(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – West of Blackwell on highway 11 and you’ll pass through Medford.  Medford really came to being immediately following the largest land rush in US history in 1893 when the Cherokee Strip was opened up for settling.  Before that the Chisholm Trail passed through this place and there are historical markers around to highlight that fact.  Highway 81 more or less follows the trail path.  A couple railroads crossed rails here and it’s a central point in Grant County for the agriculture of the area that has traditionally centered on wheat and livestock.  It has never been a large community, but not uncommon among towns on the plains of Northern Oklahoma.  Most of Oklahoma is divided up into 1-mile sections called – wait for it – a ‘square’.  Each square is then divided into – more catchy terminology – ‘quarters’ of 160 acres each.  You can get a lot of places in Oklahoma by traveling dirt roads….one mile section at a time.   I remember that at this particular Rod Run it was pretty hot and dry with no shade to speak of.  I have not found all the pictures from this one and I’ve run out of ideas where to find them.  I’m sure some stuff disappeared in one of my military moves.  The turnout was decent and the drive uneventful.  I am not sure there is a curve in the road between Blackwell and Medford.  I am sure I didn’t mind since I was riding shotgun with the top down in a ’61 ‘Vette with kinds of cool cars fore and aft.

If you want something to really blow your mind go a bit further West to the Great Salt Plains.  ‘What…?!’ you say.  Yup…a salt plain that has been highly-prized for centuries.  The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River flows through there and was dammed up by the corps of engineers back in the late 30s.  I can remember walking halfway across the lake when I was much younger.  Most of the lake is only about 3ft deep and is fairly salty.  If you go even further past Alva and a bit South you’ll be at the Alabaster Caverns which is a beautiful site and a great place to check out some geology.  It’s the world’s largest publically-accessible natural gypsum cave and has one of only 3 known veins of black gypsum in the world.  Even further South and a bit East is the Little Sahara desert.  Yeah….a real sand dune desert in Oklahoma.  Anyway….there really is a lot to see out there and half the fun of any car event ought to be the drive getting there and back.   Enjoy.