Homeward Bound - Day 21

Overnight: Oklahoma City, OK

Today we were supposed to rise early to go to the cattle auction. But, late at night, I decided I wasn't sure what the facilities looked like or what seating accommodations would be like, so I changed the plans and we slept in.

We did want to go to Stockyard City anyway. It's basically an Old Town shopping area. We do like to go in and out of those kind of stores, so we had fun going into tack, saddle, and boot stores. Dave bought a cowhide belt with fur and all and it's studded with turquoise. He's my cowboy!

We ate lunch at the Cattlemen's restaurant, which has been going strong since the 1920s. It was really good and we opted for the small luncheon steak. We've been eating so much, we just didn't want a heavy lunch.

We drove by the stockyards and I was glad we opted not to attend. No seats. Just pens and pens and pens with walking rows between. We did spot some pigs and got a great picture of a sow sitting in the water trough. However, I'll have to upload when I get home, because I took the picture with the regular camera and not my phone (I can't upload camera disk onto this laptop).

We stopped back by the World of Wings Pigeon place and visited with the owner. We had not met him the day before, but he asked us if we were the folks that came by the day before. So, he had heard about us. Isn't it nice to be so famous? Oh, well, back to reality. He showed us around the nesting building, which we did not see the day before. We saw and touched 2-day old chicks, 4-wk old chicks, and 6-wk old chicks. By the time the chicks are 6-weeks old, they are fully grown. I was amazed that the pair of pigeons raising the 4-wk old chick had already laid 2 more eggs. I took pictures, but with my camera. So, I won't be able to upload those until we get home. Check back at some later date, as I will post those pictures when I get home.

We went back to the RV and took naps. I cooked a hearty on-the-road meal---hot dogs. Watched TV and called it an early evening.

Homeward Bound - Day 20

Overnight: Oklahoma City, OK

Today we rose early to take the car in for an oil change. I had suggested this while in Albuquerque, but we kind of got lazy (well, I guess I should say "I got lazy") and opted just for a car wash while in ABQ. But, true to form, as soon as we were well on the road out of Amarillo, the "you'd better change my oil" light came on. So, today was the day for that task. We found a GMC dealer and headed in. We were very impressed with their thoroughness in finding all the "little" things that needed to be done and left with our $24.95 oil change costing us $364.03. But, we are all set to go now and have the "little" things taken care of.

After that ordeal, we were supposed to go to the Capitol Building, but we were a bit too early for the afternoon tours. So, we headed for the World of Pigeons Museum. Yup, you heard right--pigeons. I always seem to find these strange, off-the-wall things to do. But, that's half the fun of the trip, isn't it?

It's just a small museum and facility. It just happens to be about 1/4 mile from the campground. It was hard to find anyone around to give us a tour, but after walking around in the museum part for a while, we headed outside and were finally greeted by the son-in-law of the owner. It turned out to be so fascinating. He took us to a small building where we watched a video of the pigeons' history and their role as homing birds in WWI and WWII. Just a factoid: the film was narrated by Michael Landon just prior to his death. I guess he was a fan. Anyway, after the film, the "son" brought in his favorite bird. He acted just like a trained parrot, except he cooed instead of talking.

We then went on a tour of the fancy pigeons (some we saw are shown above). I never knew that there were so many varieties of pigeons. Who knew that pigeons can have curls on their feathers??? All we normally see are those common pigeons in the park. They had just released a 6-week old group of pigeons for their first outside (but in a cage) experience today. They were really enjoying basking in the sunshine. I am going back tomorrow to take some pictures, because I just can't get over the variety of pigeons and want to share with you some of the "houses" they live in.

We were also told that homing pigeons are a hobby of big bucks---again, I'm thinking, "in pigeons???" It seems to purchase a good bird for mating stock, it costs about $10,000. Yes, that's right--ten thousand dollars. The birds lay two eggs at a time about five times per year. You can sell those birds for $5,000 each. So, you make quite a bit of money from your investment. Anyone want to invest in our new pigeon farm??

We ate lunch at the hamburger joint near the campground, and then headed off to the OK State Capitol. We arrived about 30 minutes early, but looked around a bit. The tour was a typical capitol tour, but each state's capitol has it's own uniqueness and historical significance. Of course, they are beautiful and filled with marble, stained glass, and exquisite paintings and frescoes. The surprising fact is that the dome on this capitol was not completed until 2001. It was originally designed to have a dome, but funds ran short so it wasn't re-initiated as a building possibility until this late date. One of my goals during my lifetime is to tour every capitol building that I can get to. Of course, we have driven past more than those that we have toured; we still haven't done Georgia yet. So far, the states that I can remember touring are California, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, & Massachusetts, and, of course, our national capital: Washington DC. So, we have quite a task ahead of us!

Dave is napping right now, and I think we'll go out for a bit of Mexican tonight. After all, it's been three whole days and we are having withdrawal symptoms. Tomorrow is our final day here in OKC. We plan to go to Stockyards City to experience the cattle auction at 9 AM. Maybe that will spur us on to invest in a cattle-pigeon farm. Hey, don't laugh, I convinced Dave in 1976 that we should raise chickens.

Homeward Bound - Day 19

Overnight: Oklahoma City, OK

Today is Easter Sunday and we do miss not being at Arbor Pointe Church for their very fist sunrise service on our new property.

Our sightseeing destination today is the National Cowboy & Western History Museum. We took our time getting up and going, called the kids, had our Easter blessings (to each other), and then headed off to the museum. It's only about 1 mile from our campground. Dave mentioned that the musuem had a snack bar, so we decided to grab a bite of lunch there before we did our looking around.

When we got there, we were asked if we were there for the buffet. Of course, we didn't want to miss an Easter buffet, so we indulged. It was really nice to have something special to celebrate Easter because we were not with our personal or church family.

After filling ourselves to the point of almost not being able to walk, we began our trek around the museum. It was very interesting. Dave really enjoyed the displays of boots, saddles, belt buckles, guns, rodeo stuff (and Dot Edmunds, we thought of you a lot when we looked at the cowgirl exhibits), and Indian artifacts and handmade apparel. But, for me, the best part was the little movie theater presentation that was narrated by Sam Elliott (my favorite cowboy) and showed all the cowboys that played a part in the movies since the Silent Film era. Then, there were displays of all the cowboy film stars. We were most impressed with all that was donated by the John Wayne family for his display. As you can see, Dave and John (Wayne) posed the same for this picture!

They even had an indoor, full-scale display of a western city. It was set up as if it were at night and you were walking the streets of a western settlement. I did step into the dancehall and felt right at home with the "tinny" music that was playing--maybe that speaks volumes?? We spent about 3 hours there--after our meal. The paintings of early pioneers were so elaborate and it just makes me wonder why some folks have so much talent and others don't. Bless those who share with all of the rest of us lowly folks.

Our evening was uneventful--just watching TV, playing on the PC (and, yes, the WiFi booster helps a lot, although it does still cut in and out a fair amount of the time), and playing solitaire. I went to bed at 10 PM and Dave thought I was sick because I checked out so early. He just ran me ragged in the museum--and my boots are "not" made for walkin'!

Homeward Bound - Day 18

Overnight: Oklahoma City, OK

This morning’s agenda was to get an adapter for the WiFi to see if we could bring the signal into Dave’s laptop a bit stronger. After visiting the RV park office for directions, we began our wrong-way journey. Seems we were sent about 5 miles too far east. But, we finally found Best Buy. It was about 15 miles away, and I’m surprised that a city of this size didn’t have one closer, but alas.

As long as we were at Best Buy, we decided to make it worthwhile. So, we also purchased a new TV for the bedroom in Homey-Roamy. You know Dave just hates all those reality TV shows I watch. Because the bedroom and living room TVs are a matter of one thin wall apart, we also purchased a wireless headset for Dave.

I also purchased a memory chip for my camera because I left one in the rental car in New York last summer, and the other one burned up after I took pictures of my church family. Humm—is this just a sheer coincidence? I’m sure!!

We were going to the OKC National Memorial & Museum after our shopping spree, but I forgot to bring the camera. So, we drove all the way back to the RV park, put our purchases away, and grabbed the camera. After a bite of lunch at a nearby burger stand, we headed for the memorial site.

I knew this would be a difficult museum and memorial to visit. The pictures above are the reflecting pool, the fence where remembrances are hung every day, and an inscription written on the wall the day of the blast.

We all remember the horror of that day (April 19, 1995), but somehow it’s been a bit subdued in my mind since 9-11. There are just no words to express the awe and inspiration of this memorial. The museum was put together in a most poignant presentation—it puts you right there, that day, with all the sights and sound as the bombing happens. You see some of the destruction left as it was. You hear the stories of those that experienced that day of horror, and you have a chance to look at a portrait and selected mementos from each of those who lost their lives: the children were so difficult to see. I am so glad we made the effort as it was a profound experience. It was most fitting to us that we attend this day before Easter when we remember that our Lord died and rose for all of us that believe in His saving grace so that when our earthly existence is over, we shall be with Him forever.

With our hearts filled with respect and inspiration, we quietly drove back to Homey-Roamy. When we arrived, Dave set about to install his TV and I installed the WiFi adapter. The WiFi helps a bit, but it is still not as strong as it should be and the signal cuts in and out. Dave is now enjoying the fruits of his labor by lying on the bed and watching his “own” TV. The wireless headsets are charging, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to tomorrow when they are fully charged.