After a wonderful 10 day visit with my sister LuAnn, it was time to say our goodbyes and head on to a new state to explore, Oklahoma. We had a short 200 mile trip north, and found a nice campground right in the city, Roadrunner RV Park. Their website is outdated, because it does not show the brand new section that we stayed in, as well as the new office and laundry facility. It was a very convenient spot to stay for four nights.
Since Oklahoma City is the state capital, I wanted to go and see the capitol building. The capitol is currently undergoing a major renovation with new windows, elevators, air conditioning and other upgrades, which is why it is covered in tarps and scaffolding. Oklahoma City is the only capital in the United States that has a working oil rig on the grounds. Also, the dome on the capitol building, was not added until 2002. The original plans called for a dome, but when the capitol was finished in 1917, they left the dome off. The entire building cost $1.5 million to build, and the dome would have cost an additional $250,000 at that time. The total construction cost to add it on in 2002 was $21 million! At the top of the dome is a 17 foot statute, “The Guardian,” which pays honor to the large Native American population in Oklahoma. And, as you can tell by the flags, it was very, very windy. It was windy the entire time we were there.
Here’s a view from the ground floor, looking up into the dome.
This is the chamber for the 101 members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
And the chamber for the 48 members of the Oklahoma Senate.
During the time we were in Oklahoma in March, they were debating about giving teachers a pay increase. I saw this sign hanging on one of the doors in the legislatures offices, and found it to be both timely and appropriate to the current events.
Oklahoma City is home to the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum, (free), and we stopped in to check out their displays on the history of softball, and to view the memorabilia from legendary softball players, and the United State’s Olympic Softball Team, which won gold medals in 1996, 2000, 2004, and a silver medal in 2008. Softball was then discontinued as an Olympic sport, but will return again in 2020.
We looked for a hall of fame display for our friend Steve C., but he apparently has not yet been nominated! Someday Steve, you will have your own display case like these hall-of- famers!
After our visit we decided to check out a “hole in the wall” type diner near the campground that was pretty busy, so we stopped in for lunch and were a bit surprised when the waitress asked if we wanted “smoking, or non-smoking!” We haven’t heard that question in years, and both looked to our left at the smoking area, which was completely enclosed in glass walls, with its own doors, and full of patrons. We don’t smoke, so we opted for the empty, non-smoking area. We are not sure what the smoking laws are in Oklahoma, but this was certainly the reason this place was so busy!
We did many things in our short stay in Oklahoma City. Our next blog will discuss the main reason for our visit.
Quote of the Day: “I’m from Oklahoma. I mean you can’t have good hair in Oklahoma. That’s why everyone wears hats. The wind just messes it up.” – Ronnie Dunn
The museum is laid out in an easy to follow format, consisting of the four principles important to the Bush’s: Freedom, Responsibility, Opportunity and Compassion. There is full-size reproduction of the Oval Office, complete with the furniture, statues, and photographs that were on display in the real Oval Office. I opted to check out the desk, with my sister LuAnn as “Secretary of Education” standing by!
And of course I needed a conference with my “Cabinet” members.
The museum starts out with panels detailing the early years of Bush’s life and his family.
One of First Lady Laura Bush’s platforms was “Ready to Read, Ready to Learn,” to improve early childhood education. On display were the books from a reading list that she recommended for children of all ages. We recognized many of the titles, as books that we had read as children.
President Bush’s passion is baseball, and there is a display of many of the autographed balls and bats on display throughout the museum. He was the first former Little League player to be elected President of the United States, and started a new White House tradition to play tee ball games on the grounds of the White House in 2001. The bat in this display case was signed by 46 of the 62 living members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Priceless!
The television screens on the memorial walls shows the attacks at each of the locations.
Before 9/11, there were 22 federal government agencies handling homeland security issues. In 2002, President Bush, and Congress, created the Department of Homeland Security, and put all those agencies into one department.
Many other major events occurred during the Bush presidency, and the museum has many displays talking about the financial crisis in 2008, Hurricane Katrina, Immigration Reform, and the Environment.
Once you are out of the policy area of the museum, there is a fun display on life in the White House, with the official White House Easter eggs given out every year…
President Bush had two dogs during his White House days, Barney and Miss Beazley. They have their own display case complete with toys, photos, letters from children and their dog dishes used when they traveled on Air Force One!
A flying Pterodactyl with a small body, but large wing-span…
They have many large gems and minerals on display. What’s the difference between a gem and a mineral, you ask? A gem is a mineral, that has been polished or cut into facets that reflect the mineral’s crystal structure.
This is Rhodochrosite, Crystal system is Trigonal. It is from the Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Alma District, Colorado.
And finally, this one is Cavansite and Stilbite. Crystal system Orthohombic, from the Wahgoli Quarry in Maharashtra, India. The display of minerals was very interesting.
I marked up another photo that I took from the seventh floor window. (if you double-click on the photo, you can make it larger). The two red circles mark the spots where Kennedy was shot. The city has painted “X” on each spot. The farther spot, in between the two cars, is where Kennedy was fatally wounded. The trees have grown since 1963, so the view back then would be much clearer to the street.
Here is a view of the same area, from the sidewalk just in front of the building. Again, the red lines are where he was struck, and the green “X” to the right is the infamous “grassy knoll area,” popular among the conspiracy theorists that believe a second gunman was there. The “X” is also the spot where Abraham Zapruder was standing when he shot the 8mm film of the assassination. His film was the only film of the shooting.
And of course, I took another view of the museum.
If you are going to Dallas, be sure to check out the City-Pass, as it gives you a discounted pass to four attractions.
I slept well that first night back in the RV!
And if that new dog wasn’t enough, they also had a guinea pig too. It stays at school in LuAnn’s classroom, but she brought it home for spring break, so it would ‘stay alive.’ Again, I was not allowed in this cage. I think I would have liked this cousin. It would be too small to reach my butt to sniff!
Well thanks for following along with me on my adventures. I’m sure my mom will be back soon posting, as they have kept themselves busy in Dallas. Take care!
Here are some of the other robots custom designed and made by the students.
My sister LuAnn is watching over one of the teams as they build their robot.
A Packer game was also on our agenda, and we did make it to Brett Hundley’s first start as the Packers quarterback. The annual Jack Link’s tailgate party was also that day. The Packers lost, but the tailgate was a lot of fun. This year they had on display a truck they restored with the Lorissa’s Kitchen brand on it. Lorissa is Jacks daughter-in-law, and she has her own line of grass-fed jerky products that are excellent.
Florida updates
The park we are currently staying at offers many activities, and we have been learning how to play Pickleball. Dan quickly picked up the game, which is a cross between tennis and ping-pong. It is played with a tennis ball sized whiffle ball, an oversized table tennis racquet, and it is a lot more challenging than I thought. 
I need to work on my hand/eye co-ordination!
I spent the summer doing a lot of playing with my football….maybe too much playing, which I will get to later. The weather was good all summer, until the end. My parents promised me when we ventured out on this crazy journey that we would always have warm weather. But once again, we ended up with quite a bit of snow. But I didn’t let it stop me. I made my mom put on her boots and winter coat (had to dust it off!) and get out and play with me. October in Wyoming!
I call it “a bigger jail.” But I am happy they put my dog bed in it, and set it in front of the electric fireplace. I’m on pain meds and anti-inflammatory pills, which are making me feel better. I have learned that they will let me out, “on good behavior,” for an hour or two at night, as long as I don’t run around. I heard the word “NO” for several days, before I complied with their rules, and just laid down on a blanket outside the crate.
It did make for an interesting drive over Togowotee Pass, at 9600 feet and a steep grade! And this is after they had “cleared” the pass! Normally we like to leave early in the morning when we are in travel mode, but we had to wait until late morning for the road to improve.
We are now back in Wisconsin. Originally, we planned to be here a few weeks, then head down to Amazon in Kentucky. However, our friend Mike’s bar and grill that we had helped remodel is not yet open. He was very busy this summer with his landscaping business, and did not finish the remodeling. So we are back helping him out, probably through Thanksgiving, and then we will head south for the winter.
Liv2RV 