Custer County II

Finally! I made it back to Custer County today to finish up my tour there. I went back to Weatherford, a town of about 10,000 people to see just a couple more things. I've been dragging my feet about it a bit, because to be honest, I wasn't too excited about their main attraction there. There's nothing wrong with the attraction, it's just me.

The Stafford Air and Space Museum is an amazing, state-of-the-art, Smithsonian-quality museum dedicated to a real hero, an astronaut from Weatherford, and the history of flight, as well. And, a lot of stuff about the moon. The problem is that kind of science and history makes my eyes glaze over a bit. I don't get it. It goes right over my head.

Oh, sure, I've been to a my share of Star Trek conventions, but trust me, I was just hoping to get a glimpse of Leonard Nimoy. I still don't know what Warp drive means. And, please don't try to explain it to me. It will just be painful for both of us.

But I went. The museum is the biggest thing in Weatherford and you can't really say you've been there if you don't do it. But, let's face it I knew I was in over my head when one of the first exhibits I read said, "What ever happened to Solar Max? Many people want to know what happened..." And, then I don't know what it said next because my brain was off in another direction. Mainly it was asking, "Wait..who's Solar Max? Or, is it "what" is solar max? And, who are these 'many people' who want to know what happened? How many are we talking about? How come I've never met any of them?"

I would have read more but my feet were busy moving along to the next thing. I will most likely never know what happened to Solar Max. However I didn't have long to wonder about that because my eyes were drawn like a magnet to a sign that said, "Please do not touch the cyrogenic freezer." That's all the sign said, there was nothing else to read. It would have been nice if there had been something else, like, "By the way, THIS is the cyrogenic freezer" with an arrow pointing to whatever it was I wasn't supposed to touch. Was it the rumpled looking cannister? It looked safe enough. Or was it the hunk of metal twisted up to the side? Or was that what happened if you touched it? Why would you leave something dangerous outside of a glass case? Suddenly, I wanted to touch it. (I'm just that way.) But since I wasn't sure which one it was, and my survival instincts kicked in, I moved on.

The next sign that caught my eye because it was screaming at me in huge mega-font, which is actually the best way to get my attention, said, "WOULD YOU EXPLODE IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE?" The answer may surprise you. I know it did me. Here's the official answer, "Contrary to popular belief, human skin does not need to be protected from vacuum and is gas-tight by itself."

Okay, first of all, "Contrary to popular belief..."? Seriously? People exploding in a vacuum is a popular belief? With who? Maybe it's the same group of people who were wondering what happened to Solar Max. Somebody needs to warn me when that group of people are in the area.

And what exactly does "gas-tight" mean? We know gas can escape, so does that mean it just can't get in? Well, that's a lovely image.

I decided maybe I should just take some pictures. The first one is a representation of Tom Stafford in one of his space suits. I have to be serious now. The guy really had an amazing life and deserves respect. His bio is way too long to list everything he did, but I wanted to mention a few highlights. He was one of only 24 people to fly to the moon; he piloted Gemini VI during the first rendezvous in space; Stafford and his crew mates are in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest speed ever attained by man—during Apollo 10's return from the moon, the spacecraft reached 24,791 statute miles per hour. That's pretty impressive.

And, this is what he looked like in zero gravity and turned upside down. I didn't just reverse the picture, this is the actual exhibit.

All right, I'll be honest, I'm not sure what this next one is but I thought it made a cool picture. I want to say it's one of those thruster things that have fire coming out the back when the rocket ships are taking off into space, but it looks kind of small for that.

This next picture is a Curtiss Pusher. It came after the Wright Brothers plane but was still one of the earlier planes. It's important because it was the first to use steering ailerons. I know that because the brochure told me. Why would the brochure assume I knew what steering ailerons are? Why am I beginning to suspect I missed a few classes in high school?

I did get to touch a sidewinder missile, which was first used by the Chinese. That was actually pretty cool. There was a whole exhibit showing different kinds of bombs. Yep, it's okay to touch the bombs but not the cyrogenic freezer. Well, now that I think about it, I probably wasn't supposed to touch the bombs...

Anyway, if you're into rockets, space flight, the history of flight, and anything to do with going to the moon, you will love this museum. It had a lot of interactive exhibits, space suits on loan from the Smithsonian, moon rocks, a million-dollar replica of the Wright Brothers airplane, old footage and newsreels from WWII, replicas of all kinds of planes, a flight simulator, and so much more.

After visiting the museum, I decided to stop at Lucille's Diner for lunch. The original Lucille's Diner was a Route 66 landmark and called, "The mother of the mother road," which is quite a compliment. The original diner is closed now but the new one carries on the tradition and ambience of the old one.

Lucille's is divided into three areas, a lounge, a steakhouse and a 1950s-style grill. It also has a small gift shop area where you can buy Route 66 memorbilia. I decided to go for the 1950s-style grill. I'm kind of partial towards retro, cheesy and neon lights and this place had all of that.

The chairs and booths were a kind of turquoise-blue and white. Or you could sit at the "S"-shaped counter made of chrome. Under the counter were lights that changed from pink-to-red-to-blue-to-green-to-a mixture of lights. Above the entry way to the grill was more chrome and neon rope that went from white-to-orange-to-pink-to-purple. I'm not sure if it was really that cool or if I'm just easily entertained, but I couldn't stop staring at the lights.

I managed to quit staring at the lights long enough to check out the menu. It had all the traditional diner-comfort foods as well as a few healthy choices. I decided to try their classic patty melt with fries and ice tea and I was not disappointed. The fries were hand cut and hot. And the patty melt only had fried onions and cheese on it, but it didn't need anything else. The staff was friendly, too. I did notice the people all around me were either getting the wrong order or the wrong ticket, but they got mine right, so I can't complain.

All in all, it was a very good way to spend a day off!

The Fifth Dancer

I almost went to Custer County today to finish exploring it, but instead of going to the county named after Gen. George A. Custer, I went to the Red Earth Cultural Indian Festival in Oklahoma City, instead. Ironic, yes? It also turned out to be a great decision.

My son, Matt, once said life shouldn't be about collecting the best stuff, but about collecting the best stories. And, he wasn't talking about books from the library, but stories for your own life, things you could share or reminisce with others about or remember when you got older. I've always kind of liked that. Today, I collected a great story.

My Mom and I went to the Red Earth Cultural Indian Festival in Oklahoma City this afternoon. It was the last day of a three day event. More than 100 tribes were represented by artists, dancers, drummers, and singers from across the nation. Today seemed mostly to be about drum competition, award ceremonies, and the fancy dance competition.

The drum competition was interesting, but I have to admit, after about the third group, they all kind of sounded the same. I'm not sure how they were being judged. They also provided the beat and songs for the fancy dance competition later.

I didn't even know what a fancy dance was until today. However, I learned fancy dancers do not belong to any one tribe but it's a style of dancing. And, that particular style of dancing originated right here in Oklahoma with the Ponca tribe in the 1920s-1930s. It is typically a young man's dance or for someone in very good shape and with good reason. It's the fastest, brightest, and most energetic of all the men's dances and seeing splits, back flips and blinding footwork is not uncommon in this generally freestyle competition. There's also something called "ruffling" which is sort of like a shimmy where all their feathers are shaking.

Oh, yes, there are feathers. Lots and lots of feathers. I'm just going to have to throw a picture in here so you can see what it looks like. This was not taken at the Red Earth Festival in OKC, but is just to give you an idea of what they wore.

Anyway, out of all the 100 plus tribes across the nation participating at Red Earth, they had narrowed it down to the top ten fancy dancers. These were guys who had all won championships before as well. It was definitely not amateur hour. The dancers would compete in one last competition called a spotlight dance. Basically, the 10 judges sat in chairs forming a large sacred circle in the arena and the dancers would dance one at a time in the center of this sacred circle, with a spotlight on them.

They did not get to pick out their drum groups or song they would dance to. Instead, they selected the drum group out of a hat and the drum group chose the song. There were about six drum groups available to choose from. It was a totally free style event, and what makes it even a little more difficult is that the dancers are supposed to do a pose at each end of the beat. I found this out later, and, yes, it's relevant to the story.

Everything was going well until the fifth dancer. He started out great, but kept missing his beats and before the song was even over, he walked out of the circle and out of the arena, with his head hanging. All of this is pretty new to me and I really didn't know what was going on, but from what I gathered from people sitting around me, the drum group messed up and had ruined the dance for him. The audience was not happy. The emcee and some other guy in charge huddled together for a couple of minutes and then the emcee announced the fifth dancer would be given another song to dance to after everyone else had finished dancing. Then he said the judges wanted to remind the drum groups not to "over beat". I don't know what that meant exactly, but it seemed to satisfy the audience.

So the rest of the dancers danced and were amazing, but everyone was really kind of anxious to see what would happen when the fifth dancer came back out. I really wanted to see him do well. He came back out, walked through the circle, and went straight to where the emcee and one of the guys in charge were standing and had a rather lengthy conversation with them.

When the emcee finally let us in on what was happening, it turned out the fifth dancer had chosen to take himself out of the competition. He thought he had done the right thing by leaving the arena early, but he didn't think it would be fair to the other dancers for him to have a second song. He'd had his shot, just like they had had theirs. Instead, he asked to be allowed to do an exhibition dance out of love for the dance, out of respect for his fellow dancers and out of respect to those who had come out to see the dancers. The judges agreed to let him. (And, no, he didn't use the same drum group.)

And, then he danced, and he was a perfectly controlled blur of feathers and feet, and he hit every beat, like a perfect poem. And as he danced, the other dancers came forward and stood in the dim light around the outside of the sacred circle in support of him. And, as he danced the crowd streamed out to the arena floor to throw money at his feet in appreciation for his dancing and to honor his decision.

Oh, but wait...there's more. After the dance and after the yells, whistles and applause died down, the money was gathered by a few volunteers for the fifth dancer. But he refused to take it. Instead, he wanted the drum group who had originally messed up his first dance to have it, to show he had no hard feelings towards them. He asked that they not be discouraged or feel bad in any way, and to keep drumming and keep performing. There were about 8 members in the drum group and when they came forward to shake the fifth dancer's hand and hug him, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. He may not have won the competition, but he won the hearts of everybody there that day.

Today was a good day.

Part 2 - Party on the Highway

(This is part 2 of my attempt to get from Apple Valley, CA to Petaluma, CA. I only had a couple days to get there, see a few sights and get settled in before my next nursing assignment at the new hospital started.)

It's Friday morning. According to mapquest, if I take the ol' boring Hwy. 5 up the middle of California, it will take us 7 hours to get to our new destination. I'd rather not go that route. We went down Hwy 5 when we went to Sacramento to pick up my California nursing license and it really is quite boring. If we can get everything done by this afternoon, we'll head for the world-famous Hwy 1 and drive along the coast. If we have to leave tomorrow, it will have to be the quick, boring route on Hwy. 5.

My plan is to take two days to get to Petaluma, and take our time, see some sights along the way and still get to Petaluma in time to settle in before my first shift at the new hospital. I tell Matt all of this hinges on whether or not we get the car loaded and the apartment cleaned by 3 pm today. If we get a later start than that, everything will fall apart.

Matt is ready to go. He's been without a TV or internet access since yesterday and doesn't want to go through another night of that, thank you very much! He's a whirlwind of energy, bringing things out to the Jeep for me to pack, climbing on top of the Jeep to fasten our carry-all that fits on top of it and helping me pack it, vacuuming the empty rooms, cleaning the bathrooms..at last, I've found a way to motivate him! Our deadline is looming though, and there is still a LOT of our stuff laying by the Jeep waiting for me to find a place for it. And, Matt is still bringing stuff out to me and with each load he brings, he shakes his head, and says, "We're screwed." I decide to help out the stituation by taking pictures of it. I'm not sure how that helps, but it gives me something to do while I'm trying to figure out what to do.

But, somehow, it all gets in there. Okay, there's a chance our dog could be crushed by the computer if I have to stop suddenly, and Matt will have to ride with his knees under his chin, but it's all in. And, it's 3:15! I turn my keys into the office and we're out of there! Well, first I consult my map. I didn't print out mapquest directions for the first part of the trip because mapquest keeps trying to make me take Hwy 5, and I don't want to go that way. Besides, according to the good ol' folding out map, the first leg of the trip is pretty easy. Any idiot could follow it. (cue ominious music)

I can't say I'm sad about leaving our high desert home. It's pretty, in a stark, arid kind of way, but I'm ready for green grass and tall trees. And the smog is so bad today, you can't even see the mountain tops that ring around the valley. Yep, it's time to go.

4 pm. Two miles before my first exit, traffic has come to a standstill. Four lanes of traffic have come to a total stop. I take my foot off the brake and put it in park. We're not going anywhere. I turn the engine off.

4:15 People are getting out of their cars, standing in their truck beds, walking between the cars, trying to see what the holdup is. The news comes back to us there's been a horrible wreck. We're going to be here awhile. A guy in the van next to us opens the back of his vehicle and pulls a beer out of his cooler. Great...I make a mental note to be sure and get in front of that guy so I won't get stuck behind another wreck further down the road...Another person takes the opportunity to walk their dog. We decide to do the same with our Scottie. We see a helicopter fly over us and back out as they mediflight someone out of there. Several tow trucks rumble by on the shoulder of the road. But we're still not moving.

4:30 It's a full-out party on the highway. Someone is blaring some kind of hard metal-rap music with a real heavy bass sound and people are "bouncing" in the back of pickups. Now, this is the way to have a traffic jam! Matt and I are thinking about bartering some of our candy (hey, we can't throw out ALL the food) for something to drink, but all I see is the guy with the beer. Matt's not old enough to drink liquor and it wouldn't be right to drink in front of him, so I decide against it.

4:45 A young man runs through the line of cars telling us we're going to start moving, they got two lanes cleared. Yay! And so the inching forward begins as we try to cram four lanes of traffic into two, but at least we're going forward. Our time is all thrown off, but I'm not too worried. We still have three hours of driving we can do today and then we'll have all day tomorrow to get to Petaluma.

5:10 It's taken us over an hour to go two miles to our first exit, but we make it. Traffic is finally picking up. Now I just have to take the exit that will keep us north of LA, Hwy 101, and that will take us around LA to the coast. If I can just make it to the coast tonight, we'll be okay. I just won't be able to make as many stops as I wanted to tomorrow, but the drive will still be fun along the coast.

6:30 I'm now in south LA about 100 miles from San Diego. Something's not right.....

6:40 I pull off an exit and into a mall parking lot to consult the map that any idiot could follow. Too bad there's not an idiot here...Somehow I've missed the Hwy 101 exit, but I never saw it, I scream calmly to Matt. Instead of the California map, I go to the inset of Los Angelos and find the problem. The exit I wanted was Hwy 210, which then turns into Hwy 101, but it doesn't show that on the general map of California. Now, I can either back track on Hwy 15 which is backed up with people trying to leave LA, or make a big loop through the city and catch 101 further out. I decide to do that. Oh, did I mention it's rush hour traffic on Friday night in LA? Oh, and I also discover the route I decided on takes Matt and I through some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in LA. We're seeing some sights, all right, just not the one's I'd hoped to see.

7:30 We see the sign for North Hollywood. Yay! We're in the north section of LA. At least, I think that's what that means...Okay, we're not on the coast and we're still not out of LA, and we left the house at 3:15, but I think we're finally making some progress, depending on how you define progress.

8:00 Now, according to the map, I need to get off off Hwy 101 and hit Hwy 1 soon. I miss the exit. I should have traded the candy for beer when I had the chance...

9:00 It's dark. I'm not sure if we're near the coast or not and I don't care, but we did find Hwy 1, and it only took me six hours! I don't mean to brag, but I think I may have set a new family record for getting lost while driving. (Try to beat that, Sarah!)

The next day, we did drive along the famous Hwy 1 coastal road and were alternately awed and terrified by it. These are a few shots of our trips along this highway. And, yes, we did make it to Petaluma, find our apartment, and I made it to my job on time. We really loved our time in northern California.

In Your Face, Ethiopia (Or, how I got from Apple Valley, California to Petaluma, CA)

It may be a couple days, or more, before I get to my next destination in Oklahoma, so I thought I would post something else I wrote. During my years as a travel nurse, my son and I had quite a few adventures. I wish I had done more writing about them, but I just didn't take the time. One of our more memorable trips was when we moved from Apple Valley, California to Petaluma, California and I did write about that.

Apple Valley is approximately 70 miles east of LA in the San Bernadino Mountains. It's about 500 plus miles from Apple Valley in southern CA to Petaluma in northern CA. My goal was to take a leisurely two-day drive along the famous Hwy 1 coast, stopping along the way to see the sights. Sounds good, right? Right....All I had to do was head west, get on the highway that looped around LA, and then get on Hwy 1. Piece of cake...

In Your Face, Ethiopia (Or, how I got from Apple Valley, California to Petaluma, CA)

One of the hardest things about moving from assignment to assignment is the packing. After almost two years of travel nursing, I still haven't found a smooth, easy way to do it. The "good intention stage" starts about 8 days before it's time to move. First, I vow this time it's going to be easier, smarter, and less stressful. I start making a to-do list, find boxes, stock up on tape, black magic markers, and scissors. At last count, I had four pairs of scissors -- it's easier to buy another pair then try to find the ones I moved with last time but that's another story...

Following my "good intention" stage comes the "denial stage". I start telling myself there's plenty of time to pack and not to stress out over it. I quit buying groceries during this stage, in hopes that we'll eat up the stuff in the fridge and cabinets and I won't have to waste a lot of it. I start to get this little uneasy feeling that I should be doing more, but I soothe it by making arrangements for my phone to be turned off and my satellite service to be transferred to my new address.

I'm down to five days before the big move and I still have two more shifts at work. Which means I really only have three days, if I don't sleep. Plenty of time. Obviously, I'm still in my denial stage. That uneasy feeling is growing, but again, I quiet it by getting on the internet and going to mapquest. I print out directions to my next assignment, how to get from my new address to the hospital, and any sights we might want to see along the way. See, I'm being productive... It's also when I realize I not only have to pack, but I still need to think about cleaning the apartment, too, which is about when the next stage hits me.

Panic. I don't have enough time, I don't have enough boxes, I don't have enough room in my Jeep, and I still have at least one more shift at work.

Oh, and Matt, my son, woke up this morning and his bottom lip is swollen. Should I be worried? It's swelling from the inside. His gums aren't swollen, so it's not a gum infection....no fever, no nausea, no difficulty breathing or swallowing...just spontaneous swelling. Yeah, that's normal. We'll just watch it for a day or two.

But now he's showing me the inside of his lip every 15 minutes...what if it gets worse while I'm at work tonight? He thinks he sees a "puncture wound". So, either an insect crawled in his mouth and bit him, or he's bit himself because of the swelling. I keep telling him he's fine, he has no fever, he has no other symptoms whatsoever, but for the first time in almost two years, I call in to work and tell them I can't make it. I can't leave Matt and risk it getting worse while I'm at work and he's home alone. Meanwhile, I'm telling Matt he's fine and there's nothing to worry about, but just the fact I called in has alerted him to the possibility it could be serious. He's showing me his lip every 5 minutes now.

I pack 14 boxes, yes FOURTEEN, and take them to the post office to mail to my new address. Matt's school books, plastic dishes, office supplies, the junk drawer in the kitchen, anything I can possibly think of to mail is mailed. I will still have more than I can fit in my Jeep, but this will help. As I drive away from the post office, I wonder if it would have been cheaper to just buy a bunch of new stuff rather than mail it. I hate it when I wonder stuff like that.

My refrigerator is still full. We're leaving tomorrow. Even if I had a cooler, there's no room for one in the Jeep. I have no idea where a soup kitchen is or have the time to go to one. It's going to have to be thrown away. I can't make myself do it, though, it's just too much food, and it makes me ill to think about it. I put a trash can by the fridge and ask Matt to do it. I go into the bedroom to work on packing and cleaning in there. I hear a "thud" as the first item hits the trash can. Then another "thud". Then I hear Matt saying, "In your face, Ethiopia!" (thud) "In your face, starving Africa!" (thud)

I shut my bedroom door. 16 hours to go.

...to be continued....

CUSTER COUNTY

I love driving on I-40. If I go far enough east on it, I end up in those rolling hills back home, where I came of age, where I can still turn back time just a little, and where I can always find a friend from way back when. And, if I go west on I-40, I watch the land flatten out and the western sky stretch out forever, and I know I'm in for an adventure. I've driven alongside of wildfires and into snow storms, on the same day, going west on I-40. And, I've watched in awe as storm clouds gathered miles away from me and then watched them pile up on top of each other in their eagerness to chase me down the road, rumbling loudly and shooting lightning out of the sky.

Yes, I know, a sane person would stay off of I-40 after all of that, but there's something about I-40 west that still appeals to me. I-40 runs from Wilmington, North Carolina all the way across the country to Barstow, California. Making that cross country trip is on my list of "Things to do before I die". And, yes, I really do have a list! I'm going to say it's the sense of adventure that calls me down I-40, and we'll just leave it at that.

I-40 also mingles and twists along the way with the historic Rte. 66, the mother road, west of Oklahoma City. The road is irresistible and no ordinary highway. I'm a sucker for blue whales, Indian gift shops and any other roadside attraction.

So, it wasn't a hard decision for me to decide to go to Custer County next. It's roughly a 90 minute drive west on I-40 from Oklahoma City. I'd driven through Custer County many times, but never pulled off the highway to look at the towns along the way. Probably because I was too busy trying to outrun storms and wildfires, but I finally got my chance to pull off the highway and check out the sights.

My first stop was the city of Clinton. It's not the county seat, but it is the biggest city between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, Texas, the Hub City of Western Oklahoma. And, it's home to the Route 66 Museum, at 2229 Gary Blvd. Woohoo! The mother of roadside attractions!

People from all over the world come by to visit this museum. I know this because when we signed the guest book, we noticed that the people before us were from France and the people before them were from Germany. And, it really is a great museum. It's full of detail, ambiance, art and imagination.

It starts off with a large curio cabinet, full of memorabilia from Rte. 66. This post card gives you an inkling of what's there.

Then, there are six rooms, each room covering a particular decade, with vehicles from that era as well as gas pumps, signs, pictures telling the story of Rte 66, a diner, too many things to mention, and music playing from each time period. The first picture below is of Rachael standing in the 60s room.

Here's Rachael hanging out in the 50s style dining room.

We even saw this guy there!

After you finish walking through sixty years of history, music and art, there's a "drive-in" theater where you can watch a short video about more history of Rte. 66. You exit through the gift shop where you're sure to find something you can't live without.

Clinton is also home of the Route 66 Festival, which features a car and motorcycle show, booths selling a little bit of everything, live music, and free hot dogs. This year the festival will be on Saturday, June 26th. If you get a chance to go, go! The museum will also have extended hours during the festival to give more people a chance to see it, too. So get down there and get your kicks on Rte. 66! (You had to know that was coming!)

Besides stopping at the museum, we also stopped at an Indian gift shop on our way home and I was able to get close to this fellow. He was shedding his winter coat, so he looks a little ragged.

Next, I'll be going to the towns of Arapaho and Weatherford in Custer County!

Moving On...

I've decided the next county I want to check out will be Custer County. It's located west of Oklahoma City, straight down I-40, about 75 miles. It looks like it has a lot of interesting things to see, like the Rt. 66 Museum in Clinton, the Washita National Wildlife Refuge, lots of Indian gift stores, wind farms in Weatherford and the Thomas P. Stafford Space Museum, also in Weatherford.

The towns I'll be going to are Weatherford, Arapaho, and Clinton. Actually, I've already visited Clinton and Arapaho and will be blogging about them soon. I'll also be spending a day at the Washita National Wildlife Refuge, which I'm really eager to do.

One thing I'm learning about my state is that a lot of places are closed on Sundays! It's best to go exploring on Saturday or a weekday.

McClain County - Purcell

Purcell, OK calls itself, "The Quarterhorse Capitol of the World," and, "the Heart of Oklahoma." It is also the county seat of McClain County, and my last stop in this county. There are a couple of ways to get to Purcell from my house. There's the straight, fast route going south on I-35, or the more meandering, slower route along US 77.

Needless, to say I took the more scenic route to Purcell along US 77, and I'm glad I did or I might have missed this.

The world's largest "spider" is actually in Lexington, OK, not Purcell, and not even in McClain County, but it is right on the edge of both, so I went ahead and took a picture of it. It's been an icon in this area since 1979 and is located just north of Lexington, on US 77.

It was built by Leroy Wilson, next to his business, Wilson's Auto Salvage. I've been told he was looking for a way to attract people to his business, and I guess it worked. It catches your eye, that's for sure.

A short drive through the town of Lexington finds you on the bluffs along the Canadian river. Purcell is on the other side. The two towns are connected by the James C. Nance Memorial Bridge, and at 3,642 feet, it's one of the longest bridges in Oklahoma. It's construction in 1938 allowed trade between multiple towns in the area, which is why Purcell calls itself, "the heart of Oklahoma."

As soon as you cross the bridge, if you go one block south, you will find Purcell's Main Street, which underwent a revitalization project in the 1990s. It has restaurants, antique shops, and historic landmarks lining the street. If you decide to visit this area be aware that everything along this historic area is closed on Sunday. You can tell from the empty street below, I was there on a Sunday!

One of the more interesting historical landmarks is the Canadian Theater, 116 W. Main St. It was originally the Brown Opera House, and has been remodeled and renamed several times since it first opened. Today, it houses T's Antique Mall and was remodeled in its 1940s appearance. It's pictured below.

Just a little further down the street at 200 West Main, is the sixty-three room Hotel Love. It opened for business in March of 1896, and is the only one built during that time that is still standing. The Purcell Register, a territorial newspaper during that era, called the Hotel Love, "The Pride of Purcell ... superior to anything of its kind in the Indian Territory."

The three-story brick building was considered very modern for its time. It boasted steam heat, electric lights, and rooms were $2 a night. It was a favorite place for newlyweds to spend their honeymoon. A picture of it is below.

And, if you like to go to antique shops, you won't want to miss Auntie Mae's Antiques on 129 W. Main St. or the Grapevine Antique Mall on 123 W. Main St. It would be easy to spend a whole day just walking from shop to shop.

Purcell was founded as a railroad town in 1887 and even named after a railroad director, so it's only fitting they have a memorial remembering their past. The Santa Fe Plaza on Main Street is a little park where shoppers can rest on benches in between antique shops, and also see a Santa Fe caboose up close. (See picture below.)

Also in the park, is the Star Memorial. On Nov. 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the United States. To celebrate that day, the children of Purcell formed a human "star" downtown, to represent Oklahoma becoming the 46th star on the flag. In 1995, children of Purcell recreated that moment and the Historical Society dedicated the plaque below.

I made two long drives around Purcell, going further south on US 77 and east on US 59 trying to find out what made Purcell the quarter horse capitol of the world. I saw a couple of very large horse farms built on beautiful, rolling green hills, and several smaller ones. I wasn't sure that was enough to justify their claim, but since then I've been informed the multi-million dollar operations are on the west side. Maybe someday I'll get over that way to see them, but for now it's time to say good-bye to McClain County and go on to the next one.

Two down - 75 to go!