Saturday a week ago,son and I loaded up the car and headed down the highway to Oklahoma City.
We pulled off the turnpike at Wellston and drove down Route 66 to Pops near Arcadia to get us a soft drink. Pops has almost every kind of soft drink known to man. We bought two each. Usually we only get one but it was hot that day. We drank one and put the other in a cooler we brought along just for that purpose. So we could drink something cold on our way back.
Don’t ask my why I always get some sort of Black Cherry soda at Pops. I’m a Diet Doctor Pepper guy usually. Diet Creme Cherry flavored if I can get it. Don’t judge me. I always like diet Orange Crush.
Next stop was the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. We love this place, just love it. It will always be the Cowboy Hall of Fame to me though. I’ve been going here ever since I moved to Oklahoma twenty six years ago. It has really changed over the years.
One of my favorite places is their big banquet hall. They have five massive triptych paintings by Wilson Hurley. Together they are called Windows on the West. They are huge and spectacular. My employer has a Wilson Hurley painting in the lobby. I saw him there some years ago up on a step ladder touching up the painting.
(The Leader’s Downfall by William R. Leigh)
The museum is cram full of Western Art of all types.
They also have lots of other exhibits about life in the west for cowboys, soldiers, and regular families.
Ronald Reagan belongs in the Museum. I’m assuming that George W. will be there one day. His dad, George H. won’t nothing wrong with him, he is just not western. Barack Obama won’t be there either. I mean you either have it or you don’t. I grew up in small towns of the west with cowboys, I had many western friends, some of my family are western. I don’t have a western bone in my body. I don’t have anything against it, its just now me. But I still like this Museum.
They have a great rodeo exhibit. They explain all the events and have a mock up of a rodeo arena, great fun.
They have a great section on the west in movies and television. That is Kirk Douglas above.
SuperPizzaBoy’s favorite is Prosperity Junction a western Town. He really liked the pulpit in the church.
A mock up of an early day classroom. I hate to admit it but this is how my class rooms in Price, Utah looked like when I was a kid. Inkwells in the desk and all. At least we didn’t use the inkwells.
Early day bank.
I caught him bellying up to the bar. Kids!
I love this hat exhibit. Tell you what though, when I first saw it it reminded my of a tank full of jellyfish. Is there such a thing as Cowboy Hat Jellyfish?
With that, we loaded up, grabbed our second sodas from Pops and headed back home.
I just love road trips, have you been on one lately? Tell us about it.