July 4th 2013 visit to Shattuck Windmill Museum

July 4th started in Laverne at the centennial parade after pancake breakfast with Jim and Darla Waldrop. Then it was off to Shattuck in our Ford Retrac's for a quick lunch and then on to check out the Shattuck Windmill Museum.

Darla's checking the place out with her ever present Dr Pepper!

This old Soddy was really cool! This is a water wheel from an old mill and it seemed right at home with the windmills!

 From the dirt floor to this old bed, the soddy offered all the comforts of home; well, maybe 100 years ago!

Jim decided to take a break on one of several benches placed throughout the park area. 

The tour guide showed up to get us inside the Soddy. He was full of information in a fun way!

Don't they look like a honeymoon couple?

What on earth is that on the roof? Well, besides earth, there are some cow skulls and cactus!

Lots of windmills, each with a story to tell about the pioneer days in Oklahoma.

I was amazed at the size of some of these! 

This we were told is the Windmill Museum B and B and for a mere $3.60 per night you can get a room. There was no mention of amenities such as a bath room or air conditioning. The guide told us that is this was out of our budget we could get the Soddy for $2.00. I know where the bathroom was there!

The Shattuck Windmill Museum was well worth the stop. If you park out front you can tune your car radio in to hear all about the windmills, we enjoyed it a lot and will probably make a return visit in the fall when it's not quite so hot!

Return to the Wichitas

this is a story in pictures. The Wichita's where the buffalo roam free, and yes, we got this close; from the car.

John, Misty and Robert checking out one of the many small lakes hidden in the middle of this wildlife preserve area.

Guess what they are looking at? believe it or not, it is lady bug mating season, and they were doing their thing on the rocks! 

John and Robert at the top of Mt. Scott, one of our favorite places.

From the education I got at the visitor center, I declare this to be a longhorn STEER. so here's something you probably don't know; steers, cows and bulls grow their horns differently, with the steers having the widest span. if you want to know more, go check out the visitor center at the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma.

one of several dam areas within the reserve. water levels seemed to be in pretty good condition in spite of recent drought.

My dear friend Misty Burdette just taking a break and enjoying the beauty at the top of the mountain. Misty is an avid nature photographer; bet she took 100 pictures today.

Robert commented on the serenity near the small lakes in the reserve. below is what he was seeing!

Ponies were our mode of travel today, well Mustangs anyway. There were supposed to be three, but our friends Jim and Darla had to cancel out. Theirs is red and a convertible!

view of the lake from the top of the mountain. We drove on around that lake and over to Medicine Park after a stop for our favorite burgers and cobbler at the Meers store. Check past posts for more on that place!

saw this coming around the corner and had hopes Jim and Darla had decided to show up after all, but it was the wrong color! visited briefly with them and they were enjoying the beauty of the Wichita's as much as we were. 

Groom Texas

 Groom Texas is just off I-40 east of Amarillo about 40 miles. Visible for miles leading up to it, is this huge white cross, standing 191 feet in the air. We's seen the cross while traveling I-40 several times and never took the time to really stop and see what was there. Surrounding the cross, in life size detail is the story of the crucification of our Lord Jesus Christ.

At each of the stations there is a marker describing the scene. The realism of the figures was pretty amazing.

The property also has a nice visitor center, this beautiful circular fountain area with seating that invites visitors to stop and sit awhile and contemplate what they have just seen.

The wind was blowing about 50 mph from the south the day we were there, made it difficult to spend as much time in the open air as we would have liked. But having experienced the first visit I have no doubt that we will go back one day to spend a little more time.

High on a hill overlooking this circle of the story of Jesus's suffering and death stands three crosses.

I took a couple short video clips and they will be posted on my facebook page. Find me: Jeanne Maras Cole and check them out!

Mountians Oklahoma Style

March madness is upon us! A weekend getaway seemed the thing to do. So we took our new Challenger on a trip to the mountains. Oklahoma Mountains, that is!

The view from the road up was pretty amazing!

The road up Mt. Scott is a fun ride. It circles around with breathtaking views of the landscape below. There are lots of places to pull out of the lane of traffic and take pictures. We also noted a lot of hikers and climbers in the rocks and one group even had their dog with them on the climb.

The road seemed popular to motorcyclists too, and even one brave soul on a bicycle (no motor).

Back on ground level we saw a lot of longhorn cattle and some Buffalo grazing in open range. We stopped for longhorn crossing more than once!
The Wichita Mountain Park has a nice visitor center for a refreshing stop. We also noted a location for prairie dog watching that seemed to be popular with the young park visitors.

Earlier in the day we stopped at Quartz Mountain park, also a pretty place. This was the view from a walking bridge that lead from the lodge to an arts and cultural center.

We really enjoyed this area of Oklahoma, as always there is something to see and do in our great state. So next time you get a yearning for mountains, go Oklahoma Style!