Saturday, June 7, 2008

Just a quick note

Just a quick note about yesterday. We came to the conclusion that the horses got new shoes, Melody got new shoes, and I got new shoes. I'd like to say we're all looking snazzy, but the heat does show by the end of the day! Something new today...I tried a Mint Mocha Chip Frappucino at Starbucks. I finally ventured away from Folgers. My sense of adventure is climbing. I am always hoping to meet new, interesting people. Today we met Rose at the Bianco Italian restaurant. She and her husband, who has now passed away, opened the restaurant 56 years ago. She was born in Naples, Italy, and moved to the U.S. when just a baby. She lived in Amsterdam, up-state New York, until she and her husband moved to Lawton, OK. Developers are trying to get her to close down, but she is hanging tight. You go, girl! The food was absolutely wonderful. We returned to Melody's grandparents to spend the night. It was storming outside. I had lost my journal yesterday and finally found it after the storm. It was on the ground and survived the storm. For all of you who know me well, I have a shocker for you. I ate THREE helpings of fruit!
Today we went to the Visitors' Center at the Wichita Mountains. We took pictures of bison along the road. They didn't particularly enjoy being photographed. They aimed their backsides whenever possible. Think they were trying to make a point? We also visited Prairie Dog Town. The sign said not to feed them people food, but one of them found a cracker on the ground and started to chow down. Cute. I wasn't going to be the one to try to take it away! Again on the road we went to see the heart-shaped rock. We found it right away. We had to find a path to stand next to it. I thought I was lost, but standing right next to it, I couldn't tell it was the right rock from my viewpoint. We did see flowers that seemed to grow out of the rocks. The only thing I could think of that would explain it was we had learned that lichen is a combination of algae and fungi that eventually turns the rock to soil. I don't know how long is takes, but I'm thinking that process allowed the little flowers to grow. We were supposed to get samples of some rocks. I was game to grab whatever was nearby, but was informed that there are certain places you can't just help yourself, so we had to wait.
We finally made our way to Frederick.First thing we saw was the Brush. Boy, was it shiny! We also got to see the exhibit in the barn of the Abernathy boys. Jack, head of the historical society, gave us a tour of a house from the 1920s. One thing we want to do is to compare technology of now with the time the boys went on their adventure. This just gave us an opportunity just to compare everyday technology of the home.
We met the boys who had ridden from Blanchard. We had followed their progress in the newspapers and were really excited to meet them in person. We toured the house together and later toured the Crawford Collection. If ever in Frederick, one needs to see this. Animals from all over. We learned that some hunting is not necessarily just for sport. There is a conservation aspect to it also. Bill Crawford could explain this better. The whole collection is amazing. The really hard part was the "DO NOT TOUCH" signs. Logically, this made a lot of sense, but, really, where else will I ever get to feel the fur of a polar bear? I have to admit there was a struggle going on inside me. Parts of me regrets not copping a feel, but another part feels good for doing the right thing! I finally got to meet Sharon Bennett. She is the person we talked with over the phone for the radio interview, but I had never met her in person. One more person to add to my list of people I am happy I met along our journey. I know she has put in a lot of time on tomorrow's events and I'm sure everything will go great! We learned the Cosby boys wrote to President Bush three times about riding horses with him on his ranch. Apparently,they have received no response, Melody and I sent separate letters to George and his wife. Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need him? Sure, the present's busy, but one would think he could at least manage a "my man will call your man" scenario...you know, at least a form letter. I figure it would be great if someone had a number to the white house to call and say, "Hey, come meet three groups of people, ordinary people doing extraordinary things."
Yeah! Marla and Steve arrived with the horses. Rocky and Patriota were two of the six brought down.Rocky is still huge and as beautiful as ever! I hope I get to ride him tomorrow! I can't wait!
I looked at the stars tonight. They aren't as bright as the nights we camped out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

THREE HELPINGS OF FRUIT! Can't wait to tell everyone today at Annie's shower...we will miss you Donna! Enjoy your ride today!
Tracy