Established in 1902, Avery is a stop along our Guthrie-Stillwater-Cushing dual sport loop. Currently there is an old school building still standing, and a few houses in what once was a thriving agricultural community in Lincoln County. Many of the early citizens of Avery worked in the nearby Cushing oil fields. From the book “Ghost…
Pleasant Valley is an old Oklahoma ghost town located between Stillwater and Guthrie, just south of the Cimarron River along a dirt road. It once was called “Cowboy Flats” and was a place with plentiful grazing. Cowboys would stop and let their cattle graze here on the drive north. It was a bustling location in…
This dual sport loop takes you along dirt roads from Guthrie to Stillwater to Cushing and back to Guthrie. The loop features a number of interesting stops along the way with a bit of Oklahoma History sprinkled in the mix. It can easily be ridden in an afternoon – about 4-5 hours if you blast…
The thirteenth annual Clayton Lake Dual Sport Ride is in the books, and what a great weekend. The weather was darn near perfect except for the dust from dry conditions. Mornings were cool, afternoons were warm, and the skies offered enough clouds to keep the late afternoon sun at bay. Friday Day 1 Kay and…
A nice little side trip while you are riding near Guthrie is a stop by the Boot Hill section of Summit View Cemetery to see Elmer McCurdy and Bill Doolin‘s gravestone. Both are well known Oklahoma outlaws, although Elmer became famous for his travels AFTER he died. The location is accessible by both dual sport…
I was traveling back roads in Oklahoma on my way home from an assignment in Altus when I ran across an old rock gasoline station that caught my eye. The architecture of this building is similar to structures in Medicine Park, using the rounded stone and concrete mortar. I stopped to photograph this abandoned building…
Many in Oklahoma City are familiar with Grand Boulevard. There is even an exit for it off I-35 between SE 29th and SE 44th street. And they may drive it when touring the opulent homes in Nichols Hills. Or jog along its path in south OKC. Or follow it to Trosper Park in Del City,…
Sod Town is a ghost town in the eastern portion of the Oklahoma Panhandle. There is nothing there now except the remains of an old roadbed and I had to drive well over a mile into an open field just to find those remains. A bit about Sod Town from John Morris’ excellent “Ghost Towns…
I was recently meandering my way back from working in Altus and like usual, was traveling back roads, often gravel covered or paved secondary roads. As luck would have it I ran across a town that I had not heard of and that was not in my “Ghost Towns of Oklahoma” book -Cowden. Located south…
As you travel along the Oklahoma Adventure Trail in northern Oklahoma, be sure and take a one mile detour north to visit the United Methodist Church in the ghost town of Jefferson, Oklahoma. Built in 1895, the church is still in use today and worth the visit. The town itself has an interesting history. According…
