Duchess Speaks

The afternoon of July 17, 2007, Tuesday, this Pug (Duchess) was standing watch and lookout for NW Okie & David to arrive back home.

This Duchess was in her usual lookout spot (on a carpet under the carport). When I heard, saw a familar auto pulling in the drive, I was up on my pug feet in no time. Anxiously awaiting the return of NW Okie. She was a sight for these big pug eyes.

She did look like she had put on a few pounds, though. I suppose it is all that Salt water taffy, seafood, crab cakes and all the other California delacies she munched on along the coastline.

A day or two after she got home it cooled down and actually rained pretty good in the southwest Colorado valley. We had been having a heat wave while they were gone for two weeks. It's good to have her home again, though.

NW Okie is still decompressing and settling in here at home in southwest Colorado. We have put up some of the travel pictures at our NW Okie Flickr. We will be putting more photos up on our Webshots later. So.... Stay tuned!

Hope you Oklahomans, Texans and Kansasans are still afloat and getting a break from all the rain you have been getting.
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Okie Travels Up the Coast

Here is a little sunset treat for you all from just South of San Francisco.

We caught this sunset on July 11, 2007 as we were entering the outskirts of San Francisco. Enjoy! Oklahoma and Colorado are not the only ones with gorgeous sunsets.

Let me back up here to July 3, 2007 when we were passing through Arizona into Southern California via Inerstate 10. We snapped a few gas pumps that we visited along the way to California and have put those on our "NW Okie Flickr" site.

As we passed through Palm Desert, California we gave our Paris cousin a call and got to talk with him for a few minutes over the phone, but never did by their home.

July 4th, 2007 found us watching the 4th of July fireworks at the entrance of disneyland. Most of the time in Southern California was spent getting reaquainted with family we had not seen in twenty some years.

July 10, 2007 we checked out of Los Angeles and headed up hwy 101 (old hwy 1) along the coastline of California. I thought we would never leave the Los Angeles city boundaries. BUT... we reached Santa Barbara for a late lunch at the wharf and picked up some salt water taffy.

We stopped at most of the vista points along the way to get a visual sense and sounds of the coastline. San Simeon is where we spent the night near the coast to catch another beautiful sunset and hear the waves breaking on the rocky coastline below our room. That was great!

The next morning we awoke early and had breakfast before we headed towards Hearst Castle for a tour of what was known as their Summer Cottage. Leaving Hearst Castle around 11:30a.m., we headed up hwy 1 towards Carmel and Monterey Bay for lunch and sight seeing. Some of those photos are over at our "NW Okie Flickr" site, also.

AND... that brings us back to the San Francisco sunset which brought us on into San Francisco on the wharf for the evening.

The morning of July 12, 2007 we took in some sights along the wharf and the ferry to Sausalito before we crossed the Golden Gate bridge towards Napa, California. As you know, the Kent's were gracious enough to take us to the Copia and Julia's kitchen for dinner and a Brazilian concert afterwards. AND... a tour of wineries on Friday the 13th of July. The company was great!

Early morning of July 14th we spent most of the day driving across California from Napa towards Lake Tahoe and on into Nevada. Making Las Vegas around mid-night. That was a long day and drive, but I did get a visual of the "Cottontail Ranch (brothel)" that sets boarded up in the far southwestern parts of Nevada out in nowhere land with nothing but two highways coming together. No! I didn't get a picture of the Cottontail Ranch brothel.

NOW... I am trying to find my way through two weeks of mail and catching up with my pugs, horses and gardening. Until next week... Have a safe Summer!
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Hollywood Trail & Apology

Let me clarify the statement I made about Harry Potter premier NOT being on our agenda. We didn't realize that it was the Harry Potter premier that was taking place and did not feel like, at the time, of checking it out closer. We were just looking for the turn to go towards the HOLLYWOOD hill sign.

If I would have known then what I know now that it was Harry Potter premier, I would have gotten a photo-opportunity for those family and friends (Michael, Kate & Lindsay) who are hooked on the Harry Potter books.

I want to apologize to Michael, Lindsay and Kate for not getting digital pictures or autographs for the obsessed fan of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. I did not realize at the time we were cruising the Hollywood Strip that the staged area in front of the theatre was the premier for the latest Harry Potter movie. I am sorry!
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Luck of the Irish

"Many of you know that I am of Irish descent (along with Scot, English, and a smattering of Dutch), and the "luck of the Irish" has happened again. A couple of days ago I wanted to check out an antique windup Brunswick portable record player (like a Victrola) that was made for guys to take to a picnic, or on a canoe ride down a lazy river with some cute female. Anyway, I went out to the main warehouse and pulled out some records from a box of stuff that I'd bought from my friend, author Glenn Shirley of Stillwater. When Glenn was offering to sell me something, I usually didn't bother to check it all out or even try to get a better price. I trusted him to sell "good stuff" at a reasonable price, knowing that his "stuff" had always checked out to be worth at least as much as he was asking. I have gotten some fantastic stuff from Glenn and even though he's gone now (died a couple of years ago) I still find some extra bargains that he's "slipped" in with the other stuff.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this note I needed a 78 RPM record to check out the portable player so I'd know whether it worked okay and I could put in on my web pages. As I glanced at the records I pulled out of that box, I gasped! One of them was a picture record worth more than the $50 I'd paid for the whole box (of about 40 or 50 disks). You can find that record and the Brunswick player both on my web pages now. Sooner or later someone is going to buy another major profit item so I can start buying things again.

Today I looked through some of those other records and then brought the whole box into the main shop to check them better. Even though I didn't find any more of the Vogue picture records, there were some more really nice surprises including; Ethel Smith playing the Hammond Organ (she and Ken Griffin were the folks who inspired mom to begin taking organ lessons which also led me and my brother Ray to become interested enough to buy one (neither of us has yet gotten a B3 or C3 though... I'm still hoping). I do have two tube-type spinets and a transistorized one though. None of them has a Leslie Speaker. Also in the collection of records is at least one Ella Fitzgerald and a couple other jazz and at least one boogie. I also found a Frank Sinatra recording of two songs from what was then the 'new' stage production "Oklahoma". "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" with the flip side "People Will Say We're In Love". Most of the disks are earlier recordings of folks who later became stars. I haven't found anything in there that's worth less than $4 to the collectors. There are several Spike Jones, some early Bing Crosby, and others. When I find some spare time (what's that?) I'll need to listen to some of them." Roy K.
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Flora Patterson Painting

"I want to again thank Tami for the painting of Floris Patterson, my grandmother. It's such a wonderful painting and looks like one of her sisters may have even been a model for it. Everyone who has seen the painting loves it. We really appreciate the opportunity to have the painting in the family." -- Lora Aldridge Thompson - Email: lora@outragegis.com
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Kingfisher School for Girls

"I was given your name as a possible source who could help me find any information regarding the KINGFISHER SCHOOL FOR GIRLS that was somewhere in Oklahoma.

My grandmother was in the class of 1904, and played BASKETBALL. I have a wonderful picture of her dressed in her bloomers and white blouses with her teammates, who all looked like the typical GIBSON GIRL.

My mother, her daugher, lives with us and is 97 and a half. She was born in Guymon, Oklahoma in 1910 to ALICE JANE (nickname ELLA; maiden name PERCIFIELD) BELL and CARL BELL. He was a cattle buyer and followed the stockyards and cattle drives. He managed the King Ranch in Texas and was a close personal friend of the owner -- this was around 1912-15. Though he went to Cheyenne, Wyoming to buy cattle around 1916, he was never heard from again and my mother has never known what ever happened to him. My grandmother said he was such a wonderful father and a great husband, but he had 'SAND IN HIS BOOTS' which meant he always wanted to be on the move and she refused to follow him out west. Anyhow, any information you could give me would be so very much appreciated. Thanks in advance." -- Carole Prior, daughter of Catherine Estaline Bell, daughter of ALICE JANE PERCIFIELD (CLASS OF 1904, KINGFISHER SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
- Email: nefficarolep@yahoo.com
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Penny Postcards

"I couldn't remember if I sent this to you. Thought you might be interested in it. What did your town look like according to Penny Postcards. Check out your old stomping grounds during the times of the penny postcard. Click on the state and then on the county to see old Penny postcards from that area. Penny Postcard Link." -- Susan C.
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Clements & Hedricks

"My mother, Neita Ewing, graduated in 1929 at Aline. There was a Zelda or Zeta Hedrick in her class, but that was before mom met my dad. My dad was from Kansas and did not know Zelda, but our CLEMENT's side of the family were true sooners and located just north of Orion (Oklahoma). Mom was born in Seiling, and we had distant HEDRICK relatives in Woodward where we lived in mid 60s.

Mom and dad married in 1930 and went to the worlds fair in Chicago. Our main Hedrick branch came out of Pennsylvania in 1836 to Boone Co., Indiana and then to Conway Springs, Kansas where I went to school from the 7th grade until Graduation in 1957, with part of my senior year at Tangier, Oklahoma just west of Woodward.

I will dig out some of those Carmen photos and jpg them to you. I am very busy right now rebuilding the Elvis Memorial Chapel and the Apacheland Movie Ranch Barn, that was donated to our museum after a 2004 fire that destroyed the movie ranch. Please to visit our web site at superstitionmountainmuseum.org and read about the project." -- Larry Hedrick - Email: larryhedrick@webtv.net
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The Colorado River

The view of the Colorado River at Cape Royal is the only view of the river from the North Rim. The portion of river you see is 70 river miles below Lees Ferry, the site from which all points on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon are measured.

From the section of river you see, it is still another 18 miles down river to Phantom Ranch, and 207 river miles to Lake Mead and the western end of the Grand Canyon.
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Kaibab National Forest

In 1906 by proclamation, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Reserve which embraces part of the Kaibab National Forest. Its purpose is to assure perpetuation of the world famous Kaibab deer herd.

The forest service is responsible for maintenance and improvement of wildlife habitat, including development of water catchments, seeding of browse plants, and thinning of dense timber stands to stimulate growth of vegetation on the forest floor.

Deer hunting is strictly regulated in cooperation with the Arizona Game & Fish Department to maintain a balance between food supply and deer numbers.

You can read more about the Kaibab National Forest at this USDA Forest Service website. AND... if you are planning a stay on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at their lodge cabins, you need to make reservations well in advance. We found that out while we were there. There was "No room in the Inn" for these wary travelers. BUT... we did get to eat dinner at the lodge which serves great food.
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Big Sage Brush

Also known as Artemisia tridentata. Sagebrush is the most abundant shrub in western North America. Out at Fairvalley, Oklahoma we have lots of the small sagebrush that most of you are used to seeing. BUT... have you ever seen this "Big Sagebrush?"

The extensive root system of the sagebrush is drought resistant, enabling survival in semi-arid conditions. Sagebrush was a valuable fuel for the Indians. They also used it to treat colds, diarrhea, and fevers.

The next time you take a journey to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, check out this "Big Sagebrush" that grows like a tree.
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Angels Window - North Rim Grand Canyon

This is a dramatic view of the colorado River through the hole in the rock, which led to its name. During the uplift of the Kaibab Plateau, stress and strain caused the rock to fracture forming vertical joints that intersect the horizontal bedding planes. Weathering (rain, freezing and thawing) along these planes and joints has eroded a hole in the Kaibab Limestone and enlarged it to form the window.
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Monterey Bay & Old Fisherman's Wharf

Monterey's earliest pier of stone built in 1846 and gave way to a commercial fishing wharf in the early 2900's when Monterey's multi-million dollar fishing industry was born. Despite many changes the wharf today retains the tone and flavor of the past. It is a monument to the fishing industry and the fisherman who braved the wind and sea.
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Red Rock Canyon NCA

Sand dunes frozen in time near Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. Red Rock Canyon was designated as Nevada's first National Conservation Area. Red Rock Canyon is located 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip on Charleston Boulevard/State Route 159. The area is 195,819 acres.

The scenic drive through Red Rock Canyon is oneway. You enter through an entrance for a fee of $6 and Calico II, Sandstone quarry, high point overlook with elevation of 4,721 feet, Lost Creek turnoff, Red Rock wash, Pine Creek Canyon trailhead, and finally coming back around to hwy 159 intersection. Here is a link to the Red Rock Canyon Organization website>

You can read the geology of Red Rock Canyon NCA and learn that "For much of the past 600 million years the land that is now Red Rock canyon NCA was the bottom of a deep ocean basin and the western coast of North American was in present day western Utah." Geology of Red Rock Canyon NCA.
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