Okay people........ today was an explosion of sites, people and memorable moments. The truth is that a short story or more likely, a novelette, about just this one amazing day. We cannot begin to relate all that became a part of our travelogue. It would take hours to simply hit the high points. It was an explosion of photo opportunities and tales to tell. For every photo there are 10 more just as amazing. So, we are sending but tiny snippets and a few pics from Oddasee April 27, 2010. You are just going to have to fill in between the lines and images.
Here are few things to ponder as you view the photos below:
1. The Tom Mix Museum in Dewey, OK. Real and real kitschy. Very entertaining and informative. Across the street was a historic hotel and museum. In both places there were elderly women that were very happy to see us and tell us all about the museums. They were both so sweet and genuinely glad to have someone with which to share their stories and information.
2. We then headed toward Nowata to see outsider artist Chris Barbee's "bowling ball yard art" ......... Phenomenal! Really, it's just impossible to send an adequate number of photos to show what we saw (currently 1055 balls = 7+ tons) AND...... he was a real treat to talk to; what an amazing human he is. There's no way to repeat the great conversation we had with this friendly but somewhat shy and proud man.
3. Then it was off to another outsider art site in Foyil. This one resides on a small hill outside of town. The artist, Ed Galloway, created some very unique totem poles. One is truly colossal that had to be pushing 75 feet. Unfreakin' believable. Again the pics below are just a tiny taste.
4. Last but not least, just outside of Tulsa lies the town/area called Catoosa. We drove down old Route 66 in search of a specific roadside attraction. Here, try this for stranger than fiction: "We found the Blue Whale, a true blast from the past. If that was not surreal enough how about the caravan that pulled in just as we were about to leave. Caravan? Yep a string of vans and Harley riders that are part of something called Czech 66; a group of Czechoslovakian folks touring the USA all along the historic highway." Really, who could make this stuff up; it's crazy. The Blue Whale is a left-over from a roadside tourist trap that included a "swimming hole", petting zoo, store in the shape of Noah's ark and sundry other activities. An old guy, Blaine Davis, came out and started chatting it up with Susan (think he had a first sight crush) and over the next hour (at least) he told the whole (and I mean the WHOLE story) of how his family had created this roadside wonder. Just as we were about leave (again - we just had to sit back and watch the Czechs) he took us over to a shed where he dug out some old postcards to give us. They included shots of the park in it's heyday with one showing his mother and her pet gators and yet another with his dad and the rattlesnake that was part of the old show. We kid you not, this stuff is so much better than fiction.
So, there you have a very brief synopsis of yet another remarkable day. This whole experience has already been far beyond any expectations - WOW OMG YEEHAW bring on tomorrow.
Love from those living the dream,
Rodney and Susan
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