USA travelers: Oklahoma and Kansas

We are in the Great Plains where the wind is howling and the mercury hits the century mark every day. As you can see the thermostat is set at 77 degrees but it cannot keep up with the outside temp at 100 and the inside temp is 83.

We left Texas on July 12 and drove to Oklahoma City. Finally no rain while breaking camp. There was rain each of the last few times and that makes for a miserable experience. Anyway we arrived at Roadrunner RV Park without incident:

Looks like we got the only tree in the park:

Oil wells everywhere:

This is quite a contrast from our last stop where it was an hour plus drive to Dallas; we are only ten minutes from downtown here. Kind of like our place in Little Rock but this is nicer.

The first site to see was the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum:

The museum cost $15 but the memorial is free and open 24 hours a day. The reflecting pool is where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building stood until domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh exploded a truck bomb on April 19, 1995 killing 168 people. The two large gates at either end are the Gates of Time representing the times before and after the bomb went off:

A chair stands for each victim and is arranged according to the floor they were on when they died:

Doreen is in the lower right corner. This is the south side of the building. The bomb was placed at the north side of the building. Part of the building's foundation:

This was the view of the south side:

West side with the gate of time in the background:

The exhibits in the museum chronicle the history of Oklahoma City, the federal building, the event, the investigation, and aftermath of the explosion.

The license plate from the Ryder truck that held the bomb:

The creep was pulled over in this getaway car for not having a tag. He was well armed:

There are so many artifacts in the museum that I could dedicate an entire blog to this visit. I remember watching the TV coverage of this tragedy of course but when we are so far away from something like this it doesn't seem real; like it is just another news story. But when you visit museums such as this and the Sixth Floor Museum you can feel the human suffering. The history is palpable. It fills you and those around you with emotion.

Now onto some fun stuff. We checked out the Centennial Land Rush Memorial. This depicts the opening of land by the federal government in 1889 for settlers to grab on a first come basis. All one had to do was stake a claim and work the land and it was yours free of charge.

Huge larger than life size sculptures:

Note the detail of the sculpture. Here the contents of the wagon are falling out and a horse stumbles over a trunk.

This was conveniently located in town and next to the Bass Pro Shop. The temperature was 100 degrees so we popped in to cool off:

As we decided to go get a bite to eat but I couldn't understand why there was so much traffic and signs advertising $30 parking so we got out of town and went back to eat at the trailer. We then found out Garth Brooks was in town for four shows over the weekend. The place was going nuts since he is a hometown guy.

Of course we love to find the free attractions to visit and we found one here in OKC. It is the 45th Infantry Museum.

What a great find. The 45'th was only active for WWII and Korea but this museum is packed full of militaria. They house one of the largest small arms collections in the U.S and trace the use of firearms and weapons in general from the revolution to the present day;

Interestingly the museum houses some Nazi and Hitler artifacts such as Hitler's cape:

A personal copy of his own treatise, Mein Kampf:

His bath towels:

His personal standard:

Plus other Nazi artifacts:

The 45th was in Munich at the time of Germany's surrender and was stationed there post-war. They were a highly decorated unit and saw action from North Africa to Sicily to Anzio and up through the belly of the Reich.

This is a must see for any military history buff such as myself. I was blown away when one of the historians struck up a conversation with me and took me up to see the library of the museum. He also gave me a set of DVD's for free.

Next it was on the way to Dodge City Kansas and Gunsmoke RV Park:

We are only three miles from Boot Hill:

The old Front Street of the 1870's has been meticulously recreated:

Tourists are waiting for the gunfight:

I found this attraction to be a great bargain. The $12 admission ticket is good for two days and includes the city trolley.

The store fronts are real building housing exhibits related to the actual businesses that flourished during Dodge City's heyday as Queen of the cowtowns from 1872 to about 1884.

The real Boot Hill:

The remains of thirteen individuals were transferred when an official city cemetery opened in the 1890's

Dodge City has a fascinating history as a haven for cowboys, gamblers, con-men, gunfighters, and law men who were quick to change sides for the right price.

Wyatt Earp was of those men: