Into and out of the Nation
We've traveled from NOLA to Shreveport and then into the Nation's land in Oklahoma over the past couple days. We've made it to Amarillo on our way to Santa Fe and then Rodeo, NM.
We traveled north on the Indian Nations Turnpike on land the state took back, again, from the tribes. It was simply more insult to the injury of the original Trail of Tears where the several tribes were forced from their homes in the southeastern states to this part of Oklahoma. The land is fairly rich but not nearly as well watered as their original lands.
We were headed to the weekend home of Lisa & Paul S. on Grand Lake, a reservoir created in the 40's. It's about an hour east of Tulsa and geographically is Oklahoma's Ozarks. It would have been a short trip to St. Joseph, MO and the start of the Oregon Trail. Last spring we took Bozo to the western terminus of the Trail in Oregon City. The lake is over 60 miles long and has hundreds of bays and coves created by the hollows and ravines.
These shots are taken at the lake and include our friends w/ the Boz. We had a great evening. Got into their boat and headed to the Harbor Views Marina for the Friday night all-you-can-eat shrimp boil. Hell'a deal. We stuffed ourselves on shrimp, mudbugs, corn, and potatoes before headed back to their "cabin" and a long night of catching up on our lives. We spent a bit longer than usual before hitting the road as we continued catching up before the obligatory shots and goodbyes.
Panorama of the Johnson Ranch east of Amarillo
On our way out of OK we stopped in Claremore at the Boom-a-rang Cafe, a local chain, for breakfast. Worth the stop if you're in the area. 4 clowns. We tried Pryor, a fairly large town where one of the wire bundle vendors I used to work with had a plant. There wasn't a breakfast place in the town. The oil slump has hit it hard. It wasn't in good shape before but now there's even less money to keep businesses going.
We pulled into Amarillo about 6:30 and after getting settled in and downloading some photos from email we headed out to eat. In keeping with our, somewhat consistent pattern, we hit a regional cuisine shop, Crazy Larry's Barbecue. Excellent combo plates. Between us we tried the chopped beef, turkey, pulled pork, sausage and ribs. All done really fine. Moist, flavorful, and affordable. The Texas sauce was rich like KC style but with more spice and a bit more heat. The beans were spicy good, potato salad was sweeter than expected but that's OK. Bozo would give them 4 clowns, maybe more if they had a liquor license for beer and wine.
Time to shower up. Gotta go so we can get up and off to Santa Fe early enough to make the O'Keefe museum.
Ciao