Sunday, May 2nd - Oklahoma City OK to Sayre OK
We began the day with another visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial:
Outside the Memorial, at the western end, is a fence grid where people have left items in support and memory of those who died and the survivors:
The survivors of the attack are not forgotten, either. These slabs list their names:
The Memorial also includes a section of wall from the Murrah Federal Building as a reminder:
In case you've forgotten, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed and virtually destroyed on April 19, 1995. One hundred sixty-eight people were killed by the blast at 9:02am. Nineteen were children.
Each person lost is represented by a symbolic chair with the person's name inscribed beneath; they glow at night:
The height of the "chairbacks" show whether the person was an adult or a child.
At night, each chair shows the name of a person killed by Timothy McVeigh's attack; in daylight the photographs are better, but you cannot see the names.
The 168 chairs are arranged in nine rows, each indicating one of the nine floors of the Murrah Building. Placed in each rows are chairs symbolizing those who died while working or visiting on that floor.
The Memorial is bracketed at the East and West by a wall marked by a stopped digital clock; the East wall shows 9:01 and the West wall shows 9:03, bracketing the time of the blast at 9:02am.
This view is looking East:
..and this is looking West:
The reflecting pool is only a fraction of an inch deep:
The so-called "Survivor Tree" (an 80 year old American Elm) remains alive and a symbol of hope:
And, in case you've forgotten, Timothy McVeigh was executed for his crimes on June 11, 2001.
After our second visit to the Memorial we back-tracked to Arcadia, OK to re-visit the Round Barn:
This morning the "man" behind the Round Barn, Butch, was there and told us all about it:
It's truly a wonderful building but, as Butch points out, hardly unique. There are scores of round barns all over the United States -- but this one is excellent!
(This is the inside of the top of the barn; amazing!)
Across the road from the Round Barn is this marble marker dedicated to the Oklahoma section of Route 66:
Next we paid a visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; it's a beautiful building:
From the interstate you can see this great statue of Buffalo Bill:
..and the gardens include more:
The museum is a "must see" when you're in Oklahoma City -- and budget at least two hours to see it all. The museum is filled with exhibits of cowboys and Native Americans. Paintings, sculptures, weapons, clothing -- you name it. There's even an entire set of rooms devoted to the cowboy as entertainment: Tom Mix, James Arness, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and many, many more.
The first thing you see when you enter the museum is this magnificent sculpture of a dying Native American and a dying horse. It's eighteen feet high and is in plaster-of-paris. It's entitled "End of the Trail" and it was sculpted by James Earle Fraser.
The same artist did this great rendering of Abraham Lincoln:
 
There are mounted animals as well:
Be sure to see this museum when you're in Oklahoma City for any reason!
Touring the museum made us hungry so we opted for our third barbeque meal of the trip (so far). Right down the street from the Cowboy Museum is The Oklahoma County Line Barbeque:
..and here we are at table:
After lunch we motored west towards our eventual stopping place, the AmericInn in Sayre, OK. Along the way we encountered this fantastic bridge. It has 38 spans or "ponies" on each side:
We were searching for Lucille's Route 66 Historic Highway. Lucille Hamons was often called the "Mother of the Mother Road" and we wanted a visit. Trying to interpret our various instructions we first found ourselves in Bridgeport:
(Not your bustling metropolis..)
When we at last finally found Lucille's:
.. we were chagrined to learn that she had passed a way a full four years before our visit. Just goes to show that the guidebooks can't always be counted upon to be up-to-date! There was a memorial for her right there on the highway:
Our loss, Lucille...
Our last stop for the day was the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. We got there about thirty minutes before closing and toured it quickly. It's really a terrific museum, heartily recommended. One of its features is a series of exhibits for each decade from the 20s to the 60s. Each room has it's own appropriate theme music. There's also a video theater where you learn all about the origins of Route 66.
(My dad and uncle used to run hooch from Arkansas right by these guys during Prohibition)
Email Q&A
A number of folks have remarked on the apparent large quantity of food we've consumed. It's just an illusion; sitting down in a restaurant is a photo-op. For example, tonight Gael and I had a lovely bottle of Merlot and a bag of Fritos.
Others have asked how we keep the cars so clean. We do not. At least until tonight. As I built this page, Buzz graciously washed both cars. First time they've been clean since Bowling Green. When you have a variety of exotic animal excrement to remove, it takes a while. Thanks, Buzz!
Finally, if you find typos or other errors on these pages, please
. I can't always respond to the emails promptly but I do receive them.
Another great day -- and much, much more to come...
Watch for more tomorrow, Day #7 on the Mother Road!
|
