Feeling Soggy But Grateful

I guess it's no secret the weather here in Oklahoma has been a bit windy the past few days.  And after watching the news reports yesterday and today I'm too embarassed to admit any suffering on my part.  I have to admit I spent about 6 hours sitting dressed in my clothes (including my raincoat) and watching the western sky and hoping if the warning horns did start blowing I could get to the shelter fast enough.  Actually it wasn't really that dramatic but I did have everything ready to go out the door quickly if I had to.  Fortunately it didn't get too bad.  The power only went out a couple of times and not for very long each time.  We have cable tv here so I was able to watch CNN and The Weather Channel through the night.  Also kept an eye on the weather updates on the Tulsa station who was tracking the storm as it moved northeast from Oklahoma City. 

The best I can tell the nearest tornado was 30 miles away in Tahlequah.  For about an hour the wind was pretty fierce here in the park.  The owner of the fifth wheel next to me is going to want to bring a tree saw with him on his next visit.  I had come home during lunch yesterday and put my awning away just in case.  Even after all the tornadoes moved on the thunderstorms stayed here all night and up until the middle of the afternoon today. I can truly vouch for the watertightness of Seeker.  She kept me warm and dry through it all. 

 

Tomorrow the sun is due to come out and start drying up the puddles.  I am so lucky.  I know that.  But I think Oklahoma is a passing thing.  I'm just about ready to move on out of here now before I get caught up in the next big blow and end up landing on top of some witch's house in Oz.

Running Away With The Circus

So I asked myself, what would my family and friends say if I told them I had run away and joined the circus?  And self answered, "It probably wouldn't surprise them at all."  So I made the call to a certain circus that was advertising a need that I could fill.  Nope, not a juggler or a tight rope walker (I'm probably not that good any way) or a lion tamer (not that brave either).  Just a plain old school teacher job. 

Most people don't really think about it, but a circus is really a big family.  A big traveling family.  And in that family you find children - children that need an education.  So the circus was advertising the need for a teacher with an rv and the willingness to travel along with the circus and teach about 20 students each day.  Sounds like the job was made for me.  So I made the call.  And we talked for quite a while.  According to the lady I spoke with, I'm perfect for the job.  Can I start right away?.......

That was the hardest "no" I've ever had to utter. 

Let me make that a "no for right now" since I don't want to close that door forever.  I mean the pay and the work situation really sound good.  But I have made an obligation here in Oklahoma and I can't see myself just walking off this job with no notice.  And a recent stumble has left me in a knee brace that has slowed me down for a while.  Since the circus moves daily I just couldn't see a way for me to keep up.  So I said "no, for now".  Who knows.  The opportunity could around again and next time I might just say "YES!!"  Until then I'll keep practicing my juggling act.

Take Me Back To Tulsa!

My name is on the log at Oklahoma's oldest cache.

If I'm ever feeling a little blue I just find a station playing western swing music and my mood is quickly lifted.  And here in the land of cowboys I have actually found a station that plays cool old Bob Wills classics.  So I was listening to western swing just the other day as I drove under the big sign marking the halfway point on Route 66 in downtown Tulsa.  This was my first visit to Tulsa but it won't be my last. 

Just outside of town is the Keystone Dam and a trail that leads to the oldest geocache
in the state of Oklahoma (placed there in early 2001).  After the hike I returned to downtown for a real treat.  There is a paved trail down both banks of the Arkansas River


Looking across the river from the west side.

as it winds through downtown with a total of nearly 20 miles for walking, running, or as in my case, riding your bike.  And even on a warm weekday afternoon the trail was busy.  I will have to plan my next trip for early morning on a Monday perhaps.

Can you see the bow hunter on the pedestrian bridge?  The water
below was shallow and made it easy to see the fish.

Still, I was able to ride about 4 miles finding geocaches and munzees along the way.  But I had to cut the day short to get back to Seeker (about 65 miles back) with a stop about halfway in Muskogee at the Walmart for supplies.  Guess this was more of a recon mission, but one day soon I will TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA.

Oklahoma is OK!

Came across the Oklahoma border yesterday and that damn song keeps sticking in my brain.  You know the one, about the winds.  The winds were blowing really good.  I'm set up now in a small shady spot near the Illinois River.  My friends from Amazon days have been here 2 months but will be leaving soon to go to work at Amazon in Kansas.  Tomorrow I will start work in the office and helping out in activities.  This will be the first time I've tried working with kids and camping.  Don't know for sure that I will make it.  We will see.  But for now I am looking forward to seeing some of Oklahoma.  Who knows, I might meet a for real cowboy!

Leaving my Bluegrass Home Makes Me Feel Blue

I don't like it that you're leaving!!
 

OK, for all you who miss my travel blogs, you'll be happy to hear I'm back on the road.  And I admit that I am excited to be traveling again.  But it was really hard to say goodbye to my Kentucky family.  I always feel so loved and welcome when I am there.  Madeline and Jim keep a comfortable house and it's easy to fall into the rhythm of life there.  Of course this time of year is beautiful too.  The peonies are full of fat buds and the fields are turning green.  It's just gorgeous.  Alas, I am expected at a new job about 600 miles west of here, so with a heavy heart we hugged and kissed and said goodbye again.  I am heading to cowboy country, so perhaps Jim will bring Madeline to visit me soon.  I'll keep my fingers crossed.  Until then I hope Madeline forgives me for leaving. 

On a high note though, I will have the chance to visit with my cousin Charlie Ray and his lovely wife Brenda as I pass through Arkansas.  It's been a long time since we got together but I do have a picture.  Do you think I'll have any trouble recognizing them?

Digging Thru The Past

I'm afraid the truth of my activities over the past 6 weeks is rather boring: did my taxes, had some dental work done, renewed the tags on Seeker, and did some geocaching/munzee'ing.  See, I told you, really boring everyday stuff.  Well, the geocaching wasn't all that boring since I was out trying to find a few pretty difficult caches - one of which required scaling large boulders and repelling back down to the ground. 

Yes, the helmet had a Mohawk and a mounted camera/light.  That would be because I was hiking/climbing/geocaching with my old friend Grant Sullivan who is a bigger technogeek than me.  He is also an experienced climber with tons of gear for that too (and knowing if I fell I was out with an EMT as an added assurance).  For all you geocachers in my reading audience, I can now say I am fully FIZZY!  The rest of you just go on thinking I'm fully CRAZY.  Both viewpoints are correct.



I would post a picture from the dental experiences but it would not be pretty.  Let's just agree that my smile says it all.  And the updated tags on Seeker mean I can legally get back out on the road and head out which is what I will be doing later today.  Where to you ask?  Well, I get on 65 and head south then turn west on 40 and .........



Mother and Daddy in the 1940s
 

So a lot of my time has been spent in libraries, cemeteries, and state/county archives.  Yes, the old family history search.  Seems that whenever I am with my cousin Madeline Ruth we dig into the past.  She makes it fun for me and after a little of this stuff it gets addictive.  On my mother's side of the family (where Madeline and I are related) most of the history is in Sumner or Davidson County in Tennessee or Allen and Simpson County in Kentucky.  On my father's side it's all in Wilson County, Tennessee or in Nashville (Davidson County).  One fun discovery was my parents' marriage license.  Now Daddy was born in 1923 and Mother in 1926 but in August of 1942 they both signed a legal document swearing they were 21!  Oh if only I had know that when I was growing up.  How many times did my mother tell me it was wrong to lie???



Sheriff Wade pouring out moonshine

My mother's parents, Roy and Ruth Wade, started out in Nashville but his work with Genesco moved them around Tennessee, Kentucky, and even Illinois.  Finally, in 1962 he left the factory and went into local politics becoming the Sumner County sheriff for 6 years.  He was a big man and my "little granny" as we called her was not quite 5 foot tall.  Sheriff Wade was tough on folks cutting corners to avoid paying taxes, especially moonshiners.  I found lots of newspaper stories about him busting up stills and arresting folks for selling cigarettes illegally. 


We were not a really close knit family, but there were times when we all pulled together.  Usually there wasn't a camera around to record those moments (here is where you stop and explain to your children/grandchildren that there was a time when cameras and phones were 2 separate objects: one required dialing a number and the other required inserting a roll of film - this will no doubt confuse them).  I did find a fun picture of a large group of us working on a project together

Christmas 1976: Mike and Ronnie are putting together a rocking chair for James Ray, Ronnie's firstborn.  That's me and Mary (Ronnie's wife) supervising while Linda (Mike's wife) and Mother sit at the table providing moral support.  James Ray is in the upper right corner being held by either Daddy or my brother Clint.  James Ray really loved that rocking chair.

 

Don't Pay the Ransom - I've escaped!!!

Have had some emails wondering about where I am, what I'm up to and where I'm going next.  Well, for the last few weeks I've been held captive by many friends and family in the TN/KY area.  If I told exactly who and exactly where I might get in trouble so I'll just say that I've been busy.  Will post more about my hometown project soon, but for now I'll leave you with a couple of pix from some interesting travels of the past.