Arkansas – Sunday, November 25
Hello, Arkansas! I arrived late last night and stayed in Rogers at the first reasonable place I found – in the northwest corner of the state. In the morning I read a bit about the area, and picked up some pamphlets and got some ideas. The donation I wanted to make today will have to wait until tomorrow since they’re not open today, but another opportunity presented itself…
Tula and I started off our day by walking around Rogers, another town on the National Historic Register. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and we walked through most of the streets in town and out into the neighborhoods. They also have a town park which stretches a couple of blocks and it’s all decorated and Christmas carols were playing on the outdoor speakers. It was an enjoyable 3 1/2 miles.
Then we headed east toward Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, which is home to more than 100 rescued big cats. I’m in Ozark Mountain country and the roads in this area are twisty, crooked and steep – but it’s so pretty! I’ve never seen the Ozarks before and they’re steeper and more rugged than I expected. We made a stop at Hobbs State Park along the way and got in another mile and a half of walking. Then I got to the refuge. I was interested in seeing this place because they’re one of the biggest exotic cat refuges- often rescuing lions and tigers (and a few other critters) from people who made a poor decision to get one in the first place. This organization is also in the process of taking in about 36 big cats from a 73-yr-old woman who can no longer look after them. Mostly they have tigers, cougars and lions, but there’s also bobcats, a grizzly bear, something I couldn’t identify, and a couple donkeys. They all eat in their pens (which all have shelters)and spend the night in their pens, but by day there are numerous large “habitats” that they are turned loose in, and for some of the cats they rescue it’s the first time they’ve felt grass under their feet. Sadly, it is still legal in some states to hold exotic animal auctions and that’s where people can buy cute little lion and tiger cubs without apparently realizing that they’re going to grow into large, potentially destructive animals. Plus, they eat a lot! This refuge goes through 1,000 pounds of meat a day, and are generously helped by Walmart and Tyson. I also saw a couple ligers (cross between lions and tigers and they mostly look like tigers without stripes). The guide who took my group around was a volunteer intern and she knew all the animals by name and their characteristics – it was interesting. My daily donation went to them – they seem to be doing a nice job caring for these animals that cannot be released back into the land where they belong.
The refuge also had a small campground on the premises, and since it was a warm day, and the night temperatures would be tolerable, I had to camp there! I wanted to listen to all of the night sounds of these big cats, and figured I wouldn’t have that opportunity again!
But first I called my cousin Jay after my visit through the refuge. I knew he spent part if the year in northwest Arkansas, but wasn’t exactly sure where, and thought I’d touch base. Turns out he was just finishing some work about 10 miles north of Eureka Springs, and I was about 10 miles south of Eureka Springs, so we met up for dinner at The Rocking’ Pig, where he treated me to beer and barbecue and we enjoyed getting caught up. Thanks again, Jay!
Then I went back to the refuge and got set up while listening to the many noises coming from the compound – so many loud sighs, huffings, deep rumblings, and even a nasty sounding spat between a couple of them! These were the sorts of noises that could be used in a scary movie! If I had to guess which kind of animal I was listening to, I would have guessed some big elephants. One other disturbance woke me up during the night – just a couple cats having a disagreement! At first Tula would growl a bit at the noise, then she ignored it. But she had to stay on her leash at this campground – she was interested in watching the tigers in the daylight. The campground is only about 25 yards from 2 of the tiger pens, but there are double fences between them and campers!
Kansas – Saturday, November 24
After a big breakfast and final packing up, I left South Dakota and made my way back to Kansas for my last day in that state. Today my donation was a mail-in one to The Kingman/Pratt Area Animal Response Team. This is a “local disaster response network of volunteers dedicated to providing for the safety, survival amd humane care of animals affected by natural or manmade disasters.” Last weekend they had a Paws Festival fundraiser which I thought I was going to, but the computer had listed the wrong location, and I ended up doing a different donation instead. But now this will be my animal-related donation for the week. They offer shelter, food, water, first aid and care until the pets can be reunited with their owners – their motto is “Any Animal. Any Disaster. Anywhere.” Hopefully they don’t get called out very often.
I was lucky to end up in the town of Atchison for the last 7.5 miles of Kansas walking. This town had some of everything to enjoy while walking – a short river trail down by Independence Park, a historic home district, a downtown pedestrian mall, a picturesque college and abbey, and miles of long neighborhood streets with lots of Christmas decorations. Tula and I wandered all over and got in all the miles. Atchison is Amelia Earhart’s hometown, and I walked past her childhood home. And Lewis and Clark also camped near here – during one of the first 4th of Julys west of the Missouri. There’s history everywhere!
So….Kansas is a wrap. Seven donations given (St. Jude’s Give Thanks Walk, Salvation Army, Scott City
I drove a bit and spent Saturday night in State #12!
Thursday and Friday, November 22 and 23
I had a really nice Thanksgiving break in South Dakota – stayed with Dad and Joan; visited aunt Gloria as she recovers from hip surgery; and spent some time with cousins Sandra and Scott. Thanks to Craig and Cindy for your Thanksgiving hospitality and a huge feast – a treat for a traveler! It seems like all I did was eat and visit and eat some more! But I did empty out the van and got it all cleaned and reorganized – ready to get back on the road!
Kansas – Wednesday, November 21
I had stayed on the north side of Topeka, and there happened to be a lot of walking trails in a park near the governor’s mansion which was only a short drive away. Tula and I walked on all the paths, and there were fishing ponds, and I even saw a couple of horses and wagons – some with people, and the other looked like it had a Christmas tree in it. We did a couple loops of some of the paths, and got in 3 1/2 miles. Then I headed straight north toward the town of Holton. I wanted to do a food pantry donation today and it looked like there were a couple in Holton. I had tried calling the phone numbers before I left the motel, but no one answered, so I figured I would try again later. The next time I called, I got a lady at a church, who gave me yet another phone number. And then I finally reached Jennifer at the food pantry. The New Hope Center wasn’t even usually open on Wednesdays, but they happened to be there to take delivery of several dozen Thanksgiving turkeys for the people who wouldn’t have them otherwise. Jennifer told me they could use some pasta to go with all the spaghetti sauce someone else gave them, and some cereal and oatmeal too. I found a grocery store and did my shopping, then took it over to the food pantry. They were very gracious and appreciative to get the food. They wondered how I had found them, and as I explained what I was doing, they were very supportive of my journey. It was a special stop – one of those that seemed like it was meant to be, since they weren’t even supposed to be open today. Jennifer even sent a very kind email later to say thank you. It’s wonderfully heartwarming for me to meet some of the people I do 🙂 Tula and I then walked around town – there was a pretty town square and most of the streets had names of different states, so it was a good town for me to be walking through!
We only walked 5 miles today, but it was time to head to the southeast corner of South Dakota for a little Thanksgiving family time.
Kansas – Tuesday, November 20
I backtracked a little last night, ending up in Dodge City again. That’s because I really wanted this week’s military donation to go to The Kansas Soldiers Home, a veteran’s home that’s a little bit different from many of the others. This one used to be Fort Dodge, built in the mid-1800s, about 5 miles outside of Dodge City. It was only used as a fort for 17 years before being turned over to the state of Kansas to be used as a veteran’s home. And that’s been its purpose ever since. The first soldiers to stay there were Civil War vets. I read somewhere that at one point the croquet games had to be eliminated – turns out the “oldsters” were using the croquet mallets as weapons to settle their quarrels! Feisty til the end! I had called the Kansas Soldiers Home to see if there was anything in particular that I should shop for, and they put me in touch with the activities director. She said the most helpful thing right now would be a contribution to their Benefit Fund, which frequently needs to be replenished. The Benefit Fund is used for special events like going to the movies, holiday activities, a meal for a special occasion, etc. I was happy to make a contribution! Visitors could walk around Fort Dodge, so I got Tula out of the car, and we walked a mile a half up and down the streets, looking at all the old buildings. There were a couple dozen cottages, barracks, a big house where the commander would have lived, a chapel, the original hospital, and the Sutler’s Store (vocabulary word for the day – a sutler is a civilian who runs a store on a military post). It didn’t occur to me to see if the store was actually open or to see what it sold! I tried to take Tula out on the old parade grounds for a walk around, but once again she got a little burr stuck on one of her pads. I’ve noticed in Missouri, Oklahoma, and now Kansas, there are occasionally places off the paths that have tiny, sharp little burrs and once in a while Tula steps on one. I can tell instantly when she does, and we stop right away and she lifts up the affected paw and I get it off – they’re really sharp and I’m trying to keep her away from places where she might step on one. I thought the old parade ground was just grass!
From Fort Dodge we drove east to Greensburg, a town that was totally leveled by a tornado in 2007. They decided to rebuild (newer, better, greener) and did so in the most environmentally efficient way. As a result, the downtown is all new, and so is an adjoining neighborhood of town homes, and I think the schools are new too. The path of destruction was apparently very, very wide. I could sort of see the lines of destruction – the new areas were next to the areas with homes older than 5 years, and there was still the occasional boarded up building, and even a set of stairs that led nowhere. But people were out and about, and the town had come back to life. Tula and I walked a couple more miles.
When I was back in Hays, they did a test of their tornado sirens and I about jumped out of my skin. It was incredibly loud (as it should be) – almost painfully so – but it needs to reach people inside their homes and offices. I couldn’t even tell exactly where it was coming from, but the speaker must have rotated. It must be a comfort to know there’s such good alarm systems in these towns.
From Greensburg I headed north, and I never know what I’m going to see. One tiny little crossroads town had a long row of signs and metal art stretched out along fenceposts; then I passed cotton fields; there were ’50s/60s signs; and more grain elevators than I’ve ever seen in one place. I ended up in a Swedish town named Lindsborg. I had read they had a 3.5 mile “Valkommen” bike trail, and I thought that would be fun to walk on. I drove through town first, and it was another charming town with wide streets, easy pull-in parking, and I even saw the Andersen Butik, a store that had also mailed out catalogs in the past, and I’ve actually ordered Scandinavian things from them years ago. It was fun to look around the shop. But then I needed to get walking! I walked from one end of the bike trail to the other, and I guess the 3.5 miles was the round trip version. I needed more miles so I repeated part of the bike trail, then set off all around town. Even though it was getting dark, there were lamp posts and Christmas lights all over the place – making the town look festive. It was really pretty to walk down Main Street and out into the neighborhoods with all the lights. I finished my walking and also did 2 miles extra – it was such a pleasant evening out, I felt like I could just keep on
walking, but it was time to head to Topeka.
Kansas – Monday, November 19
It is apparently the middle of pheasant hunting season, and the motels have posted signs all over that people will be fined $500 for bringing “birds” into their rooms and cleaning them! I imagine they have good reason for posting such signs! I can’t imagine some of the things the housekeepers must have found!
Kansas seems to use “reverse speed bumps” at many of their major intersections. Instead if a typical raised speed bump, they have a big dip in the road by the stop signs. If an out-of-state tourist wasn’t paying close attention, they could quickly be surprised by scraping a bumper! Luckily I had my eyes open – these dips really force drivers to slow down, and that’s a good thing!
My donation today was to the food pantry at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hays, where I stayed last night. When I called them this morning, they said they could really use cold and hot cereals, pancake mix and jello. So that’s what I went shopping for! It was a big church with a separate community building across the street. They had large wooden cabinets inside the front door so people could drop off food donations any time. It was another beautiful day out – I’ve been very lucky with weather! Tula and I walked 2 1/2 miles in a different part of town than we had walked last night.
Then I drove for a while to Great Bend – named for the big bend of the Arkansas River. I had read there was a rail trail nearby, but had a little trouble finding the access points, so I went to the visitor’s center and they pointed me in the right direction. We set off for a 6 mile walk through the Kansas countryside – although the first part of the trail was a little industrial as we were leaving town. Kansas is still pretty flat at that point, and the rail trail was raised, so I had a good birdseye view of things, but despite that, it wasn’t the most scenic trail I’ve been on! I thought it was going to follow the river, but I never did see it. But, I’ll take my walking where I can get it, and Tula could be off-leash because we only saw 2 other people the whole time, and I had fun catching up with an old friend from elementary school days. That long walk put me at 8.5 miles for the day, but I wanted to get in another mile and a half to keep adding a few extra for when I’m “off” on Thursday. So I found the downtown area of Great Bend, and it was a fun way to finish up the walking. It was another town with a huge courthouse square in the center of town and shops lining all 4 sides of the center green. The courthouse was quite elaborate as so many of them are, and there were 2 big parks on each side of it. One side had a bandshell and a space ready for ice skating when it’s colder and a big Christmas tree and all the Christmas lights were on, and even though it’s early for that, it was pretty. After 10 miles of walking altogether, it was nice to get in the car for another hour or so to get close to the place for tomorrow’s donation….
Kansas – Sunday, November 18
Tula and I headed out for a walk in Scott City this morning. We walked through the Main Street area and into some long neighborhood streets. It was pretty quiet out – only a little church traffic, and we covered 3 1/2 miles. As I was checking the distance in the van, I noticed a big group of kids setting up tables and stuff in a parking lot right on Main Street, and one of them was putting up a sign that said something about fundraising. I went and got gas, then came back to see what was going on. Turns out it was a “Brown Bag Fundraiser” for the Scott City Shock volleyball team. Someone was grilling hamburgers, and the kids packed them up along with chips, cookies and drinks in a brown bag so people can pull into the parking lot, make a donation and get a meal on the run. Since I hadn’t even eaten breakfast, it sounded good to me! And it was a fun donation-of-the-day – I hadn’t done a school/extra-curricular activity donation for a long time! And, after all the fundraisers I’ve been part of over all the years, this was a new one. It was the first time this group was doing a Brown Bag fundraiser, but they told me churches had been successful with it in the past. I was probably one of their first customers since it wasn’t even noon yet, and they were just finishing up getting the hamburgers ready to go. It was a sunny day, so hopefully it was a successful afternoon for them. And maybe they fed a lot of hungry hunters – seems that pheasant season is in full swing.
From there I headed north. Up until last night, I had planned to visit Lake Scott State Park, and I read up on it a bit last night. The article was describing all the different kinds if birds one could see (as one of the few water locations in the surrounding prairie, there were lots of trees too – lots of good bird habitat). The article then went on to say that reptile lovers should make note of this place for its variety and abundance of reptiles. Welllll….that about did me in! I knew I’d be worried about every step I was taking on the trails – not to mention being worried abut Tula too. So I drove past the turnoff for the park. But since I still couldn’t see the bluffs and canyons they were talking about, curiosity got the better of me, and I figured I could just drive around the park if nothing else. So I made a u-turn (I seem to do quite a lot of those!) and drove into the park. It really was quite amazing. With all the endless miles of flat prairie around, all of a sudden the ground just seems to open up into a big hole, and there’s a large lake (with lots of fishing sites) and bluffs surrounding it. From just a few miles away on the surface, it’s hard to tell that it’s there – the tops of the trees kind if blend into the prairie grasses – must have been quite a surprise to settlers heading west! There was a road around the lake, although part of it was off park land and was in pretty rough shape. I decided I would be more or less safe from all the “reptiles” if I walked on the paved road on the state park property. It was wide enough that I could keep Tula from going too far off into the grass – I worry about her getting bit by a snake. I am happy to say that we walked 3 1/2 miles without seeing any reptiles, and the birds were indeed plentiful, so parts of the walk were very musical. One other interesting thing at the park was the remnants of the northernmost pueblo that’s ever been excavated. The Pueblo Indians were fleeing the Spanish rule in New Mexico, and for a while shared land with their Apache allies.
Then, I headed a little farther north and turned onto a dirt road and made a very dusty 10 mile drive through the middle of nowhere to see the chalk monuments that were on my map. This part of the prairie is apparently still oil country because there were oil wells all over the place. I stopped to look at one more closely right by the road, and there was a faint (not unpleasant) tang of oil in the air, and a slow soft chugging of a generator or whatever it is that keeps these things moving. I still don’t know how they work, but lots of them also had 3-4 small oil tanks nearby. It took a while to drive 9-10 miles on the dirt road, and all of a sudden these amazing “chalk pyramids” appeared. They were so out of place in the surrounding prairie that I can’t imagine what was different about this section of land that beautiful chalk towers could be formed. Tula and I got out and admired them and walked all around. Tula thought she was some kind of mountain goat and had fun trying to climb up some of them. I ran my hand over one of them, and it really was kind of soft and chalky, and a piece broke off. The wind and rain must constantly change their shapes. I can’t imagine why this isn’t a state park or something – it’s really spectacular. Of course, it’s also very remote, and there are no facilities of any kind – not even a sign explaining their formation or anything. No one else was there. I wondered how many square miles of prairie I could see all around me – and kind of felt like I was the only person on the planet!
I made my way back to the road heading north, and was ultimately heading to Hays. I stopped in the little town of Oakley – the town was not named after Annie Oakley, although she did perform there. There’s an Annie Oakley motel and an Annie Oakley park and we did a little walking there. Then we got to Hays and did another couple miles of walking in town before it got dark. Altogether I walked 10 1/2 miles today. I’m trying to get extras in so I can take Thanksgiving “off” to spend with my dad and see an aunt and some cousins in southeast South Dakota.
Kansas – Saturday, November 17
I already knew what my donation was going to be today. In cities all across the country today, there were 5K walks to support St Jude’s Children’s Hospitals. The 2 cities in Kansas that were hosting these fundraising walks were Wichita and Kansas City. And I wasn’t near either of them since I was in the southwest part of Kansas. But I dedicated my 4 mile walk around Dodge City to them, and sent in a donation check. I don’t think it matters to them that I walked on my own and not in one of the organized walks!
Dodge City had the nickname of “Wickedest Little City in America” back in its heyday in the late 1800s. It was a stop on the Santa Fe Trail, a major buffalo hunting area, and had more saloons than anything else. Guns were the only form of law and he who had the fastest trigger finger usually won. There’s no longer much evidence of Dodge City’s wild west days, although it’s still a big cattle shipping town. There’s a Boot Hill Museum that has some artifacts and a video, and a fake “Main Street” from the era, and a portion of Boot Hill cemetery. The rest of town seems to be largely Hispanic, like many of the towns in western Oklahoma and Kansas. I walked through the downtown area and out into the neighborhoods. What actually struck me the most was litter – people in states with bottle deposits may complain about them, but it really makes a huge difference in keeping all that kind of litter off the streets.
On my way out of town, I stopped at a historic area where theoretically wagon ruts from the Santa Fe Trail days are visible, but I couldn’t really see them. But the walkway led out onto the prairie a ways, and the winds were crazy – the signs say the winds on the prairies never seem to stop, and can drive a man insane! Looking at the vast immenseness of short-grass prairie makes one feel pretty small and insignificant.
This morning I had also read about another event happening in a nearby town – it was called a Paws Festival, and was a fundraiser for the organizations that go to disaster locations and set up a temporary animal shelter to take care of pets who have become separated from their owners as a result of flooding, or tornadoes or hurricanes. I wanted to support them (and pets were welcome at the event!) so I went to the Garden City Fairgrounds and looked in the 4-H building where the event was supposed to be. But no one was there, and the place was set up for some kind of dinner or reception. I went and checked the computer again, and I was in the right place at the right time…but as I read the description beneath the address I was at, it was for a similar even 2 counties over. And I couldn’t get there before the event was over. I was a little disappointed because even though I was headed this way anyway, I had wanted to go to the Paws Festival (and will support them later in the week anyway).
But, as long as I was in Garden City, it was a good place to get out and do some walking. I had discovered a nice walking trail when I was looking for the fairgrounds, and there was also a pretty downtown area. As I was checking things out, and figuring out where to park the van, I drove past a group of kids trying to flag people into a parking lot. It took a moment to register that these kids were wearing Salvation Army aprons and were standing around a huge red kettle. I decided to turn around and see what was going on. I’m accustomed to seeing a solitary bell ringer by the door of a grocery store raising funds for Salvation Army – I wasn’t used to seeing an enthusiastic bunch of kids trying to help with the fundraising! So I pulled into the parking lot, and met the Community Center Director, who was overseeing the fundraising efforts. He told me this was a special event – the Salvation Army pantries were in such desperate need for food and money for some of their programs, that he got permission to hold 2 early fundraisers. His goal for the day was to raise $1000, and they only had about $100 to go. He had some of the kids in the programs helping – and they’re the ones I noticed as I was driving by. They were cute in their aprons and the Salvation Kettle was the biggest one I’ve ever seen – the size of a big cauldron! The community director figures it’s never too early to teach kids the value of helping others – and when you’re focused in something like that you don’t worry about your own problems as much. The kids were doing a good job getting people to pull in and make a donation. I was really happy to be able to help, and I would never have seen them if it wasn’t for the mix-up of the location for the Paws Festival. So, once again, there seemed to be a reason to be in town, and it wasn’t the reason I thought! We took some pictures and as I drove out of the parking lot, I’m pretty sure they only had about $20 more to raise to meet their goal. I have no doubt that they did!
Tula and I then set off for our walk, and I never expected to see a lion! (But I am in the Land of Oz!) We walked down the whole Main Street area and got on the bike trail south of town which led us to the driveway of a zoo, and a big recreational complex/park. We continued on the bike trail along the fence line, which I thought was part of the rec complex. But apparently the path led to the backside of the zoo, and when I looked over later, I saw a couple of lions! They were in their enclosure, which was fenced of course, plus there was the fence around the zoo property. It was late afternoon and the lions were moving around – just not a sight I expected to see! The whole recreation/park area was big with playgrounds and ball fields, and we walked all over. Back in town we walked around another park and this one had a band shell in the park that’s been used for over 100 years. Kind of amazing to think of all the people and all the performances it has seen! Altogether we walked over 5 miles – finished off my walking for the day, and have some extra for a later day.
Then it was time to head north to Scott City where I planned to stay the night. It was only about a 40 minute drive and it was just beautiful – the sun had set but there were still pink colors in the sky. The Kansas prairie was as flat as could be, and the remaining colors in the sky backlit the few things that stood out on the prairie – the occasional oil well, grain elevators, and barns – I could see every detail in silhouette. There was a row of train cars along the horizon that looked like a big centipede. And the best sight was a long straight row of telephone poles that looked as though they were marching in unison into the sunset. A pretty way to end the day.
Kansas – Friday, November 16
Kansas is State #11! I entered Kansas in the southwest – near the town of Liberal. And one of the first things I saw were signs telling visitors they were in the Land of Oz – we could see Dorothy’s house and the yellow brick road and an Oz Museum etc etc. And there were statues of Dorothy. The visitor’s center was right across from all of that, so I took a short look around at what I could see without paying to go in the complex, and found it a bit tacky, as expected (now the flying monkeys are probably going to come get me!). But southwest Kansas is certainly the setting for the Wizard of Oz – dry prairie and wind. Tula and I walked a mile and a half in Liberal, but there was a lot of traffic, and not a lot of sidewalks outside of town, so I moved on a bit. Southwest Kansas is a little like the Oklahoma panhandle – and I was frustrated at not being able to do more Kansas walking while I had daylight. But I wasn’t going to just walk along the road! I came to the town of Meade and it was big enough to get out and walk, but I discovered that off of the 2-lane highway through town, Meade seemed to be totally abandoned, even though it was only a little after 5:00 on Friday night. There was quite a bit of traffic on the highway, but other than that, shops were closed, there literally were no cars on any of the town’s other streets, and not a soul around. It was kind of eerie, and I wondered where all the people were. I decided I didn’t like walking in an apparently abandoned town, and there were nice sidewalks along the highway through town, so I set off down the road – only to pass places with names like The Moon Mist Motel – things that reminded me of traveling in the 60s! For a few minutes, it seemed as though the whole town had emptied out, leaving me in a ’60s vacuum! It was kind of strange. As I turned around again, and started passing by some of the closed shops, I began to notice slogans like “Stomp ‘Em!!” painted on shop windows, and I concluded (whether correctly or not!) that the whole town must be rabid high school football fans and they had all left for a Friday night away game. That’s the only reason I can think of why there was no one around on a Friday night. And maybe it was a playoff game to boot. Who knows!! But, I got a little more walking in, then headed to the wild west town of Dodge City for the night.
Oklahoma – Friday, November 16
I only had about 5 1/2 miles to walk to finish off my 56 miles in Oklahoma. So we started right in the town of Weatherford. One end of town is dominated by a huuuuge row of grain elevators – this seems to be one of the hubs for cattle and grain shipping, and train whistles were nearly constant. I’ve always liked grain elevators(!), and certainly like the trains, and they’re all connected with some of the very basic beginnings of the food we eat. Somewhere along the way, it’d be nice to learn a little more about this end of the production…
We only walked about a mile in town, and after asking directions from 3 different people, I found the long walking trail that I had read was here. It was a little ways out of town, but it was a long, wonderful walking path – dedicated to a longtime former mayor – and Tula and I walked 4 1/2 miles on it. So Oklahoma is a wrap – 7 donations given (Caring Kitchen, VFW Post 577, A New Leash on Life, Chisholm Heights Baptist Church food pantry, Mission Shawnee, Good Shepherd Church food pantry and Weatherford Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry); and 56 miles walked (in towns of Miami, Tahlequah, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Mustang, Shawnee, El Reno, Weatherford, Woodward, and state parks and river trails and canal trails).
All that was left was a drive through part of the panhandle, and that part of Oklahoma was the stuff of my imagination. Finally – windmills!! And lots of them. Red dirt, barbed wire fences, windmills, tumbleweeds, sagebrush, wind and wide open space. It’s called No Man’s Land because there’s not a lot there – legend has it that it’s a strip of land that no one wanted, so it got tacked on to Oklahoma. It’s pretty and a little desolate and I’m glad I drove through it!
expedition56 