Saturday, September 6, 2014

Tulsa, OK 9/2/14 - 9/7/14

Tulsa, Oklahoma is green, basically flat, very open and also quite hot during our stay. We began our exploration at the Tulsa Historical Society.  This museum gave us a good chronological history of Tulsa.  Tulsa was part of the Indian Territory established in the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (Trail of Tears).  We learned how there were Indian Tribes that sided with the Confederacy, because they too owned Black Slaves.  Indians having owned black slaves was something we had not known.  In fact, some of the Indians brought their slaves along with them when they were relocated by the Indian Removal Act.  The Cherokee, with more than 1500 slaves, are said to have had the most.  By the time the Civil War broke out, more than 8,000 blacks were enslaved on Indian Territories.  We did further research and found that the 1866 Treaty with the US required the Cherokee to afford all 'Freedmen' (as they were called) equal tribal membership.  2011 Reuter article  That 1866 Treaty has been challenged, so far unsuccessfully.

From the Trail of Tears we progressed to learn about the Railroad extension into Oklahoma in the late 1800's, done in order to support the cattle industry.  Next it was information on the oil booms 1901-1907 and 1915-1930, then Greenwood's development during this boom and also a short mention of the Tulsa Race Riots.  There was an entire room devoted to how the Depression affected Tulsa.  Upstairs were may postcards from people working the Oil fields.  We found it interesting how postcards then when addressed had the person's name, city and state only.  There was coverage of the oil bust of 1982, when Tulsa was surpassed as the Oil Capitol of the World.  Last there was a discussion on how the city has worked to recover with adding aerospace, internet and telecommunication industries to their mix. 

There was a room at the museum dedicated to the Greenwood community.  This room showed things like class pictures and a few businesses, and there was a very short mention of the Race Riots.  We were so disappointed at how little understanding was portrayed regarding the Race Riots in this museum exhibit.  The exhibit served to wet our appetites, however, to go and research on our own further.  With what our research turned up, it seemed intentional that the importance of this huge event was played down at this museum.  How very sad.

Greenwood was a community in Tulsa that flourished during the Oil Boom.  At 11,000 residents, it was the largest of Oklahoma's African American communities and nationally was known as 'Black Wall Street'.  Among the residents were several PHD's, doctors, lawyers, and successful businessmen.  There were 21 churches, 212 restaurants, 2 movie theaters, 2 newspapers, and more than 400 businesses in this all black community.  On May 30, 1921 all of this changed when a young black man (Rowland) riding in an elevator was said to have grabbed a white female elevator operator's arm.  Accounts of the incident circulated in the white community, growing more and more horrific at each telling.  Tulsa police arrested Rowland.  On May 31, 1921 the Tulsa Tribune ran a story that spurred a huge confrontation at the courthouse of both blacks (50-75) and whites (2,000).  The whites wanted Rowland lynched, the blacks wanted him to get a fair hearing.  Shots were then fired and the greatly outnumbered blacks retreated to their community of Greenwood.  In the early hours of June 1, 1921 the Greenwood Community was both looted and burned by white rioters.  Less than 24 hours later 35 city blocks were charred ruins.  The 'official' report was that 36 died. Note that in 2001(not a typo, yes 80 years later), a state appointed Race Riot Commission found that the actual number killed was much closer to 300.  Thousands of Greenwood residents were rounded up and put in tent camps and forced to stay in these camps until a white person would vouch for them.  When vouched for, they were allowed to leave but were required to always wear a green card pinned to their clothes, indicating they had been vouched for.  While held under guard, their dead were buried in unmarked graves.  The accused black man by the way, was eventually acquitted.  The events from the riots were long suppressed from history books and both blacks and whites alike just did not talk about the Riots.  Whole generations grew up not knowing what really happened even though these Riots were one of the largest racial riots in U.S. history.

Our second Tulsa outing day was set to find the underreported and unusual around the Tulsa Area.  (We do that sometimes). 

First up was Centennial Plaza along Route 66 in Tulsa.  The 8 state flags, represent the 8 states that Route 66 goes through ( Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) also in the plaza is the East Meets West statue.

Next on this eclectic day's journey was the Artificial Cloud.  The Artificial Cloud is 72.5 ft. tall.  Created by Native American artist Bob Haozous, it is said to be a silent commentary on man's love for technology and the destructiveness that can come from that infatuation.  The surface of the sculpture has been allowed to rust to show the effect of time and the atmosphere.  The statue up close has knockers that sound with the hollow nature of the sculpture.  And yes, Teri exercised both of them.

Next up was Golden Driller Titanic Oil Man.  He was originally constructed in 1953 for a trade show at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds.  He is the tallest free standing statue in the US.  Amazingly, his belt buckle carried the name of a Texas supply company until 1979 when it was changed to say Tulsa.  The plaque at his base dedicates him to 'the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind'.

Still with us?  We said this was an eclectic tour day.  Next the Catoosa Blue Whale.  The Catoosa Blue whale was originally part of a Children's Zoo.  In the 70's and 80's it was a swimming hole and what fun, it looks like it was.  You walked through the whales mouth to get to its numerous slides.  Sadly, swimming is no longer allowed.  But glad the icon was saved as at 80 ft. long and 15 ft. tall, she just simply looks cool!  Glad we went to see her.

Next up, the totem pole.  pegged at the world's largest.  More information on the famous pole can be read at:Totem Pole  Nice stop.  We talked with the caretaker woman in the gift shop.  Seems they can not find someone willing to go to the tall heights to repaint and have only been able to repaint the bottom.  A sort of sad story, but we enjoyed our visit with her.  She and her husband live on the property and maintain as well as run the gift shop.

Next up Bowling Ball art.  Yep, people can think of the most unusual things to do in their retirement.  So many things we started out to see were so much more than we expected when we arrived.  The bowling ball art house, was one of those things that exceeded our expectations.  Over 1500 bowling balls, creating various creations by Chris Barbee.  Creative!  And we enjoyed.

Last up in our eclectic day tour was the large bull in Oologah.  The city of Oologah is presented as the birthplace of Will Rogers.  Rogers was born at a ranch 2 miles east of Oologah.  It is said that Rogers always told people he was born in Claremore, however, because "no one but an Indian can pronounce Oologah".  The large bull we could not find out much about, but he seems to be tied to the storage facility.

The RV Park we stayed at has its own Rodeo ring.  On our last day, we went over and watched the Barrel Riding(during the day), and then returned at night to see the really young kids(3-6 years old less than 60 pounds) attempt to ride sheep, and the bull riding.  We had a steak dinner at the RV park that was attached to the Rodeo Arena.  What a treat to have all this so close.  It was a fun day, and should we travel though Oklahoma again, we would stay here for sure.

In summary, we originally thought that Tulsa would just be a very hot stop over as we worked our way towards the balloon festival in NM.  But we seriously, had a good time while here.

We are off to Texas.

 Centennial Plaza
Centennial Plaza
Artificial Cloud
Golden Driller Man
Catoosa Blue Whale
Ed Galloway's Totem Pole
Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
 Bowling Ball Art
Bowling Ball Art
Big Bull
Barrel Racing

The Youngest Barrel Racer (4 maybe)
Sheep Riding
Bull riding
 Bull riding
Bull riding


 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Jefferson City, Missouri 8/31/14

From Lake of the Ozarks, we did a day trip into Missouri's state capitol, Jefferson City.  We began our day's adventure at the Welcome Inn Again for lunch.  The menu: Pan-fried chicken, fish or ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and coleslaw.  A limited menu, but what they do serve they really do right.  Wow!  It was a meal worth mentioning for sure.  welcomeinnagain

After a great lunch we were off to explore Jefferson City, MO.  It was a Sunday, so unfortunately we were unable to tour the Governor's Mansion but we decided to at least view the outside.  From there we headed to the Missouri State Capitol, which not only was open, but we were also able to tour both their museum and join a tour guide on a tour of the capitol....what a treat.

The museum was a nice small museum covering local Missouri history.  The real gem of the day, however, was the Capitol tour.  The Capitol, is the fourth capitol in the state, the other 3 being lost to fires. In 1911 Missourians approved a $3.5 million bond to build a capitol building, much larger that could also withstand fires.  On completion in 1918, there was a $1.1 million surplus.  The Attorney General deemed that because the Bond was for Capitol construction, the surplus had to be used on the Capitol.  A decorating committee was formed and the committee went on a $1.1 Million fine arts shopping spree!  The art is from all over the world.  Much was completed overseas and then shipped and installed by others.  Several paintings were termed paintings of illusion.  If you walk while looking at the painting, the vision transforms.  We show one these paintings below (showing a photo taken standing at the left of the painting and then another taken standing at the right of the painting). 

The third floor contained the Missouri Hall of Fame.  Originally, each year the Speaker of the House would choose one individual tied to Missouri history/culture to have their bonze bust included on this floor.  That decision now rests yearly with Missourians.  We chose one bust to be included in this blog, that of Emmet Kelly. 

Our favorite part of the entire Capitol tour, however, was the Benton murals.  These murals created quite a stir at completion.  Benton was contracted in the early 30's to do a social history of Missouri on the walls of this Capitol room.  Many expected to see famous Missourians, war heroes and such, and they expected to see the dull colors of the other art work in the Capitol.  What they got at the Mural's completion, was so far from these things.  Benton showed outlaws like Jesse James, social issues like slavery and also the political boss Tom Pendergast. Some were so outraged they wanted the mural removed.  Benton, who spent almost 2 years researching before he began painting, responded by saying you asked for the social history not a war memorial or hero's memorial.  The pictures below go around the room, and are time sequenced.  Above the doors are famous stories or events (Tom Sawyer, Jesse James, Frankie and Johnny).  Around the doorways there is a symmetry (sorry hard to see in the pics).  We so loved his works that we included almost the entire room.  What wonderful research and art in 1935! This was such a gem to see, and we believe was the highlight of our trip to the Lake of the Ozarks area.  Please explore the link further to see what we so enjoyed.  Benton Murals

In the Capitol, we also visited the House of Representatives. We had a Boy Scout troop with us on our tour.  It was fun to hear their (uncensored) questions.  Like, do fights ever break out on the floor?  Or isn't it strange that the Republicans sit on the left instead of on the right?  We don't remember many more of their their questions, but what we heard, was fun to hear.


Missouri Governor's Mansion
Missouri State Capitol
 Thomas Jefferson Statue Missouri State Capitol
State Capitol looking up four floors
Capitol Art of Illusion (from the left)
Capitol Art of Illusion (from the right)
Missouri Walk of Fame
Emmett Kelly
Benton Mural Missouri State Capitol
Benton Mural Missouri State Capitol
Benton Mural Missouri State Capitol
Benton Mural Missouri State Capitol
Benton Mural Missouri State Capitol
Missouri House of Representatives

 

Monday, September 1, 2014

Lake of the Ozark 8/26/14 - 9/2/14

Lake of the Ozarks was beautiful and we saw several deer while here.  The weather was hotter, than our liking, but we got up early on explore days and did the lazy thing on other days. 
 
We traveled to the Bagnel Dam and also the Willmore lodge.  At the lodge there was a small museum that gave a good explanation of how various towns were moved prior to the making of the dam and thereby creating the Lake of the Ozarks in 1931. The lake's surface area covers 61,000 square miles and the area population fluctuates from 2,000 - 200,000 on weekend days  as boaters and other water lovers flock to the area.
 
At more than 6,300 known caves in the state, Missouri is believed to have more caves than any other state in the United States.  The Lake of the Ozarks area has several and we choose the Bridal Cave as the one to tour while here.  The entrance to Bridal Cave lies beneath Thunder Mountain.  We were told by the locals that on the mountain, when the Thunder hits the vibration is so impressive that all the car alarms sound.  The Bridal Cave was discovered by the Osage Indians centuries ago.  Local tales tell of the Osage Indians having wed in this cave in the early 1800's.  Today, over 2,500 couples from around the world have exchanged their vows within the cave.  As a side note, their rates were reasonable-$600 includes admission into the cave for all attendees, flowers, the minister, photographer with pictures, toasting glasses with sparkling cider and recorded music.  Anyway, back to our visit.  It is amazing to us, as we visit various caves, how unique, and beautiful each is in its own way.  Bridal Cave with its giant columns, gentle soda straws, massive draperies, and its unique Mystery Lake was a day's adventure we surly will not forget.  
 
Ha Ha Tonka was only a short drive from where we were camping in Lake of the Ozarks.  We did a full day of hiking in this park and saw a variety of landscapes.
 
We started on the Dell Rim trail.  This trail leads to the water tower, built in 1905 to supply water to the castle (more on the castle in a bit).  The trail runs along the Whispering Dell sinkhole.  Many sinkholes are found in the area where caves over the years have collapsed.  The Whispering dell is said to have been a hideout at one time for counterfeiters to hide their machines.
 
From the Water Tower, we picked up the Castle trail.  The Castle trail took us by the carriage house ruins and then on to the Castle ruins.  Robert Snyder, a wealthy Kansas Business man, purchased 5,000 acres in the early 1900's, that included a spring fed lake, as the site of his mansion he intended to build.  And a mansion it would be.  He imported masons from Scotland to do the work.  A short time later, however, in 1906 Snyder fell dead being the first automobile fatality in the state.  His sons came in and finished the mansion but it was later gutted by fire in 1942.  From what we observed from the ruins, it was 3 stories high.  Snyder and his sons fought, unsuccessfully, against the dam for many years.
 
From here we went to the spring trail.  Over 300 steps down, yet it was peaceful and a nice drop in temperature on a very hot day.  We hiked along the river and lake and crossed over to Rock Island. While we did not hike a lot of this island (knowing we had much ahead), we landed and enjoyed the short time we were here.
 
From here we hiked some dry arid land.  Eventually we went past the old Post Office and local store and then made it to the wonderful Devil's Kitchen.  It started to rain and we were happy to have Devil's Kitchen for dry shelter while we ate some sandwiches.  Eventually the rain lessened and  we decided to start our hike out.  While we were a little wet when we arrived at our truck, it truly was a great day.

Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Bridal Cave
Ha Ha Tonka Castle
Ha Ha Tonka Castle
Ha Ha Tonka Spring
Ha Ha Tonka Post Office and General store
Devil's Kitchen