O....klahoma Route 66

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We got up early and rushed over to the Flying Ranch office. The owner's daughter, Christina, was set to take us all on a guided horseback ride through the ranch. None of us were experienced riders so we opted for an hour ride through the country side. Both of the kids did really well on horse back and we all had a great time. After the ride, the owner took us all in his pick up truck out into the pasture to see the bison and the long horned steer. We drove right up to them and they posed for pictures for us. Dave gave us a great tour and answered all of our citified questions. If you're ever in Sayre, definitely check out the Flying W Guest Ranch!

6. We started wondering about the difference between a donkey, a mule, a burro and a jackass somewhere along the way. And thankfully, there are people who take the time to put this informaiton on the internet:

Donkey: A domesticated ass.
Mule: A domesticated, hybrid animal that results from crossing a mare (female horse) and a jackass (male donkey)
Ass: A four-footed, hoofed mammal related to the horse, but smaller, with longer ears and a shorter mane, shorter hair on the tail, and a dark stripe along the back.
Burro: A small donkey that is often used as a pack animal because it is particularly sure-footed.

We went back to the cabin and got cleaned up before hitting the road again. We stopped at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City. This was part of an eclectic collection of 5-6 different museums that were all included in the ticket price. We wandered through them all and were glad we stayed for the film which was a great overview of the history of the transportation system. we passed through a lot of the small towns along old Route 66 but the only stop we made was in El Reno where we decided we had to check out the Onion Burgers. We were definitely glad we did - yummy!

7. Do water towers and natural gas towers have different shapes? And how can you tell them apart? Well, all I could find was that water towers could be any shape or size. I could find anything or any pictures of natural gas towers that weren't part of power plants. More investigation necessary.

We finished the Route 66 tour up to Oklahoma City. At that point, we joined the 40 and headed east. Our goal - Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was dark before we got into town so after some difficulty finding the hotel, we were happy to curl up and go to bed. We did get to check email for the first time during the trip so we learned about a last minute change of plans for the next few days.

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Photos

Horseback riding
I don't think we'll ever be cowboys.

Sam's prospective
this is a great shot that Sam took while riding

Sam's bison shot
I liked this shot of the bison

Long horned cattle
They came right up the truck and posed.

National Route 66 Museum
We had to explain the window speakers in this mhock up of an old drive in movie theatre