Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, totally worn out, shouting "Wow...What a Ride!"

Monday, October 1, 2018

Kansas Prairie to Oklahoma City

September 18-24, 2018
After a 216 mile drive we arrived at Cherryvale COE Park in Cherryvale KS. The weather continues to be hot and humid so we didn’t get to enjoy the park as much as we’d like. Once again we had s site with a slight slope to the back, sure getting tired of these kind of sites. There are a variety of site types, ours was 50amp full hookups for $22/night.  We did manage to get a bit of a satellite service and the Verizon signal was decent. None of us were really up for much, the heat and humidity area getting to us. After refueling we settled in with the ac for the rest of the day.
 
Site 8
We took the truck up to a local dealer to have them check out the springs, Dave thought they might be sagging on one side. Thankfully everything was fine, $32 and we were on our way home. After checking to see what there was to do in the area we all piled into Curt and Glenda’s car and headed to see the original site of the Little House on The Prairie. The structures aren’t original to the site but it is where the Ingalls family settled for a few years.







A stop to restock the pantries and we were back home. By the end of the day we got out and walked the campground, Glenda once again wondered if there were any geocaches around. Of course Curt and I had to try and find at least one. Discussion over a BBQ rib dinner (courtesy of Dave and his smoker) was when to leave. We had planned to stay 3 nights but with lots of rain in the forecast for our drive day we decided to head to OK a day early. 


A 257 mile ride and we arrived at Red Rock Canyons State Park in Hinton OK. Red Rock Canyon State Park sits at the bottom of canyon, a steep narrow road leads down into the canyon. We had reserved site B which is a full hookup site. This is the second OK state park we’ve been to, the other being Roman Nose. In my opinion they are in need of some TLC, but we did enjoy our stay none the less. After a day of rain, the reason we came a day early as we didn’t want to ride in rain, we were ready to get out and about. Red Rock Canyon SP has decent Verizon signal but the over air channels are nonexistent, Dish TV works well.
Site B



One day we decided to spend in Oklahoma City, our first stop was Bass Pro Shop where Dave found a new fishing pole for his time on the Gulf Coast this winter. We caught the city’s river walk which took us to nearby Bricktown Brewery. The guys didn’t like the beers there so off we walked to find another brewery. The walk to Stone Cloud Brewery was about a mile through some of the downtown area. There the guys enjoyed a few beers, purchased some for a later use then we did the walk back to Bass Pro Shop where Dave just had to go get another fishing pole.











On April 14, 1995 the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building was the scene of the largest, at that time, domestic act of terrorism.  At 9:02 168+ people were killed and 680 others were injured, 1/3 of the building was destroyed. The blast caused damage in a 16 block radius, shattered glass in 258 building nearby and burned or destroyed 86 vehicles, causing $658 million worth of damage. A sobering and moving national memorial has been built where the Murrah building stood to pay tribute to those who not only lost their lives that day but to the survivors and the search and rescue teams that were involved.
The wall were people place tributes to those who lost their lives that day. 










The entrance into the memorial. Click on the picture to see what is written.



9:01-before
9:03-when healing began
large chairs to symbolize the adults
small chairs to symbolize the children


A beautiful well done tribute to the victims of that horrendous day. 
The next day we spent exploring Red Rock Canyon State Park, I think Dave’s post on Facebook best describes the hike we took.  “We just got back from a 1 hour hike that turned into a 4 hour hike from hell. It all started out good, nice trail, cool temps and smiling faces, then someone said "I bet there's a Geocache around here" that's when things started going downhill. The trail slowly began to disappear as we trudged through the wilderness, all signs of civilization vanished as we ventured deeper into the unknown. After several miles of walking thought prickers, fighting with low hanging branches and scooting down slippery rock faces we found a trail that lead back to the campground. Bloodied, sweaty, dirty and spirits beaten down we managed to smile for one last picture to celebrate surviving the hike from hell.” By the way we did find a few geocaches :) 








Next stop Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas!!
Until next time...

5 comments:

  1. We’re pretty sick of hot and humid too. All through Sept and now into October. I really don’t like what climate change is doing. Glad to hear the springs were OK. Little House on the Prairie books were among my very favorites as a young child. Must have been fun seeing the structures even if they were not original. Love the Burro picture. You sure found plenty to do in Oklahoma. Not so sure about that hike though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I used to watch the show Little House on the Prairie!
    I cant wait for our turn to visit the memorial in OK, hopefully it wont be humid when we get there late October.
    Hike from hell! that wont work for me, I probably have left after a few miles, but it seems you were successful in your geocaching, that's all that matters :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Oklahoma City memorial is high on my list of things to see. From the pictures and descriptions, it seems like they did such an incredible job with it and it must just be overwhelming. Sorry to hear you're still fighting heat and humidity. It's humid here on the coast, but at least the temperatures have dropped. I am sure you are more than ready for it to feel like real fall! Love the downtown murals!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like you’re all having a great time! Yea, what is it with this heat & humidity??!! Loved the little horses & OK Memorial. What a beautiful tribute & somber memory to a horrific event. Must have been very moving.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the insight into prairie life. Little House on the Prairie is an American classic!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by;We'd love to hear from you.