Road Trip: Up The Middle Of The Country

Day 5: Wednesday, May 08, 2024 - Oklahoma City, OK, and Tulsa, OK

Day's statistics:
Weather: 81°, overcast
Steps: Steve 13,191; Linda 13,526
Travel: 152 miles

Today's breakfast was a full buffet.

Linda had a bagel, and I had eggs and sausage.
The clock, that is cut off in the picture, reads "Rise & Dine".
And this old advertisement was on the wall in the dining area.

We returned ot the room, packed up, brushed, checked out, and headed to our next capital.
On the way.


Then we approached.


We circled the capital, and pulled into a visitor's parking lot. But it was the Research Center's visitor's parking. We found an employee sitting in their car and asked about parking in the lot. She said the lot isn't patroled. So we left the car their and headed to the capital.

We walked down a sidewalk, and toward the flags.

It turns out that the flags were part of Tribal Flag Plaza.




We took a selfie from here too.

Next to the Tribal Flag Plaza was a [non-functioning] oil rig and pump.


I walked up to the doors, and they required card keys to get inside. There was no sidewalk or path around to the other side.
Longer story shorter, we were actually at the REAR of the capital, not the front.
What to do...
Rather than try to figure out how to get to the front, we decided to walk back to the car and drive to the front because, well, there MUST be visitor parking there, right?!!?
Yes, there was. The first two rows were reserved for the house, the next two for the senate, and the next one for aides. We were able to park in row six or seven. We did, and headed toward the front.
In front, like the rear, there was also an oil rig.



In the sidewalk in front of the capital there were markers for significant historical events relevant to the state. There were probably over a dozen, but I only captured two.


There were a couple statues in front too, a tribute to the romantic riders of the range, and As Long As The Waters Flow.


Some Oklahoma fashion - per Linda's request.

There was a group of ladies that acted as if they were on group vacation. They were trying to take a group selfie, so Linda volunteered my picture taking skills to help them out.
We then headed to the right side of the captial to a ramp and a short flight of stairs.

We arrived inside, and got our stamp.


By 9:45 we arrived in the Senate chamber. And they were in session! For another three minutes. Seriously.
The first order of business when we arrived were the senators recognizing a stodent in the gallery.
Then there was a motion to adjurn - and they did.







Crossing the capital we were at the rotunda.

The House Chamber and gallery were closed - so I did what I could lookking through the tiny windows in the doors.




We were told by a guard that the chamber would be open after 10:00, if we wanted to come back. OK, see you later.
We returned to the rotunda.






We continued exploring the capital, admiring the architecture and artwork that was about, and eventaully made our way back to the grund floor.








On the ground floor, near the entrance, was a seven foot tall statue that was modeled after the statue on top of the dome.

It was a bit after 10:00, so we awaited the elevator to return upstairs. But we were on the ground floor - where was this elevator going anyway?!!? And do we even want to get on it?


We returned to the gallery to go inside as we were previously told to do. But the door was locked and the woman we spoke to early was nowhere to be seen. So we left again.
Right outside the gallery lobby, sitting on a bench, was a Seargant At Arms, Bill.
We talked to Bill and told him about what we were told earlier, and he said that we could get into the chamber if we let the guard know that "Bill sent us." I said, "I thought you were going to say 'They are with me.' ".
"Well... OK, let's go." Yay! Bill was going to bring us there.
Over the course of our tour we learned that there are 101 House Representatives, and 48 Senators, all serving from February to May. Also, the done was added "fairly recently" in 2001.
He said to the guard "They're with me." as we entered the chamber floor. So I was able to get a couple shots from ground level.







We finished in the House and we exited. Right outside, in the chamber lobby, were two large murals that Bill told us about.
The first depicted how Oklahoma looked hundreds of years ago, at the onset of inhabitation (one of Bill's favorite paintings in the capital); and the second an example of a plain's home.


Bill brought us to a hall outside a conference room that had mural drafts hanging on the wall. The left shows a female figure, representing Oklahoma, crying over the lost lives of soldiers, while the right shows Oklahoma standing in protection of the soldiers.

Then he brought us to the two conference rooms with the full size murals on the wall.


The paintings were NOT shrunk to 1600 x 900 pixels like most of the others, so the names would remain readable.
And near the second mural above was another conference room - opposite the mural drafts room - that had these works.

Around the rotunda were portraits of famous Oklahomans, including athlete Jim Thorpe, actor / musician Will Rogers, creator of the English alphabet Sequoyah, and polotician Robert Kerr.




We walked around a little more, looked out a couple windows, and admiring more architecture.





For one last time we passed the rotunda - but they had started a beef-related expo of some sort.

In addition to the artwork "wing" that Bill told us about, there was also some other additional works throughout the building.








This last one was another of Bill's favorites.
What is happening is that the cowboys are crossing the river, and the Indian is indicating that the cost if 5, and the cowboy is offering 2.


On a lower level of the rotunda there were four spaces for large works. Two of them were in place, but there were two empty spaces for two works that haven't been completed yet.



Also on the ground floor near the entrance was this carving and a historical map of the state.


There was also a small history museum.
Most of the history had to do with Oklahoma, including the government and governors, war, campaigns, and the reconstruction of the capital.
We spent a little time inside.


The artifacts were found when reconstructing the dome, and the architecture items were the original pieces.


Lastly, at the farthest end of the hall on the ground floor was this painting and tapestry.


Our nearly two hour visit to the capital was almost over.
We exited the first set of doors and entered a foyer sort of space. There was an interesting pattern on the ceiling.

And the floor contained an outline of the state, with each county defined as well (especially with the reflections, it is a little [a lot?] hard to see). The stitch didn't work too well, so here is are some pieces of it.


Did you ever wonder why Oklahoma is shaped the way it is?
We were told that originally, Oklahoma did not have a panhandle. The land that made up the panhandle was, at one time, "no man's land". Texas wanted to stop at the parallel on their north end because it wanted to remain a slave state. Kansas didn't want it because their state was flat on the bottom along a parallel. So Oklahoma took it.

A couple miles away, toward the river to the south, was a Cabela's. While we had been in one before in Delaware, we stopped by because it was just a little early for lunch. And we wanted to see if we could find some collapsable reusable straws - that would hold up to hot coffee - for our travels, but they didn't have them.
If you have never been in a Cabela's - the hunting, fishing, outdoor equipment store - they also have a large fish tank.


After another half hour or so, we headed a little bit down the road - just a couple of blocks to try to find our lunch destination.

We were on a quest to find Fuzzy's Taco Shop.
We drove down Reno Ave because that is where it was supposed to be. We wanted to find a parking space too. We drove into a lot, but it was full so we left and headed back in the direction of Cabela's. Then we saw the restaurant sort of at the far end of a strip mall (it was perpendicular to the road rather than parallel to it). We pulled into the small parking lot, but it was full too. We pulled out, went in the other direction, nothing there, then came back. We then noticed someone leaving! We waited and took their spot.
We walked around the building, near a fountain, and into the restaurant.


It wasn't too busy, but it was a little early still. We were second on line though the three guys in front of us that were a group ordered separately, so maybe we were foutth and fifth?.
Anyway, we needed a few minutes to review the menu. The prices were REALLY reasonable, especially compared to Torchy's from two days ago.


After ordering and paying, you are given a device that flashes and vibrates when your order is ready. Soon our's was.
Linda had the big salad with grilled shrimp and avacado dressing; and I had three tacos: shredded brisket (already eaten), grilled chicken, and grilled shrimp.


By the time we were done eating our meal, more tables were filled and there was a line, literally, out the door.

Less than a mile down the road was our next stop: the Myriad Botanical Garden and Crystal Bridge.
We paid our entry, and took a picture of the map of the grouonds.

The Crystal Bridge component of Myriad is a long cylindrical building that was a green house where a.. myriad of plants are grown.
We walked through the garden and saw a wide variety of specimens, including some we had never seen at a garden before.
They are presented without labels because some of them couldn't be found and or (while informative) that just gets too tedious. But we did see plants that included orchids, mango, papaya, banana, tamarind, cacti, .





























At either end of the structure there was a staircase to a second level.
We were at the far end, and went upstairs.


This end had a staircase to a third level - that I eventually climbed - that had mostly cacti and other dessert-like plants around it.












At this point, I chose to go up to the small third level, while Linda headed back to the beginning.
First, here are my sightings (I'm writing this, so I go first...).


And Linda's sightings.







Linda and I both headed back to the entrance, however, I was on a catwalk, connected to the other end, overlooking everything from above.















When I got back downstairs, I realized I missed one of the pathways, so we went back down that, and found ourselves at the far end again, near the lily pad pond.











A little beyond the pond, behind the wall at the end, was a classroom, a couple offices, and restrooms.
Then we walked all the way back to the entrance.
Near the beginning of the garden was a waterfall.


The building didn't seem to be that big, but there was a lot inside.
After viewing it all, we toured the grounds a little.
Looking at the map, we exited on the left side - where there was an ampitheater and a sculpture; proceeded to the cross bridge - where there was a park with a bandstand, and fountain; across the back - where there was a pergola, and a path; and then down the path on the right side.
The Crystal Bridge itself is over a stream or a pond, and it had koi in it.





























We were really impressed with the everything and were glad we stopped.

But one last thing before departing the property...
Linda follows someone on Instagram® that has the handle Mitten State Barbie®. The woman, a graphic designer, makes various scenes using Barbie® as the main character. Her skills were written up in The New York Times.
While not quite at that scale, Linda had the idea of taking her Chelsea doll on our trip with us - she is small enough to fit in her handbag. Then Linda could take various pictures with her in it.
While we have varying ideas of the best way to do this - I think Chelsea should be photoed as if she was a person, and Linda just like to have her in the picture (not that there is anything wrong with that).
We had about 120 photos with Chelsea in them, and Linda took 118 of them with her phone. Eventually there will be a subdoamin for her. And Linda also wants to make a picturebook for the grandkids called "Chelsea Travels with Gigi and Pops".
In the meantime, here are two of the pictures I took with the camera. In the first, she's smelling a flower; and in the second, waving outside the Crystal Bridge.


We headed to the car.

We had nearly an hour and a half to our next stop, so we had to get underway as it was nearly 2:00 and we wanted to spend some time where we were going, and we had to leave a little buffer for any delay. Or getting lost.
We did a quick you-ee (u-ee? youy? youee?) and headed back toward Cabela's and the interstate just beyond it.
We passed an area called "The Brickyard".
It was a collection of buildings - mostly made of brick - including a ballfield.

I have no idea where the ballgame attendees might park...
Just before the highway, we saw a couple horse-and-carriages going in the other direction.

And along the way, we passed by this Air Force rocket.

And one of the cheapest gas prices on the trip (we saw prioces from $2.89 to $3.49 [in one of the cities]).

Then we arrived in Tulsa.

Not too long before leaving - a few weeks - Linda read something about something and wanted to go. So we fit into our travel plans a visit to the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK.

I am not a huge fan of his, but like some of his music, and can appreciate him as an artist and song writer. Linda is most certainly the bigger fan.
The entry area had a small giftshop. Also, visitors are given devices with earpieces to hear various audio clips throughout the center, mostly incuding interviews and performances. Just point the device at a device spot (visible in a couple images below) and the audio starts on its own. One small issue with this though, was sometimes, while walking around, getting too close to another device spot caused the device to suddenly play something different.
The first large room we entered had movies playing on opposite walls, shoing various aspects of Dylan's life, such as his childhood, music career, interviews, etc.
The next room, starting on the left, had a chronological timeline of his career, starting at his very first song he played publicly. On display were album covers, notes, lyrics, photos, note books, letters he received (including a couple from the White House), original artwork, and more.
Here are what we thought was most interesting.












































We took the stairs up to the second floor.

Admittedly, most of the second floor was dedicated to another artist (that wasn't Dylan) that we knew nothing about - he may have been with the group The Pogues. However, there was still some Dylan memorabilia on display, mostly on a single wall, though there was a hallway section at the end where a dozen paintings / drawing were (that were actually done by Dylan).














We finished upstairs and returned to the movie theater area for a little.

Lastly, after about an hour and a half, we headed out - though our first stop was, after dropping off the audio devices, was at the gift shop area. Linda wanted to see if they had a copy of the Little People, Big Dreams book. They didn't. And the clerk wound up knocking a tumbler off the shelf and onto the floor - wherein it broke - looking for it.
While we were discussing our visit and our travels, another clerk made an announcement that the Center was closing in fifteen minutes.
In the lobby, just before the door was the large mural.

On the way to dinner, we came across this structure that looked a lot like a church. Sort of.

Before our two hour drive to Fort Smith, we wanted to stop for dinner. We did a search and eventually located "Pizza Twist".

We entered, and checked out the menu board. There were some unusual sounding pizza - the twist side - such as curry, Tikka Masala, and Tandori.

We weren't feeling too adventurous tonight, so we got a medium, origianl crust supreme pizza to share (5 slices : 3 slices).

Unfortunately, their credit card machine wasn't working. Dinner wiped out most of our cash.
The pizza was really good.

We got back on the road and headed to Fort Smith - and encountered our first experience (as far was we remember) with an 80 MPH speed limit.

We crossed the Arkansas River, we think, on the way.

It doesn't look like it, but this IS a "Welcome to Arkansas" sign - and this is the best one we got (probably because it was night).

During this leg of the trip we drove into darkness, as well as heavy rain. We were only a little concerned about severe weather.

At about 8:40 we arrived at the Best Western Aspen, and checked in.

We did our luggage thing, and relaxed a bit.
Each day we usually try to do the New York Times games. These include the Spelling Bee - getting to Genius, at a minimum, and trying to get Queen Bee (all the words) - and Connections. I also do the crossword (usually on Mondays, most Tuesdays, and occasionally a Wednesday), Wordle, and the Mini - a small crossword that can be done in less than a minute.
The screenprint shows the time - 9:51 PM - but not the date, though the file itself has that. This was a complete coincidence.

Sometime thereafter went to sleep.

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