Today I went out for a drive and to get some supplies for my mother. I had a very interesting drive, and it was a beautiful day to be out in Oklahoma.
After laying in the supplies from the nearest Walgreens, which happens to be 30 miles away, I found a Starbucks...the first I'd seen in a week. I had a wonderfuly strong and potent iced coffee and enjoyed every sip of it. Feeling refreshed, I was able to notice a lot of interesting things going on out the car windows.
First, I thought I would mention a large billboard I passed, which said, "Stuck Pipes?" In any other part of the world, you might thing that this referred to a plumbing problem, or maybe a car stuck in the mud problem....but no...this means that there are so many oilwells in the area, that people actually need billboards to tell them where to go to unstick their oil pump pipes. I passed an oilwell happily pumping away right in the parking lot of a Chili's Restaurant. Amazing.
Further down the road I saw a yellow biplane making lazy circles in the sky, swooping down low like a bird of prey. It was a crop duster, which led to five minutes musing what kind of crop they are spraying and how the farmer can afford to hire a crop duster these days. But there he was, and a beautiful sight too. As far as I could tell, he was far from any country road, and there was no way I could turn off the highway to get a closer view, although I would have loved to.
I ventured on to Fort Reno, a historic fort that was used in the Indian wars, and where horses were kept for the calvalry in the Civil War. During World War II, it was used as an internment camp for Japanese, and other prisoners. I often think that anyone waking up there would know that it would be useless to make an escape. There is a hundred miles of prarie between you and the nearest railroad. Today it is used as the OSU agricultural research station, and it has a very interesting cemetery where we have often visited.
At Fort Reno they also have a few hundred acres of virgin prairie. This is land as it was in the beginning, when the Plains Indians roamed free before the white settlers came in with hoes and plows. The prairie is home to all those wonderful plants and wild flowers that you need to get up close to see, and the birdsong that I heard there today was really amazing. I unrolled the windows, and caught a few pictures of the Oklahoma State bird, the scissortailed flycatcher, and saw a lot of bob whites, as well as lazy turtles enjoying naps on the hot asphalt. I wish that I lived long ago when all the prairies were untouched...but then I wouldn't have Starbucks now, would I?
After that I went to a familiar outpost, the Cherokee Trading Post, where they have beautiful silver jewelry, and all kinds of western-themed souvinirs. I have been there so often I wasn't even tempted to buy anything but a couple of postcards for my friends who may not know how wonderful Oklahoma is. Nothing like a picture of a buffalo or a long horned steer to remind them. The trading post has some fenced in buffalo for the tourists to see, but they look rather forlorn and lonely so I don't visit them anymore.
The weather is changing constantly from sun to clouds, and as I drove back, I hit a few raindrops that were soon blown off the car by the hot prairie wind. Soon it was time to get back to my mother, who has always loved living in Oklahoma, and who is also --amazing!
Have a great day.
