Our Oklahoma and Texas Vacation

I didn't see a real "surrey with the fringe on top" while in Oklahoma, but I did see this mural in Bricktown. I had to snap a picture of it to include here and in my scrapbook. We've had a marvelous vacation in Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri. Tomorrow we fly back to Vegas just in time for Cali's 4th birthday. It has been so fun to spend the last three weeks with Melanie, Ryan, Heather, Chad, Kyra, Skye, and Dane. I am looking forward to our next visit. The pictures below in this post actually are backwards as far as a time line goes, but I'm too tired to fix the order. After we flew from Saint Louis into Oklahoma City, we went to Ardmore, Oklahoma and then into Texas for the weekend.

We toured the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. It's a very large facility, and it is actually quite amazing. Everything looked very new and clean. It is in Arlington which is between Dallas and Ft. Worth.

Dr. Pepper had its origin in Texas. They are a big sponsor at the stadium. As you can see, there's a huge bar and advertisement for the famous soda I've come to love!



We went on a VIP tour of the stadium which included the cheerleaders' dressing room as well as the players locker room. It was fun to go behind the scenes and learn about the "Dallas Cowboys." Every girl and player had their own cubicle in their respective locker rooms.



The stadium had been used the day before for an event that didn't use the artificial turf. That's why most of the field is white. It was fascinating to hear all about the turf and how it is rolled out and velcroed on. Then bits and pieces of rubber are added to the turf to soften the blow when a player goes down.



Steve taught me the football symbol for "clipping." Notice Melanie walking to the right of me.



Steve ran from one end to the other on the field and then pretended his play was a "touchdown."

Here's Steve, Melanie, and Ryan outside the stadium.

While in TX we stayed at the Sheraton-Arlington hotel just a few blocks from the stadium.

This is the school book depository where Oswald from the sixth floor shot and killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. There's actually an "x" on the street further down a bit marking the spot where Kennedy was fatally wounded.

This is the outdoor memorial built a few blocks from the building where Kennedy was shot and killed.

Here I am inside the memorial for President Kennedy.

We went to a rodeo in Ft. Worth.

Here's Ryan and Melanie after the rodeo in Ft. Worth.

Here's Ryan and Melanie outside the building where the rodeo was held.

Here's Steve, Melanie, and Ryan as we entered TX from Oklahoma.

Here's Ryan and Melanie at Turner Falls (Oklahoma).

Here's Steve and me at Turner Falls. It's about 15 minutes from Ardmore, OK.

Here's Ryan and Melanie at Turner Falls.

Here I am hanging with Melanie before leaving for Turner Falls.

Michelin is one of the main employers in Ardmore. Ryan works for Michelin.

Steve and I went to the Gene Autry Museum. It also had displays for other "singing cowboys." It's actually located in Gene Autry, Oklahoma.

Yes, I am at a cowboy museum and enjoying myself.

This street sign made us laugh. It's just a few blocks away from the cowboy museum we toured in Gene Autry, Oklahoma. Oklahoma and Texas, at least the parts we saw, are very flat with what appears to be miles and miles of wide open space.

Here's Ryan and Melanie in Oklahoma.

Here's Steve at Turner Falls enjoying the water. It was really hot in TX and OK while we vacationed in both states. Believe me, any place or any time we could cool down, we took advantage of those moments!

Another pic of Steve at Turner Falls; it was a beautiful place that we enjoyed so much that we went twice.

Here I am ready for a swim in the lower pool at Turner Falls.

Melanie works for an orthopedic group of doctors in a very large practice. We had a few good laughs because I couldn't get the name of the practice right. It's called Bone and Joint Clinic of Southern Oklahoma. I have now unofficially renamed it Boint Clinic of Southern Oklahoma.

Melanie has her own office; I was very impressed. She schedules all the surgeries, MRI's, etc. for this very busy office.

Steve and I went to a cattle auction in Oklahoma right outside of OKC. Most of the cows sold for about $1,000 apiece. It was based on the cow's weight, so obviously the smaller the cow the less it cost. It was interesting watching the men place their bids. I was the only woman in the stands.

We walked on a catwalk above the pens from the parking lot into the big red building in the back of the picture to attend the cattle auction. I felt bad for the cows. Steve was really surprised that I even would go to a cattle auction since I'm not too keen on meat. I could easily become a vegetarian.

Oklahoma and Texas seem to be all about cowboys, Indians, cattle, and oil; so I couldn't resist taking a picture of Steve by this saddle.

Here's Steve and me on the catwalk before the auction began. Most of the pens were empty. I guess there were only 1,000 cows to sell on the day we went compared to 8,000 the day before.

Steve and I went back to the Federal Building at night where the empty chairs represent each person that died when the building was bombed. Shortly after the bombing took place, someone took a picture of a fireman carrying a young child out of the heavily damaged building. The picture became famous and symbolized the heroic effort that took place in the days that followed the bombing. Unfortunately, the little girl died a few hours after the picture was taken. I found her small chair when the lights were turned on and I could read the names on the chairs easily.

Here I am standing by a huge bronze statue of a cowboy and wagon. His hat has blown off and he's reaching back to get it. This is in OKC by the canals in Bricktown.

This is inside the capitol building located in OKC. These busts represent all the governors of the State of Oklahoma.

Here I am standing outside the Oklahoma History Museum. The man represents a worker that received a job as a result of "The New Deal" under President Roosevelt.

Yes, Oklahoma is all about cowboys and horses. If we lived here, we'd have to invest in some boots, belts, and hats!

In Oklahoma City we went on several water taxi rides up and down the canals in a place called Bricktown.

The murals in the back are pictures depicting how Oklahoma City used to look. They were all painted in three nights by a professor and students from the local university. They were amazing. The canal for part of the taxi ride goes right in front of the murals.

Here's Melanie and me in front of the capitol building in OKC.

Here's Steve and Melanie in front of the capitol building. Although you can't see them, there are two huge bronze statues on either side of the capitol. One is of an Indian, and the other is a cowboy on a horse. Also out of sight are several huge oil pumps. We saw lots of oil drills pumping away as we drove along the freeway.

In OKC we toured the Memorial Museum and grounds to honor those who died when the federal building was bombed.

Here's Melanie and Steve in front of one of the many murals in town. This one is located on the outskirts of Bricktown which is part of OKC.