Route 66 and Family Reunions in Oklahoma

Hello friends!  I was so busy with our travel and two family reunions that I didn't have time to post and we also did not have wi-fi at our cabins.  So, here are a few photos from our road trip.  After our visit to the Grand Canyon - we visited Williams, Arizona to gas up before hitting the highway.  Below are some wonderful rock formations as we passed through New Mexico.

Williams is on Historic Route 66 and the whole town celebrates it.  What a fun place!

They had this awesome red 1957 Chevy on display.  What a beauty!

Here is an old steam train engine sitting on the track and a newer (old) engine that was actually pulling a train heading to the Grand Canyon!!

We spent the night in Santa Rosa, New Mexico and found a delightful 50's era diner and had a super good dinner, the place was called Joseph's.  I loved this clock on the wall.  We ate at 50's formica tables.

I think these huge wind generators were when we entered Texas as we crossed the top panhandle section of this huge state.

We finally reached our destination on Thursday July 18th.  Here is Chief Roman nose for whom the park was named.

All four of my siblings arrived at our rented cabins and several of us headed out to look about the land of our birth.  This is where we lived in a tiny house when I was 6 weeks old and while we were readying for bed a tornado hit us and rolled the house over and it splintered into pieces.  Had my dad not grabbed me from mom I would likely have perished as mom was buried in debris and he had to dig her out.  

All over the state were wild sunflowers and these were growing in the hedgerows of the red dirt road of our past.

This old barn is on the property of our lifelong friends, the Knisleys who lived just down the road from our grandparent's farm.

I am in love with the old windmills on the farms here and all over the midwest.

Below is a photo of the oil and gas well that we are part owner of - our dad left each of us children mineral rights and just recently they drilled and hit oil and gas.  This is not far from our grandparents farm where my father and his 5 siblings were born.  

On Friday we drove to a special place for lunch.  We watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri on the Food Network and he did a segment here at Eischen's Bar in Okarche, Oklahoma and pronounced it the Best Fried Chicken in Oklahoma.  It's a fun place - you don't get plates, just paper to eat on and it really is the best fried chicken.

Back in Watonga, it's an old downtown here and we just love coming back to visit.

Here is the last house we lived in before we moved to Oregon when I was 4.

My brother Robert showed us the hospital where we were all born!  It is now something besides a hospital.

On Saturday we visited the local museum.  I'm so glad there is a group of people raising money to fix this great old house up.  It's the T.B. Ferguson house, home of Oklahoma's Sixth Territorial Governor, built in 1901.

The parlour.

The dining room- I love the windows, the bay window and the built in china cabinet.

A wonderful old carved pump organ.

The kitchen is great in it's simplicity with a big farm sink, wood stove and kitchen cupboards.

A more ornate version of a curved glass china cabinet like our oak one at home.

Back in Roman Nose State Park, I love the mesas of white gypsum rock and red dirt.  When I was a young teenager my sister and I spent a summer in OK with our aunts, uncles, cousins, grandfather and grandmother.  Our uncle Harlan Tomlinson and our aunt Florence were the park managers.  One fine day my uncle saddled up his Palomino horse with his fancy silver decorated parade saddle and let me ride all over the park on my own.  I actually rode up on top of this mesa to look around at one point.  Great memories.

There are several Indian teepees in the park that you can stay in.  I love them.

This is Watonga Lake in the park.

I organized the Saturday Shaklee Family photo - there were 32 at our reunion and dinner in the Roman Nose Lodge banquet room.

On Sunday we invited all of our Mother's Woldridge relatives to our cabins - we had 4 in a row in the park - and had another great reunion.  We provided the cabins and plates, napkins and utensils and our fabulous cousins brought all kinds of things, chicken, ribs, salads and desserts.  Becky even made home made cherry ice cream, yum!  On the left is our aunt Susie, the last remaining of our 12 aunts and uncles.  

Yesterday before we checked out of our cabins, the 4 siblings drove to get a photo of ourselves by Chief Roman Nose.  From left is my brother Robert, his twin Roberta, myself and the youngest, Denise.  :-)

I loved this lone teepee in this meadow.

Some history.

They remodeled the lodge and it looks so much different, but still pretty.

This sculpture is on the wall as you walk into the lodge.

A big chunk of sparkly gypsum rock and some pretty flowers by the lodge.

I hope it wasn't too many photos for you!  Yesterday we drove from Watonga into Oklahoma City and visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  Wow, that was something.  I will share those photos next time I post.  Afterwards we went to dinner in the infamous Cattlemen's Cafe in the famous stockyard area of Oklahoma City.  Today we have driven to Pryor, Oklahoma, checked into our hotel and are meeting Dayle's brother Allen and his wife for dinner.  Tomorrow we head to the Lake of the Ozarks and our daughter and granddaughters will join us.  I hope you're having a fun summer!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)