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The 2005 Whimsical Sherlockian Tour of Oklahoma and Texas By Don Hobbs The Beatles had their Magical Mystery Tour, golfers have the P.G.A and the L.P.G.A tours, and Lance Armstrong has the Tour de France . . . but what do Sherlockians have? Well, I certainly have the answer to that question. I would like to offer The 2005 Whimsical Sherlockian Tour of Oklahoma and Texas. This event will be a 4 day, 2,000 mile tour of some of the most unheard of Sherlockian places in Oklahoma and Texas. And you too can tell your grandchildren you were there when it happened! For those out there who might be uneducated in their geography, Texas is that large state situated in the southern most part of the United States, roughly equidistant from the east and west coasts. Oklahoma is the state directly to the north and it is the one that looks like is was named by Horace Greeley because it is pointing west. Even though only Texas is mentioned by name in the Canon, both states have a long, illustrious Sherlockian histories. The Afghanistan Perceivers of Tulsa and The Crew of Barque LONE STAR are two of the older scion societies, and both can claim John Bennett Shaw are their sparking plug for their creation. Recently the two societies have rekindled their long dormancy with each other and now the world is finally ready for the fruits of their labors -- The 2005 Whimsical Sherlockian Tour of Oklahoma and Texas. The final dates has yet to be determined but the itinerary has already been worked out. The tour will begin early in the morning in Dallas and head east toward the Louisiana border. It will turn north in New Boston, Texas, crossing the Red River into Oklahoma. Traveling north to Watson, Oklahoma. There will be a photo-op at the Watson Elementary School where there is a plaque that states "Elementary!" which is just the type of school it is. This was placed there and dedicated by the Afghanistan Perceivers several years ago. If the Diary Queen is still in business, lunch will be served. From Watson, Oklahoma is off to Tulsa. There will another wonderful photo-op just south of Tulsa. The Sherlock Homes Mobile Home Sales Center is well worth the stop. They feature a 40 foot tall sign with the silhouette of Holmes on top of it, a true beacon for Sherlockians everywhere. The Afghanistan Perceivers will honor us as their guests that night and will offer their homes to the weary travelers. The next morning will be a short drive north to Holmes Peak, the only geographical place on earth named for our hero. We will then head west to Oklahoma City where we will meet with Charles Mankin of the Oklahoma Geological Survey and honor them for their role in naming Holmes Peak. After lunch, we will drive another 271 miles to Baker, Oklahoma. We plan on taking photographs on any street in Baker just because we can. Everyone needs a picture of a Baker street. From there the tour will head south and drive the last 71 miles to Sherlock, Texas. Sherlock, Texas looks on the map to be a place on the railroad and not much else. Most maps don’t even show it. It was found using a very large scale map of Texas. At this point we will have covered about half of our journey. We hope to make it to Amarillo, Texas and where we will stay the night. The next days will be spent continuing south another 485 miles to Alpine, Texas. This where we will be honored at the Sherlock Holmes Outpost. This will be a night to remember, either for us or the folks of Alpine. This will be decided at some later date I am sure. On day 4 will return to Dallas. It is only a short 490 miles. Of course there will be plenty of unplanned stops along the way. If there is anything remotely related to Sherlock Holmes, it will be included and photographed. I has been suggested that we include Moriarty, New Mexico on our itinerary but then it would have to becalled The 2005 Whimsical Sherlockian Tour of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico and if we included New Mexico, we would have to visit Fort Union Drive in that state, adding another 500 miles or so. This would also add another day. As anyone can plainly see, this just wouldn’t logical! If this sounds like the totally insane type of Sherlockian activity you would like to a part of, please contact me. We will know more as time goes on and will be pinning down an actual date soon. Happy Motoring!!! Don Hobbs, |
