Today we did not cover many miles but the road presented a wide range. We left Kingman KS in the morning. One of the first things we noticed was how truly different Kansas and Oklahoma are; it was not subtle. Those miles of green fields were immediately replaced by brown non-verdant ones. Even the small towns seemed less quaint.
Our first stop was at the "Star Vue" drive-in outside of Anthony, KS. This derelict served to elicit an unavoidable nostalgic conversation about the "good old days." We are trying to avoid the geezer memory fest that shows our longing for what can no longer be. However, the Star-Vue brought back stories and memories of the special treat that going to the drive-in was in our youth. The place itself was very surreal. The still standing speaker poles and the seemingly exploded screen looming in pieces above the playground equipment (most still functional) made for a strange blend of past and present.
The rest of our day was dominated by two opposite worlds. This has added two new descriptive terms to our vocabulary:
1. "Wakita" - sad, pathetic, used/abused, whipped, beat, wrung-out, wasted and of questionable value. Usage example: This place is so "wakita" or "wakita-ed".
2. "Marland" - beautiful but almost too much, glorious but a bit decadent, overwhelming and hard to truly fathom. Usage example: This house/structure/room is completely marland.
Our first intentional destination was "Wakita" OK. It was the sight of much of the filming of the movie "Twister" in 1995. On the internet there is mention of "The Twister Museum" and a walking tour. They even have a relatively inviting website. Now you must understand that while both S & R have seen and enjoyed the movie, R confesses to it being a "guilty pleasure" as it is hardly "Citizen Cane". Add to that R's total obsession to all things tornado and his hopes were up. Well....... as you might have guessed from the new adjective mentioned above, it was a bit disappointing. For the first time on our journey, the target spot was closed and in this case, that was likely a blessing. To have been compelled to pay money to view the sad display would have been criminal; akin to paying to have someone smack you up side the head. We peeked in and saw what little there was to see. There was "Dorothy 1" (remember we saw #2 in the Salt mine) and many battered photos but that's about it. The pile of "tornado remnants" looked like the unsold items from any garage-- salepathetic. Then the town itself was just dried up and used. Few houses were anything but wrecks. There was a gas station that looked like the cost of a gallon of gas may well be your soul. Oh poor poor pitiful Wakita......
Then as we were making out way toward Tulsa, we looked on the map and saw a red dot and accompanying red letters pointing out "The Marland Mansion" in Ponca City. Neither one of us had so much as heard of Ponca City but in what is now our Oddasee mantra "What the heck, Let's check it out." As we GPS-ed our way through town, we saw a nice little burg but nothing special that is until we saw the monumental "Pioneer Woman" bronze guiding us toward's our point of interest. A few curves in the road later, we saw what could only be described as a "Holy ---t!" moment. The Marland Masion literally loomed above us. It is impossible to describe the scale and imposing beauty of this place and the surrounding grounds. It puts the mission in Santa Barbara (visited that while helping Susan move) to shame. We entered still not grasping that this was at one time a private residence. Adding to the scale was the fact that upon our arrival, we were the only visitors there. Oh my oh my.... the self-guided tour was amazing. In addition to the architecture and home accoutrements of the extraordinarily wealthy was the art to be found everywhere. The ceilings where astounding - from domed murals to embellished scenes of the west; incredible. The place was so overwhelming, that at the end we sat on some steps in the ballroom and to just take a breath and try to soak it all in. After a few moments of shared head-shaking awe, a gentleman (accurate choice of word) appeared and asked how we enjoyed the mansion. After some sincere words of amazement and appreciation, a conversation began. One thing lead to another and the kind but exuberant man became our guide. He told much beyond the brochure. You see there are many out buildings including, stables, guest houses, servants/groundskeeper homes, a retreat and an artist studio. You see there were so many art pieces being created for the mansion and various architectural projects, they had a artist residence and studio. In our conversation, he learned that R is an artist and asked if we liked to see the studio. Oh yeah......! He took us down there and upon first entering the space, I honestly almost wet myself. Oooooh friggin' ahhhh! Impossible to describe and not easy to photograph. We looked at the studio and the living quarters. What a dream to think of working and living in such a space and one seeping with such history.
Our guide turned out to be the Executive Director of the museum and we could not have had a better tour. He took us to more buildings and continued sharing info far beyond the regular tour. Many rooms housed mini-museums. In the artist studio was a large room filled with sculpture and photos from the long ago residents. In the stable was a room filled with memorabilia relating to the polo competitions and equestrian activities.
Incredibly, there actually may be an opportunity for me to obtain an artist residency at and actually get to live and work for a short time in the artist studio. He asked me numerous times to contact him in that regard and you know I will. Susan was just as impressed and lustful for such opportunities...... You never know what leads to what. WOW!
And that was yet another unbelievable day on the Oddasee road. We both feel very privileged to have had such things before our eyes.
Love and visions of possible tomorrows,
R & S
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