Blogs from Oklahoma, United States, North America - page 10

O Beautiful for spacious skies For amber waves of grain For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain How y'all doin? It's taken me three days to stop looking over my shoulder every time someone says that to me. I got my kicks ... on Route 66. For 90 seconds, no 3 minutes if you count the two U-turns because we missed the Route 60 signed turnoff. We're back in the prairie badlands on route 60, to 412, riding through wheat fields, grazing grounds where cattle shared their space with oil drills. We crossed a handful of rivers, one called Bacon Rind Creek. Go figure. We had a fast and furious flat ride clocking in 350 kms by lunchtime, ending up with 540 kms for the day. It is 32 again, with white cumulus clouds overhead ... read more

After awakening at 3:30 to a weather alert (thankfully just a flash flood warning), we actually awoke later than the previous mornings. It looked like it was going to be a terrible day, horribly windy and 70% chance of rain with strong storms. There've been two big tornados here over the last couple weeks, and I've been more than a little worried about another one. Thankfully, it turned out to be a beautiful day--not too hot, no rain. Our first stop was the Museum of Osteology in Moore. It opened in 2010, with one person's collection started when he was seven years old. The entryway sets the tone, with a lion attacking an antelope, jawbones of two different types of whales. There is also a small exhibit showing beetles cleaning a variety of skulls. I apparently ... read more

Today was truly all about the road. We had a lovely breakfast at Parkway Hotel in St Louis, after which Liam had a lively conversation with an older gentleman while waiting for us to load up. We then hopped on Route 66, and occasionally off it, if there weren't any interesting sites. Along the way, we found an abandoned cemetery in the woods, Devil's Elbow, Gaboney Cave, Rainbow Bridge and Totem Pole Park, as well as a variety of other minor little stops. This may be the longest completely driving day, and that's a good thing. Tomorrow we will visit a museum (assuming it's still open after the tornado) and a memorial, and drive no more than a few hours. ADDENDUM: I wrote the above paragraph as we were heading to our hotel in Oklahoma City. ... read more

DEDICATION The Hysterical Journey to Historic Places is dedicated to the fond remembrance of Alan Dail Markum. I only knew him for a short while many years ago in the army. We were in the same platoon in D-4-4 during Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lenard Wood, MO between November of 1967 and January of 1968. Alan had just graduated with honors from law school and had joined the Oklahoma Army Reserve in order to avoid the draft and a tour of duty in Vietnam. That sort of thing normally enraged those of us in the regular army, but Alan had such a wonderful personality that he was forgiven and actually became a sort of beloved mascot among us. He had a peculiar gait, and it was painfully difficult sometimes for him ... read more

COMING HOME Day 29: May 27, 2013 I finished my cold pizza breakfast and then paid a visit up Hwy 62 to the little town of Boley, OK. Boley was incorporated in 1905 on land belonging to the Creek Nation as an all-black community capable of self-government. Oklahoma boasted of about two dozen such communities. It is still an all-black community but it seems to have fallen on hard times. All of the nice old brick buildings that used to house thriving hubs of industry are closed down and boarded up. The only places open are a liquor store and the post office. A few of its good citizens were found lounging on a street corner and all of them were already drunk by 9am. In more prosperous days Boley had a ... read more