Sand Spring....

....Oklahoma, near Tulsa, on US Four-Twelve,

on the Arkansas River, a very nice town is alive and well.

Interesting that they call Keystone a lake,

it's a reservoir on a damned up river for gripes sake!

But there's the beautiful and often explored,

Keystone Ancient Forest, open to this old Ford;

some trees have been here for five hundred years,

missed by the tornados, not the source of tears.

Top: A view of downtown
Middle: Old growth cedar, some are 500 years old, some oak are 300 years old.
Bottom:  Spring!  New green leaves

Enid....

....Oklahoma, hub of the Cherokee Strip,
lots of things here to make it worth the trip;
and many things too that are good to know,
like the third largest grain storage, it's all in a row.

Oil companies really like the place too,
and of course ranchers and farmers stick here like glue;
and for us visitors, well, there's a lot,
museums for all ages grandmoms to tot.

Top:  A look at Enid, the grain elevators are visable in the far background.
Middle:  An oil rig, drilling right here.
Bottom:  A twister coming at us, Enid was mentioned in the movie "Twister".

Fort Supply...

....Oklahoma, an historic site,

an old "wild western" fort, what a delight!

It got started up after the U S Civil War,

to keep peace between tribes Comanche and Kiowa.

Manned by white officers and black enlisted men,

the "Buffalo Soldiers" started up then,

it's worth the trip to see this place,

to understand out history or race.

Top:  Fort Supply as it is today
Middle: Lake Fort Supply - a reservoir
Bottom:  New day dawning in Oklahoma

Ponca City...

…named for the Ponca tribe,
Makes you wonder why the indian cried;
Standing Bear led his people back to their lands,
They were turned back to where the statue now stands.

Standing Bear took the US to court, it all the way to the top;
And the Supreme Court of the country ruled that "some" things must stop,
And recognized native people have rights, Standing Bear proved that anyone can.
He did the tribe proud, and made a great contribution, he was a great man.

Here also is a statue the salutes the Pioneer Woman, strong, proud,
She has become the woman of today, doctor, lawyer, in control of a crowd,
Women have pioneer in this land, starting farms and stores in the place,
And women today continue the trend, their even living in outer space.

So, you can see that even small cities or towns, have much to see,
All over the country from east to west, no other place that I'd rather be;
We can all be proud that we live in a place, where for pleasure or fun,
You can start rich or poor and live to become, on of the greatest in the long run.

Stillwater...

......Oklahoma, home of Oklahoma State,
it's not a big city, nothing special, just great.
I saw this ol' tractor at the Farm Museum,
don't look like it was fun to work, more fun to see 'em.

Jeff's acting up, and I don't like being the host,
of an ill mannered, sometime foul mouthed ghost.
I guess there ain't nothin' that I can do,
to get rid of that free loadin' fool.

Oh, well that's just dreaming of something better,
and as for myself, never been much of a go-getter;
so on that note I guess we'll be leavin',
Ponca City's ahead, and lots of day dreamin'.

On, northwest course...

I can't say....

.....I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee;
But I'm proud to be a cowboy for mojave!
Here we are today in the central meeting place,
Of the five civilized tribes, of the native race.

There museum is here, for all to see,
How they in this place they came to be,
Learn of all their hundred fears,
As they were marched on the Trail of Tears.

This is the area that became there home,
Until, again, they were forced to roam;
On reservations, now they linger,
And on who, should we point the finger.

So in this city there is history galore,
And places where you can explore;
But, please, pause and give some thought,
In this place, what hath god wrought?

Movin' on

Poteau...

Pineywoods cattle at Kerr Center is the draw,
Where one can stand in awe,
At these wonderful old cows or an older breed,
Brought by the Spaniards in the 1400's for their need.

In the Oklahoma town of Poteau near Arkansas,
These are among the the things I saw;
A wonderful small town place, known but to a few,
And now we know about it, me and you!

Now we'll be heading north and west, on to Tulsa,
The oil mans digs Divine, home of chips and salsa.
That's what we're looking for, well me not Jeff,
Ghosts don't eat much you know, so it's just me myself.

Ain't them some fancy critters, they got 'round here,

and you better watch out for them horns, see 'em there.

These cows was brought here by the Choctaw from down south;

now endangered this place won't make you down in the mouth.

McAlester...

...is in Choctaw Nation land, where it's always been,
it's a very busy town, where people come and go,
and it's the name that was written once again;
first in Grapes of Wrath it was in there long ago.

And the founder of this town McAlester by name,
was the basis of the character in the film True Grit,
he was played by the great John Wayne,
and the movie was a hit.

It is the home of a prison, a famous one at that,
and it's the place where coal is mined and shipped;
and it's the home of many things, maybe even a cat,
but you can be sure of this: there are stores where you won't be gypped.

a little more east tomorrow

I know...

...I said we were going north to say the least,
but I mis-spoke because instead we are going east;
today we made a simple stop in another nice town,
Shawnee Oklahoma wears the Pottawatomie crown.

You see, way back in time before there were gas stations,
it was Indian Territory, except for the few nations;
and Pottawatomie Nation people ruled this part,
and that's how Shawnee got it's start.

I know that's quite confusing, just to make it known,
but now Shawnee is Oklahomas Pottawatomie home!
I'll be leaving here tomorrow, still headed to the east,
we're off to see Pineywoods cattle, oh, my what a beast.

Yee Haw

Almost...

...everybody loves a cowboy, or so it would seem,
in Oklahoma City it's a cowboys dream;
here's the worlds largest exhibit of cowboy stuff,
in this museum, as if it's not enough.

There are oil wells under the state capitol, has been since days of old;
because the city sits on a very large patch of black gold.
And of course the baseball park, is something you must see,
over in the brick yards, it's done to a high degree.

There's a suburb called The Village where there was said to be,
a baseball team, some time ago, with a name that fit to a tee;
they were the Village Idiots, isn't that a scream?
I'd love to have one of the hats, it would be this cowboys dream.

headed north

Now...

...we're in Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma, it's great;
just a few mile shy of Oklahoma City, Capitol of the state,
It's the birthplace of James Garner and lots of others too.
There's a sign out there that says "we welcome you."

Ol’ Larry was in Norman for a short school
Aviation fundamentals is was so cool
He learned about math from fractions to algebra
Catalogs, parts books and all et cetera,

It still kind of like boot camp at least in part
Marching to classes, not falling apart.
There was duty to stand every third night,
He worked at the roller rink, that was all right

And one time he was treated to a live band
Bill Haley and the Comets, boy it was grand
That wouldn’t happen for another long time
That’s how he spent Spring, nineteen fifty-nine

On north!

On the...

...banks of the Washita River with much comment,
stands the well known Confederate Monument,
founded in the old Indian Territory,
is the salute to a soldiers glory.

We are in the town of Wynneford, named by railroad men,
just like Ardmore and Paoli, the Pennsylvania guys would pen,
the names to them familiar as they built across the west;
some say this is the town that they liked the best.

Fertile farmland brought them in to settle,
after the Civil War tested every ones mettle;
this town is in the heart of Little Dixie, in this part;
of Southeast Oklahoma, post Civil War men got their start.

This is a very nice town with trees and brick,
but the time will come, and we will leave it.
It's a pleasant place, with gentle people,
and a church, of course, with a inspiring steeple.

On northward.

Well, here....

...we are in Oklahoma, Ardmore is the town,
and just like most of us, they have their up and down;
this city used to rule, cotton here was plenty,
and then the soil was depleted, and there wasn't any.

That's when the oil came in, gushers, wells and extra men,
the oil fields of the region keep pumping, who know when...
that will be deplete too. This upstart place with a borrowed name,
from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, how did it start, who came?

When it was Indian Territory, it was the capitol,
of the Chickasaw Region, it had one street, that's all;
then came statehood and the railroad men,
you know, all that happened way back when.

Well tomorrow we'll be headed north again,
hope there's no dust storms, lifted by the wind;
looking for more adventure, baited by the road,
boy, we've got some fun ahead, the mother lode.

Giddy up!