Monday, October 30, 2017

Magic at the Museum

Also on our list of “must-sees” was the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.  Its permanent collection is well worth seeing, but the drawing card for us was the permanent exhibition of glass and drawings by Dale Chihuly.  We first saw Chihuly’s work years ago when we visited the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  His glass sculptures in the lobby ceiling are breathtaking, and we were excited to be able to see more of his work.

We weren’t disappointed.  Dale Chihuly: Magic & Light was everything we expected, and more.  The exhibition is one of the largest collections of Chihuly glass in the world.  As you approach and enter the Museum, you can’t help but be impressed by the 55-foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the atrium.


No matter where you stand, it’s hard to take it all in…or get a photo that captures the feeling you have looking at it.  

Here are some of the pictures I took at the art museum.  The collection covers a period of five centuries with highlights in European and American art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and a growing collection of contemporary art.  The first several images will give you a taste of the pieces on display.  

Parrot Tulip, 1973 -- Lowell Nesbitt
Old Mortality, 1979 -- Jack Levine
Untitled (Bike) -- Paul Sarkisian
The Spirit-Spout, 1988 -- Frank Stella
And while we enjoyed the entire collection, we were blown away by the Chihuly glass.  
From simple spheres to elaborate, fantastical shapes and pieces that for me evoked ethereal sea creatures, it was all there.






While I was trying to capture detail in the grouping below...


John came around the corner and had me cover my eyes.  He then led me into another room and told me to uncover my eyes and look up.  There was an entire ceiling covered with brilliant flower shapes.  The lighting brought out every color you can imagine.






And then there was the Float Boat....



...and this boatload of fantastical flowers.  


I could go on and on, but I encourage you to click on the images to enlarge them.  And if you have a chance to visit Oklahoma City, don't miss the chance to see the exhibit in person.  You won't be sorry.

And, even though we didn't need any more sensory extravaganzas, we stopped in a nearby coffee shop, where I had a world-class pumpkin spice latte'  to top off our afternoon.


Saturday, October 28, 2017

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Our second trip to Oklahoma City was much more pleasant than the first.  This time there was no rain, and we were in and parked by mid-afternoon.  It was a good thing, too.  By late afternoon the clouds were building; the wind shifted and local weather said we were under a tornado watch, as was the Kaw Lake area where we had spent the previous several days.  We kept close watch on the local weather, and were texting back and forth with Bill and Cec, who were staying a couple more days at Coon Creek Cove.  For a time it appeared that both areas would see significant winds, but fortunately the storms dissipated before they reached us, or them.


Twin Fountains RV Resort is a nice park located close to the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and convenient to downtown.  Our site was close to NE 63rd Street, a major thoroughfare, so we had more traffic noise than usual.  It was also, however, just across the street from a beautiful county park.  There we found lovely walking trails, and plenty of room for the dogs to explore and chase balls.  

Our reason for spending time in Oklahoma City was to see some of its museums and memorials.  We especially wanted to see the National Memorial and Museum.  At 9:02 on the morning of April 19, 1995, a rented truck filled with fertilizer bombs was detonated in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, completely destroying approximately one-third of the building as the floors “pancaked” into a pile of debris. 

The explosion damaged 312 other buildings in the downtown area, 14 of them so badly that they had to be torn down.

The museum features not only a recording of the blast, made during a meeting of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board being held across the street, but interviews with survivors and other exhibits.


The blast killed 168 people and injured some 680 more.  Two anti-government militants were responsible for the bombing.  One was convicted and in 2001 was executed. The other was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.  Two accomplices gave evidence in the case, and after serving time in prison were placed in the Federal witness protection program.  


The memorial, on the site of the former Murrah Building, features this lovely reflecting pool.  At the far end are the only remaining walls of the building.  



168 empty chairs have been placed beside the pool in memory of those whose lives were lost.  Nineteen of the chairs are small, placed there to memorialize children who died in the day care center for children of employees, which was located on the second floor of the building.  Beside the street is a portion of chain-link fence.  It was originally installed to protect the site, but itself became a memorial.


The museum is extremely well-done, and should be on your itinerary if you are here.  Never forget.  


Post-Rally Rest and Recovery

We left Hutch in mid-October, but we weren’t done with visiting.  Again this year, we traveled with three other couples to Coon Creek Cove COE Park on Kaw Lake in Northern Oklahoma for a few days of post-Rally recovery.  

We love this park with its beautiful lake, spacious grounds and large RV sites.  Finding four sites close together that would accommodate our rigs was a challenge, though.  Three of our spaces were on a cul-de-sac that required a tight turn on one end, or backing in for a hundred yards or so.  John and I and Rocky and Sheri chose the former.   Here, Sheri makes sure the rig stays clear of obstacles.


Bill and Cec chose to back in, with Cec giving directions.



Steve and Gail parked their new SpaceCraft rig opposite ours.



We had a great time.  Food and fellowship were plentiful, and we all kicked back and relaxed.


We pulled out on Saturday, October 21, promising to keep in touch and looking forward to seeing each other next year.

It'a All About the Trucks

Twelve days in Hutchinson flew by before we knew it.  Our days were filled with camaraderie, seminars, good food, and of course, trucks.  Over 80 big semis were in camp, and a number of other people were there to learn about them, or perhaps to buy one to pull their own fifth wheel.  Here are a few of them lined up to have their pictures taken. 





We love getting reconnected with friends, and having such a great venue in which to do it.  


The Kansas State Fair grounds are beautiful, and a great place to walk, practice driving trucks or chasing balls.  I’m trying to keep Rue in shape for herding when we get back to Texas.  Colt is happy to help.  We haven’t found any sheep here, but have done a lot of ball throwing.





Kota's exercise consisted mainly of surfing for treats and scouting for squirrels.


We were happy that the rodeo finals were again being held while we were in town.  Here are a couple of shots of steer wrestling and team roping.



Lots of visiting at happy hours and shared meals kept us all entertained.



Jeff's annual lounge organ concert was well attended.  


Milo seemed to it as much as we did.


But I think he was really more interested in Sunflower.


The Bagley Park had a great time as well.  Lots of exercise kept them in shape, and they enjoyed their canine friends, a few of whom are shown here.




There was a big change in our traveling vehicles this year.  On our trip north from Texas, Tracker, our 2004 Chevy “toad” or tow vehicle, gave us unmistakeable signs that he was tired of the road.  His “Check Engine” light refused to go out, no matter what we did.  Three of his four widows either wouldn’t work or needed help to go up and down.  But most concerning…after our two days of driving through heavy rain, there was a concerning “slosh-slosh” noise when we rounded a corner, stopped or accelerated.


Tracker gave us seven years of outstanding service, but the time had come, and we listened.  Fortunately, Kansas hasn’t had hurricanes like Texas has.  There aren’t 500,000 to 1,500,000 vehicles damaged or destroyed by flooding here, and the dealers are much more interested in making a deal than those back in Texas.  Sooooo…… we now have a new “Tracker” to tow behind our fifth wheel…a 2018 Chevy Equinox.  Here is what our new rig looks like.


As usual, we had a great time at the Rally, but look forward to being on the road again.