After riding 350+ miles from Nashville to Little Rock, AR yesterday afternoon, spending a fun evening with my friends Reggie and Teresa, and getting a restful night’s sleep, Scott and I set out on Day 2 of this journey heading West.  Teresa got a pre-departure shot of the two-wheelers before rolling out of the garage: Any guess where three hungry Southerners go for breakfast?  You bet!:    While at breakfast, Reggie made a few suggestions for scenic roads on the general route that Scott and I planned to take today.  The first was State Route 5 through Owensville, AR en route to our first stop of Hot Springs National Park.  A dandy road it was!  After spending all day yesterday on the interstate it was a much welcome change! Since I put on new shoes (tires) on the motorcycle I’m riding a few days before departure, I relished every twist and turn, especially since I spent the previous 1,000 miles riding on a rear tire that, well, sucked.  Anyway, it doesn’t get much better than starting your day off with friends at the Waffle House then bagging a National Park Passport Stamp!: Out of context this would be a very weird sign.  Ok, maybe it's s weird sign regardless!: Photos I took inside the Visitor Center of Hot Springs National Park: ] What's the chances someone passing through the "Steam Cabinet Room" said something like "Ya'll know how goofy ya look?!" Ceiling in the "Men's Bathhall": Hot Springs National Park is in the middle (literally) of the city of Hot Springs, AR.  Since I visited this National Park a year or so ago, I was prepared this Friday morning for the “urban” stamp issues that we’d likely face like parking, congestion, etc:  (nope, no idea who owns the bike in the pic)  I said above what could be much better than starting your day off with friends at the Waffle House and then adding a Passport Stamp to your collection.  Well, the answer is adding a pure motorcycle road to your plans!  Scott and I were treated to 70 miles of scenic and twisty bliss in the form of Arkansas Scenic Byway 7, also known as ”Scenic 7”, from just north of Hot Springs to Russellville.  I have no photos of this stretch of our journey since not only were there no places to pull off to speak of (unless you’re wanting a photo of thick forest), but the FJR (my motorcycle) and I were simply soaking up the road.  Honestly, after I looked down at my GPS unit which showed the tarmac-licious that was before me I had only one thought: screw pictures, time to RIDE!  Yippee!   Once in Russellville we joined back up with I-40 West (ugh) and headed for our next stamp “Fort Smith National Historic Site” in Fort Smith, AR: After stamping our Passport Books (or in my case “re-stamping” since I’d already bagged this one 2 years ago), Scott and I asked the Ranger on duty about the low-down on the Oklahoma City Memorial and it’s Passport Stamp.  I had heard that not only is parking a serious issue but that the stamp may not even exist anymore since the Memorial “isn’t exactly run by the National Park Service”.  Yeah, talk about confusion.  The Ranger had a hard time locating information about the stamp or whether it was even run by the National Park Service (NPS), which I thought was very odd.  Ironically, a Ranger coming on duty was from Oklahoma City and gave us the scoop… the place is jointly operated by NPS and a private organization (Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation), and that there were 2 NPS Rangers on location who basically walk the grounds outside answering questions.  As for the stamp, he wasn’t sure.  In the 300+ NPS units I’ve visited, I’ve never known a private organization to be involved as such.  At any rate, he was able to dig up a phone number for us so I called and spoke with a volunteer (who said she was "at the front desk of the museum") and assured me that she had a “little round date stamp that says Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK on it.”  She added that she would only be there until 5pm.  It didn’t take Scott and I very long to figure out we were 200 miles away and that our arrival time would coincide with Oklahoma City rush hour so we picked up our pace to get back to the bikes!    Thanks to my V1 (radar detector) and a lot of luck with traffic flow, we arrived with 15 minutes to spare!  Woo-hoo!:   Information about the “Oklahoma City National Memorial” on the National Park Service website states: “The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured more than 650.  The memorial is a public/private partnership erected so that the American public can honor the memory of the victims, their families, the survivors, and their rescuers."  Scott and I went inside the museum first so we could get the stamp before they closed fifteen minutes later and so we find out what was involved in touring the grounds.  We were greeted with this sign as we walked into the museum: I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I have to say this is a breath-taking outdoor Memorial, which is officially called the “Outdoor Symbolic Memorial”.  Covering 3.3 acres, the design is impressive and allows the visitor to share the experience; most memorials place visitors at an off-site distance making it difficult to connect with the event.  Not the case here.  Barrier free and inviting, this place is alive with respect and serenity.  My photos don't do it justice, but below are the ones I took while walking the grounds.  This sign has the same words as the above sign: Over 200 feet of the original fence remains to allow people the same opportunity to leave tokens of hope and remembrance. It was quite moving to walk along the fence; I felt a renewed sense in the spirit of the human race even in the face of such violence: There are two monumental twin gates that frame the moment of destruction, that occurred at 9:02 am.  The gates mark the entrances to the Memorial.  Pictured here is the East Gate, which “represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack”: The "Reflecting Pool" occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street.  A nearby sign stated: "Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The placid surface shows the reflection of someone changed forever by their visit to the Memorial: Pictured is the "Field of Empty Chairs"...  the 168 chairs represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995.  They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor.  Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children killed.  The chairs are located on the footprint of where the Murrah Building once stood: Across the Reflecting Pool is the "Rescuers' Orchard".  An inscription encircling the Survivor Tree facing the orchard reads:  To the courageous and caring who responded from near and far, we offer our eternal gratitude, as a thank you to the thousands of rescuers and volunteers who helped: A sign explaining how the National Park Service and the private organization operate the Memorial:   Scott and I agreed as we walked back to the motorcycles that we highly recommend visiting this Memorial.  We also remarked how if it wasn’t for chasing after the little round blot of ink (the National Park Passport Stamp) that neither one of us would have rolled right on through Oklahoma City.  The Memorial’s location makes for easy access off I-40 or I-35, so the next time you’re traveling through Oklahoma City consider a brief detour to see this place.   For more information about the Memorial, click:  HERE and HERE. Today was one of those days that Scott and I did not plan an exact location to stop for the night when we routed this two wheel adventure from Nashville to Phoenix since there were so many variables in our schedule for today – how long we’d spend at the various National Park units, whether we’d even be able to bag the stamp in Oklahoma City, and how our scenic byway detour(s) would impact all of the above.  Once back at the bikes, a quick check with my GPS units (yes, I run 2 on the FJR) said in order to time our arrival for tomorrow’s Passport Stamps that we would do best to add another 50 or so miles to today’s total.  Once you’re through Oklahoma City (in any direction really) desolation comes quickly.  Exits offering accommodations are few and far between.  Our choices were Weatherford (70 miles away), Clinton (85 mi), and Elk City (115 mi), and these are just cow towns with very limited services.  I know because I have stay in all of them during my countless treks criss-crossing the country.  Given the position of the sun, meaning the threat of Bambi in the road, I recommended we head for Clinton, OK.  Scott agreed and we headed back towards I-40 West.  As the sun began to drop during our spirited ride from Oklahoma City to Clinton, OK, so did the temperatures.  I think Scott forgot how quickly the temps plummet in the desert.  In fact, when we arrived Clinton he mentioned pulling out the heated gear for the morning ride.  We’ve had incredible riding weather the first 2 days.  A rider couldn’t hope for better conditions really… clear, sunny, no wind, temps ranging from 60s to low 80s.  I think that might be changing though.  The weather forecast is calling for temps to plummet here into the upper 40s tomorrow night followed by a strong storm.  My biggest concern on the upcoming stretch of I-40 is wind.  There are sections where the gusts can be so severe that I’ve seen large trucks overturned and the entire interstate shut down.  Let’s just hope whatever storm is coming isn’t coming from the west!   Maps of today's route: End of day GPS:   After a 470 mile day, I’m guessing we will both sleep well tonight.  Speaking of sleeping, check out the hotel sheets—Pepto-Bismol pink!:    AGirl   If you wish to receive a direct email from me whenever a new Journey Report has been posted, simply click: This Link Copyright © 2006-2009, All Rights Reserved.