Saturday, May 28, 2011

BACK IN HOUSTON

Friday, May 27 – After seeing the Oklahoma City is going to have more sever thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, we packed up and headed back to Houston. No use pushing our luck.

It is really hot here…98. The wind is blowing but nothing like OK City. We are very happy about that. Going to lay low today and just chill.

FLASHBACK TO WEDNESDAY – We met a couple full-timer classmates of ours today. Full-timer's that began traveling in the same year (in our case 2009) or 2008, and belong to the Escapee's RV Club, get together whenever in the same area to exchange “war stories” and try to out do each other with travel stories. We met up with Steve & Carol at the Fire Lake Grand Casino in Shawnee. After chatting for a while, we headed over to the Casino for some lunch where we continued getting to know one another.

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After a nice lunch, we decided to try our luck on the slots. We signed up for a players card which got us a free game of Keno and $10 credit on the slots. We each put in $5 and after about an hour Paul walked away with $12 in his pocket and Marsha had $13.

Oh....I forgot one thing. The casino had a free ice cream machine and free soda. We each had a bowl of ice cream and it was GOOD!

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After hugs and hand shakes, we said our good-byes and headed home to prepare for tomorrow's trip. We're heading back into Texas to the Houston area to visit the girls and help our oldest daughter move to Ohio.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

THE AMERICAN WEST IN 220,000 SQUARE FEET

Thursday, May 26 – We left Oklahoma City today at 7:30. We arrived in Bryan, TX at 1:40. It was a pretty easy and uneventful drive. We are staying one night at Prime Rose RV Park back in late April…only $14.50 PPA for the night.

Flash back to Oklahoma City -

Hey.....we haven't even visited any of the museums yet! This tour took us four and a half hours, and we didn't linger in any area! National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum 

Where does one start to tell you about the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It is UNBELIEVABLE! Everyone that knows you are in Oklahoma City, even people you meet briefly in town, say “be sure to see the Cowboy Museum.” They aren't kidding....DON'T MISS the Cowboy Museum!!! The actual displays are housed in eleven rooms in the west wing of the museum.

THE END OF THE TRAIL – A Native American View by James Earle Fraser

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We began our tour by viewing a 20 minute movie giving us an overview of what to expect and a little history of the museum. Volunteers meet you in the hall to direct you to where to begin you tour.

Starting with the Canyon Princess, an 18 foot, 16,000 pound white cougar reigns over the exhibit wing. Carved from a single block of Colorado marble by award winning artist Gerald Balciar.

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On special loan to the museum is the Bowie Knife exhibit. Thousands of beautiful and historic knifes are on display in the Eldridge Gallery. We thought we were going to get kicked out of the Museum while visiting the first exhibit. Marsha started taking pictures when a security guard came up and said…nicely…"No pictures, please." Marsha showed him the diagram of where "photos permitted" were listed. He explained that if an area doesn't have a picture of a camera, photos were prohibited. She read it backwards. She gave him a big smile and a long apology, and he allowed her to stay. Doesn't seem like I can take her any where without her causing an uproar!

Here is the only one she was able to keep.

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The rooms are filled with Native American art, paintings, sculptures, western firearms, western clothing, tools, and utensils.

Indian woman's Elk tooth dress.

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Indian beaded gloves

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There is a complete room dedicated to Western performers. The Hollywood greats we all remember. Gene Artery, Roy Rodgers, Dale Evans, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood (Marsha's favorite), and many, many more.

Remember Roy Rogers and Dale Evans?

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How about Walter Brenner?

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Of course this area couldn't be complete without THE DUKE…John Wayne.

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Then there's the Rodeo Gallery, honoring the famous cowboys that rode the bulls, bucking horses, and entertained the thousands of rodeo fans.

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Don't these look comfortable? They are Ladies' Bathing Shoes…what the heck? These really aren't for bathing, but for trick and fancy riding. The thin leather soles allowed for greater traction in moving around the horse.

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An unusual exhibit is the circa 1900 Western cattle town called Prosperity Junction.

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You revisit the town at dusk entering many of the building and looking in the lighted interiors of others. The full-size structures include a saloon, school, blacksmith shop, post office, doctor's office, church and others.

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Paul bellied up to the bar.

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While Marsha played a little tune on the ivories.

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Inside the local church.

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A larger-than-life size, full-figure sculpture of former President Ronald Reagan, AFTER THE RIDE.   Reagan was inducted into the Museum's Hall of Great Westerners in 1989. 

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This is Marsha's favorite statue. Abraham Lincoln. Considered a "western" president, Lincoln made remarkable contributions to the settlement and development of the West even while preoccupied by war. In May of 1862, he signed the Homestead Act into law, permitting the unhindered ownership of farmland in the West by more than one million families prior to 1910.

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The museum has an amazing special events center with HUGE murals displayed on the walls. Artist, Wilson Hurley painted the five panoramic murals of the American West. These three-panel murals measure over 18 feet tall and 46 feet wide. They are beautiful.

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The Norma Sutherland Garden around the Museum were lovely with streams, statues, flowers and a beautiful lawn.

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You could easily spend the entire day in this museum. There is so much to see. They even have a beautiful dining room if lunch or dinner is needed to fortify you to continue your tour.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

SOBERING EXPERIENCES

Tuesday, May 24 – Well, they say full-timers make plans in Jello, it sure is a “happening thing” for us trying to see the NCAA Women's Softball Tournament. We had planned to pull out and head for Stillwater, OK to see the Super Regional games this coming weekend. Paul got a newspaper this morning and spotted this notice: Oklahoma State Super Regional are sold out. Only tickets remaining are standing room only and can be purchased for $30 by calling...... Well, cross that off the list!

The World Series here in OKC is advertising no available parking at the field and tickets are hard to obtain. So I guess we'll finish are sightseeing here in OKC and head south. Since we wouldn't be going to the games, we did start our day of touring by visiting the ASA Softball facilities....the site of the Women's World Series. A pretty amazing softball field. Crews were getting the field ready for the NCAA games and were assembling additional bleachers beyond the fences in the outfields.

We had an interesting change of pace today.....TORNADO DODGING!!! We were lucky and only got a little wind and heavy rain, but the Oklahoma City area was surrounded by at least three tornadoes.

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The sirens went off, so we pulled in our MH slides, grabbed Bella (our cat) and our emergency bag that contains important papers and headed to the designated storm shelter....the bath house. We set up a pecking order....people with dogs in the women's restroom and people with cats in the men's room. It goes without saying that the “cat house” was much quieter. (sorry to all our readers with dogs, but they don't like all the noise from thunder and lightning).

Where Marsha got to stay with Bella.

bathroom

After about an hour, the all clear signal was given and we headed back to our homes and a peaceful evening. The sun even came out for a while before nightfall.

Calm after the storm. You can see the wind is still blowing pretty good.

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Monday, we visited to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. What an amazing place! The memorial honors the victims, survivors, rescuers and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995. It encompasses the now-sacred soil where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood preserving forever the place and events that changed the world.

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It was on that day that Timothy McViegh and Terry Nichols, American militia movement sympathizers, motivated by their hatred of the Federal Government and angered by the Waco, TX siege and Ruby Ridge incident exploded a truck bomb blowing up the building.

The twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02. The East Gate represents 9:01 on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03, the moment we were changed forever.

The reflecting pool occupies what was once NW Fifth Street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water soothes one, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts.

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To the south of the reflecting pool is a field of empty chairs.

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Each of the 168 chairs symbolize a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed.

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Arranged in 9 rows, one for each of the nine floors of the building, they are placed according to the floor on which those killed were working or visiting. Each bronze and stone chair rests on a glass base etched with the name of a victim.

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By day, the chairs seem to float above their bases. By night, the glass bases illuminate as beacons of hope. The field's perimeter matches the footprint of the former Murrah Building. It is lined by a granite path – granite that was salvaged from the Murrah Plaza.

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Interestingly, the Plaza or porch and stair case leading up the the former Murrah Building still stand. It's moving to walk up these stairs to what was once the entrance to the building and look out over the memorial. Very moving!

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The Survivor Tree is a 90+ year old American Elm standing to the North of the former building. It bears witness to the violence of April 19 and now stands as a profound symbol of human resilience. Many of the victims' families took strength from observing how this tree survived the awful blast that destroyed the Murrah Building.

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A rescue worker originally painted the message on this wall during search and recovery efforts on April 1995. The building on which it is painted was a functioning office building when the bomb exploded across the street. ceilings collapsed, walls fell in and glass shards flew throughout the building. Hundreds of people were injured, many critically. Fortunately, no one was killed inside this building.

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We returned at night. It was a moving and surreal experience.

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Survivor Tree. Look at the reflection in the pool.

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On a corner adjacent to the memorial is St. Joseph's Old Cathedral. St. Joseph's, one of the first brick and mortar churches in the city, was almost completely destroyed by the blast.

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This church was heavily damaged in the explosion and has been rebuilt to its former glory. We tried to enter the church but all the doors were locked. As we walked away, we heard a man yell, "Hey sir." We waited until he caught up to us and learned that he was the custodian. He let us in, told us to take our time looking around and locked us in. Amazing…he trusted us. He also shared many stories from the day of the bombing.

Its beautiful stain glass windows have been replaced and the amazing interior have been restored beautifully.

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"And Jesus Wept" statue behind St. Joseph Old Cathedral stands a shrine in remembrance of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The focal point of the shrine is a statue of Jesus who faces away from the tragic sight; He holds His face in His hands in sorrow.

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Jesus is sounded by at a wall with 168 voids. Each void represents a life lost in the bombing. Behind the statue of Jesus are pillars, a symbolic reminder of the Murrah Building. Jesus appears in utter anguish. The biblical verses....”and He wept,” is inscribed in the base. Very moving!

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It takes on a different feeling from day to night.

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This Memorial is another “MUST SEE” tourist sight when passing through the state of Oklahoma. It is worth going out of your way to add this to your itinerary.

We did not visit the Museum. We both were too emotional after experiencing the Memorial and Church. Outside the Museum is another wall. Children were a significant part of the worldwide response. These children responded with words of encouragement and messages of hope. Thousands of ceramic tiles were sent to Oklahoma in 1995.

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This was our favorites.

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People still leave mementos on the fence that was erected in 1995.

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Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll again real soon. Have a great day!

 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

TORNADO WARNING IS OVER!

Tuesday, May 24 – Thank you everyone for all your emails, texts and prayers. We are fine. We are back in the MH but Marsha said she will NEVER be in this part of the country again during the spring!

Have a great day. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

Monday, May 23, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK…THE SOONER STATE

Sunday, May 22 – Off to Oklahoma City, OK today. This is the first we have traveled outside of Texas in nearly 7-months. We traveled into Balmorhea, TX on October 24, 2010, after touring New Mexico, and have been in the state ever since.

We had an uneventful 5 hour drive arriving at Rockwell RV Park. This park is a little more expensive than we usually spend, but it has a good location for the sights we want to see. We may move to a different location on Thursday, but there aren't many RV choices in OKC.

The scenery at the beginning of the drive looked like this…

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Once we entered

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It looked like this…

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AHHHHH…green grass, trees!

Rockwell RV Park is on the west side of the city. They have an indoor swimming pool and hot tub. They serve free coffee and muffins each day. And we get a daily paper free...none of which we need or use.  They raise buffalo on site  and sell the meat in the office. We may need to try this.

buffalo

This one kept a close eye on Marsha.

buffalo-eye

Our Site #68

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Looking down the road.

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INTERESTING SIDE NOTE:
Lubbock, TX.....elevation 3400 feet
Amarillo, TX....elevation 3750 feet
OKC, OK.........elevation 1340 feet

Do you know why the state is called the "Sooner State"?  On April 22, 1889 the Indian Territory was opened to settlers. Thousands of people lined up on the border, and when the signal was given, they raced into the territory to claim their land. Some people went in early to claim their land. They became known as Sooners.  Now you know the rest of the story.

We drove downtown to get the lay of the land. We visited the famous warehouse area now known as Bricktown. There is a beautiful river walk meandering through this downtown area and entertainment district. Surprisingly, few of the restaurants and bars were open on Sunday.....just like the old days, when alcohol establishments weren't allowed to open on Sunday. A few were open, so there must not be a law forbidding it, but most open Tuesday through Saturday. Looks like a nice entertainment area.....we'll have to stop back!

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We took a stroll along the mile-long Bricktown Canal.

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They have a Water Taxi that takes passengers on a cruise.

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Marsha LOVES baseball. The next two stops made her day.

Johnny Bench Plaza, home of Big 12 baseball.

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Johnny Bench was born in OK City. He played for the "Big Red Machine" (Cincinnati Reds for those non-baseball fans.) for 17 seasons. Johnny was named Rookie of the Year in 1968, National League Most Valuable Player in 1970 and 1972. world Series MVP in 1976, a 14 time all-star and won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves.  He was elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

johnny-bench

Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player was also from OK City. He played his entire 18-year Major League Baseball career for the New York Yankees as an outfielder and first baseman. He won 3 American League MVP titles and played in 16 All-Star games. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series, winning 7 of them. He won the triple crown in 1956. He is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

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San Angelo has their sheep.

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Odessa their rabbits.

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Amarillo their horses…which Marsha hasn't blogged about yet but it is coming.

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And now OK City with their buffalos. Where will it all end?

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After our River Walk and site seeing of Bricktown, we had a beer at Toby Keith's Bar (“I Love This Bar”). The beer was nice and cold.

The pictures don't really show how big this place really is.

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If you have to wait for a seat, the back of these pick up trucks will do the trick.

seating

Says it all!

i-love-this-bar

Toby Keith is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith has released thirteen studio albums, two Christmas albums, and multiple compilation albums. He has also charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including nineteen Number One hits and sixteen additional Top Ten hits. His longest-lasting Number One hits are "Beer for My Horses" (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and "As Good as I Once Was" (2005), at six weeks each. The walls are full of pictures and gold records.

wall

There’s so much to do and see in Bricktown, you won’t want to miss it!

We will end with…how did they do this?

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Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!