This idea about traveling to watch the eclipse started over 2 years ago, and then last year we couldn’t find a secure place to go to watch it in King Tut. Places were already booked out. We know lots of people just end up going to fields or rest stops but we have to have somewhere to stay that feels secure. So we decided we wouldn’t take the rig, and then after many failed attempts to figure out a plan, we gave up the idea last year. Fast forward to the summer 2023 and Rita mentions that her brother’s place is smack in the middle of totality. And he has a pad with electricity where we can stay for a couple days!! That is all it took and Dave was up and finding our pathway and then extending it all the way to the east coast. We just had to be back in Tooele for Emily’s graduation in May. And here we are!
We are staying in Oklahoma City for two nights since we have not camped here before and Dave wanted us to have a day in case something happened along the way. We are in a KOA on the east side of town near Midwest City. I know, weird name. So far we have noticed the roads are much better in Oklahoma, the surrounding areas a bit prettier, and the BBQ is awesome. We ate at My BBQ and Grill last night for dinner, and Hank’s BBQ for lunch today. Both very tasty!
This morning we went to the Memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing. Very nicely done and very sobering. Since it was in 1995, there is plenty of real time video and audio, and the chaos bombards you in parts of the museum. And there are pictures of the people who died, including many of the children from the day care center. And stories from the survivors. What a waste of oxygen for those two bombers (I refuse to give them any space by typing their names) and for what? Nothing they wanted changed at all. Sigh…
After this we decided to visit another “representative “ Oklahoma museum, the Cowboy and Wild West Museum. It was OK but I think we were sort of subdued after the memorial to appreciate it. It had parts that showed the life of a cowboy, including a nod to South and Central American vacqueros, as well as a little about the Native cultures and their methods of raising cattle. But a lot of the museum was about the fictional cowboys in the movies and from TV. Like displays about John Wayne, Gene Autry etc. And the movies they made. And their costumes etc. I didn’t realize Tom Selleck started out in westerns! That part meant very little to us.
Afterwards we went to Hanks BBQ for lunch. It was very tasty – a bit towards the southern type of food we remember from Atlanta. Then we headed to Sam’s Club for some fresh food (and snacks!) and back to the rig to sit out the thunder storms and plan our excursion to Mena tomorrow. It is getting nerve racking to figure out the cloud cover issues! Apparently heading north is better than south but we’d have to go about 8+ hours to get better chances of being cloudless. It will still get dark even with cloud cover. Crossing our fingers!
