I wanted to show David and Lynn a couple of cool Oklahoma waypoints near Nowata, namely the bowling ball yard art and a cement mixer painted like a NASA space capsule.

This home is located on a gravel road near Nowata. The owner created art in his yard out of bowling balls.
A fence made out of hanging bowling balls.
Gotta dress up those bowling balls.
My wife Kay has been riding her own motorcycle since we were married in 1980.
This cement mixer was left on the side of the road after an accident in the 1950’s. Local citizens paint it up each year to look like a NASA space capsule.
It just lays here on the side of a county road. No markers, no signs. Just a local curiosity.

Totem Pole Park

A few miles away in Foyil is the Totem Pole Park. Built in the 40’s and 50’s, it is one man’s mission to create interesting art for the visiting public.

I remember visiting these concrete totem poles in Foyil when I was a kid, and actually have a picture of me here as a kid.
This building now houses a fiddle store. It was closed due to the pandemic.
The artwork on these totem poles has been recently painted.
This particular structure was created in 1948.
Our route took us along Highway 66, and who can resist stopping for pictures at the Blue Whale in Catoosa.
Our final stop was in Wellston, where my wife Kay and her brother David both spent time as children. David worked for Raymond Ralstin in his Wellston Farm Store.

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4x5 film 4x5x365 agriculture Amazon Web Services bicycle Bill Dragoo BMW Brass Ball Bobbers combine Darwin Motorcycles dirt bike drag racing Edmond El Reno film Fortinet Guthrie Ilford Delta 100 Ilford Delta Pro 100 Ilford HP5 Jeep John Deere Kawasaki Kay Pratt Kodak TMAX-100 Lexington Micha Young motorcycle New Mexico Norman Conquest Oklahoma Oklahoma City Oklahoma Living Oklahoma Living Magazine Oklahoma Today Ride Oklahoma South Canadian River Thunder Valley Raceway Tombo Racing Tommy Bolton Toyo 45A Toyo VX-125 video production wheat harvest Wrangler

About James Pratt

I am an Oklahoma based writer, commercial photographer, editorial photographer and adventurer based in Oklahoma City. I love telling stories about people. A motorcycle is my preferred means of travel, and I have over 5,000 hours piloting small airplanes. My editorial photography has been published in hundreds of magazines and my commercial photography has been used by dozens of companies worldwide.

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4x5 film 4x5x365 agriculture Amazon Web Services bicycle Bill Dragoo BMW Brass Ball Bobbers combine Darwin Motorcycles dirt bike drag racing Edmond El Reno film Fortinet Guthrie Ilford Delta 100 Ilford Delta Pro 100 Ilford HP5 Jeep John Deere Kawasaki Kay Pratt Kodak TMAX-100 Lexington Micha Young motorcycle New Mexico Norman Conquest Oklahoma Oklahoma City Oklahoma Living Oklahoma Living Magazine Oklahoma Today Ride Oklahoma South Canadian River Thunder Valley Raceway Tombo Racing Tommy Bolton Toyo 45A Toyo VX-125 video production wheat harvest Wrangler
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