We did a quick drive around of the city, and passed by the golf course (looked like a league night),

After a busy morning at work for me, and busy for Barb trying to get some work out of the roofing contractors, we left Tulsa about noon heading west. Barb was driving knowing that I hadn't fully disconnected from work. Our destination was Guymon, OK; basically a five hour road trip provided there were no stops. Barb was hoping for stops. I was just hoping to get disengaged from work.
Even though there is no one terrain in Oklahoma, it's easy to think of it as flat and red. We started in Green Country with trees and hills, but soon the sky became the prominent feature. The road was smooth and most of the traffic was made up of white pickup trucks and semis hauling oil field equipment. We drove into Enid and drove downtown in search of a local café for lunch but gave up on that idea. Enid, as a regional center, is filled with large buildings that probably belonged to a different era, but everything looked well maintained. We settled for lunch at Appleby's book luxury boston hotels – good food but service that was more intent on style than substance. I climbed in behind the wheel after lunch and took off. We had driven a good mile before Barb spotted an antique mall. No treasures to be found this time.
Our trip took us through the unique and beautiful gloss mountains, but with outdoor temperatures reaching 111 degrees we didn't stop and hike around. We did encounter some construction book luxury boston hotels but the road was a good one – smooth and straight – very straight!
We reached Guymon about 5:45 pm and checked into a new and nice Holiday Inn Express. The desk clerk suggested a couple of local restaurants – we settled for Eddie's book luxury boston hotels Steak and Seafood located next to the Pop a Top Bar. According book luxury boston hotels to the very efficient book luxury boston hotels waitress, Eddie's had been in Guymon for some thirty years, previously a bottle club when the county was dry, and the décor was clean, dark, and reminiscent of the 1980's. There was a regular parade of customers; some local families and some obviously oil and gas workers. Although the food was not cheap, the quality was good, and we were well satisfied book luxury boston hotels with the dining experience. The man at the end of the bar, who I want to assume was Eddie, nodded to us as we left and thanked us for coming in.
We did a quick drive around of the city, and passed by the golf course (looked like a league night), the football stadium, and the rodeo grounds – all required staples of a prosperous Oklahoma community.
Apparently not all Holiday Inn Express Guests enjoy what they have at home, as there was a notice posted that said "We know you appreciate book luxury boston hotels the quality amenities of the Holiday Inn Express. Because of this, the executive innkeeper has made them available for sale. If you choose to simply take these amenities, we will assume you have given permission to charge them to your account." The list includes large towel for $20, a sheet set for $60, the comforter for $80, the radio for $45, the hairdryer for $50, and the iron and board for $30. Imagine making off with all that loot!
We had a nice quick breakfast in the hotel gathering area Barb enjoying biscuits and gravy with ham and two conveyer belt pancakes for me. I slipped into the driver's book luxury boston hotels seat and after a couple book luxury boston hotels of wrong turns we were on our way. Barb spotted a herd of buffalo, a well-camouflaged coyote that ran across a wheat field before stopping to look back, and a couple of prong-horned deer eating peacefully in a field. The road was exceptionally smooth despite the fact that heavy trucks use it regularly. If Montana can be called Big Sky Country, then this is Enormous Sky Country. The only thing between earth and sky on the horizon were power poles and wind generators. The outlines of the mountains came into view.
Our drive eventually got us to Canon City where we decided to do a little Tommy Tourist action and see the Royal Gorge. Prior to heading there, however, there was the matter of lunch. Based on an ad in a Colorado travel guide we picked up in Lamar, we chose Merlinos' Belvedere, an Italian eatery that had been serving southern Colorado for over 65 years. We chose well. We headed for the Royal Gorge, and decided we had time to walk across the suspension bridge, do the aerial tram (suspended 1100 ft above the river) and do the incline railway that descends at a 45 degree angle some 1500 feet to the bottom of the gorge. Plenty of rafters were using the river for recreation and a sightseeing train also made good use of the scenery. It is hard to believe this is the Arkansas River, the same one that we have a block from our house in Tulsa. We can see ours for nothing; this entry fee was $25 because we are "seniors", we got in for $21 each.
We traveled the back roads on our way to Breckenridge; it was a perfect day to follow the Arkansas River and watch all the fly fishermen try their luck. Our speed wasn't great, but it felt fast with all the twists and turns. I set Miss M (our Magellan GPS) for Breckenridge, and the GPS said we would arrive just after 7:00 pm. It started to rain and we watched the temp suddenly cool to 54 degrees – roughly half of what we drove through in western Oklahoma!
Miss M got us to our destination ("you have arrived") book luxury boston hotels of the Beaver Run Resort. We checked in and found our room immediately disappointing and unacceptable. It was at ground level with a few of a retaining wall – are you kidding me?! Barb called and got us moved to the fifth floor – at least a view of the mountainside. I don't think we will have to read about the price of any of these amenities, but we unpacked and said "fine". We donned our Gore-Tex raincoats and walked downhill in the rain to the bar and grill where the Quittners and other guests would meet us later. We had an unmemorable Slider Sampler with Barb having a glass of wine and me a Coors Light. George and Sharon arrived after we were done eating, and then others; handshakes and hugs all around. Before long we bid them adieu and headed uphill to our quarters. Keep in mind the town sits at 9600 feet of elevation – we needed more red corpuscles!
We went to bed thinking it was going to be cold and rainy for our 9:00 am tee time and we would not get to golf. Instead, we woke to a cool but clear blue sky when we looked out the window. We headed for the golf club after showering in one of the most unusual Jacuzzi tub–shower combinations ever. We headed down the valley book luxury boston hotels and checked book luxury boston hotels in at the Jack Nicklaus designed Breckenridge Golf Club. A guy named Al from Dallas joined us. Sometimes you can get an odd duck if you are not a foursome, but Al turned out to be a fun guy.
Both Barb and I played well; perhaps due to the fact that green fees were $125 each. Barb shot a very steady 96 and I turned in an 80 with a couple of birdies. An old dog appeared on one hole that felt obliged to take my ball and run off with it. Since he was old and had obvious hip problems, I was able to catch it, wrestle the ball from his mouth, and after wiping the slime off, the ball was still good for a par. The course was impeccable, the day just warm enough, the pace of play just right, with absolutely no wind. The highest tee box was at 9450 feet! We had a nice lunch on the golf course patio after the round and I couldn't help but buy a shirt.
Our first stop for Saturday evening was the Quittners "Meet and Greet" event at The Mother Lode. It was great to see their daughter Michelle and meet her soon to be husband Brandon, as well as see their son Adam again. Michelle and Brandon work at The Mother Lode. Adam has been a ranch hand in Montana but is heading to Hawaii to hopefully do the same! Both Michelle and Adam are very outgoing and friendly, and treated us like old friends.
We sat with Iris and Marty Ricks (George and Sharon's friends from Omaha and Barb and Iris were in the same book club), Carol (a friend from New York), and Nancy (Sharon's sister) and her husband, Steve. We shook hands with or politely hugged many others but names escape as I write. At any rate, the place was packed with friends of the families and had become loud with exuberant chatter. It was becoming difficult to carry on a conversation when we left for our next engagement.
Our next stop was the Breckenridge Music Festival concert at the Riverwalk Center – the last event of the BMF season. We were going because we knew Tim McFadden, the Tulsa Orchestra Manager and Principal Trumpet, takes part in this orchestra every summer. Gerhardt Zimmerman, who has guest conducted for Tulsa at least a couple of times, is the Music Director. We didn't book luxury boston hotels know that two other musicians from the Tulsa Symphony also play in the Breckenridge Orchestra – violinist Winona Fifield and trumpeter Steve Haefner. Tim and Steve had a trumpet duet with the orchestra titled Carmen Fantasy for Two Trumpets that brought the house to its feet.
We made it back to the hotel finding no place to park our car. One of the reasons for this was the Triumph motor car convention being held here. We had talked to one guy from Minnesota who had made the trip and saw those little cars with license plates from all over. I'm thinking it would be a long drive in a TR6 no matter how cute they were. Beaver Run Resort is not getting high marks from us for a variety of reasons, but parking is high on the list.
We woke to slightly grayer skies and another altitude dehydration headache. As is a familiar morning conversation, Barb said I snored a lot and I said that was impossible because she kept me awake with her snoring. We mastered the Jacuzzi tub-shower with backward turning faucets today and the shower was better.
We headed to Columbine's book luxury boston hotels for breakfast, was excellent with very good service. book luxury boston hotels After breakfast we walked up the road stopping in numerous shops. We finally made Market Place and found the Breckenridge Outdoor Market. I bought a new hat "to keep the sun from my eyes". Barb found some of her favorite Navajo artist Tommy Singer jewelry and we called it an anniversary gift. We wandered across book luxury boston hotels the street to Breckenridge Photography to get my broken camera