Day 6: Friday, September 8, 2023:
What’s wrong with these Geese?
Today was yet again another driving day. We woke up this morning in Oklahoma; a decent breeze helped keep the air bearable. Quigley walked down to an area with a donkey, feather-footed chickens, goats, and geese. He made fast friends with the chickens; he loves his feathered friends at home. But it was another story when he tried to befriend the geese; they hissed and honked at him, and he was unsure what to make of these crabby, ill-tempered birds.
Segregation
At the campground, we noticed segregation is still alive in Oklahoma, at least at this KOA. They keep their outdoor bathrooms segregated, not by race, but by city and country. See photo.
Skoolie
We met a couple traveling from Oregon in a Skoolie. For those who don’t know what a Skoolie is, it’s an old School Bus converted into an RV. It’s pretty interesting what creative things people do with a school bus. This couple’s Skoolie is a work in progress; they even plan a rooftop deck in the future.
Inside of a Skoolie
Kid needs a leash…
We continued on I-40 West; we stopped at a rest area, and to save time, rather than open the RV up and use the restroom, we just decided to use the rest stop restrooms (so long as they were clean). It was clean, but my restroom experience went awry.
So I entered my stall; they were oversized stalls, but not handicapped. Anyway, I position myself to hover; side note: it’s the only reason I continue to do squats (to prepare for public restrooms). So, I was on the tarmac getting ready for takeoff when, like a Jack-in-the-box, a 3-4-year-old male child with dark brown hair and eyes and a pale face popped in under the side stall divider. I nearly peed from the quick scare, which, in hindsight (pun intended), I suppose would have been okay considering my position. He said nothing and stared at me like one of those creepy kids from Children of the Corn. I repeatedly told him to leave, but he refused. I quickly covered myself as best I could with my shirt and said loudly, Whoever’s kid this is, please get him out of my stall.
I assume it was his mother, she said, “It ain’t nothing he hasn’t seen before.” I said, “I don’t care; get him out of here.” She said, snarky as if I was bothering her, “Well, then open the stall.” Considering my precarious position, I wasn’t sure I could without exposing this little boy and all of the restroom to things a toddler and others shouldn’t see. So I told him to turn around. He shook his head no, so with one hand, I pulled my shirt down as far as I could to cover my lady part (there is never a fig leave when you need one). I wiggled over to him, and using my other hand, I physically turned him around; mind you, I’m still in partial hover mode, jeans close to my knees, trying as fast as possible to get my pants back up.
So, now, my clothes are working as intended, and I am escorting this little boy out to his mother, who was by the row of sinks putting on lipstick without one ounce of concern for her kid. She said nothing; she just glared at me from the mirror. Then I said, “I’ve never been a proponent of kids on leashes, but when you raise them like animals—-you need to keep your kid on a leash or, better yet, learn some parenting skills.” She said, “Boys will be boys,” I said, “Some people shouldn’t be allowed to breed.” She said, “Thomas come here,” and grabbed her little boy, who was now playing with the turbo hand dryer and left without apologizing. I wonder what that little boy will grow up to be–perhaps the next Hugh-Heffner. We already know he’s a peeping Tom.
Cherokee people
So, after the bathroom incident, we were back on the road driving, listening to the Autio App, and learning about the Indian nations and the trail of tears that occurred in this part of Oklahoma. I convinced Justin to stop at the Cherokee trading post for lunch; he said it would be a tourist trap. When we stopped, we realized that we had been here before, and yes, it was a tourist trap, but we needed a break from driving, so we went to the Cherokee diner. We had a healthy Buffalo Burger and got a not-so-healthy piece of pie to go. It was hot in Oklahoma; it said 110 degrees at one point, but I took a photo at 107.
Wind Power
We were back on the road. This part of I-40 West is pretty windy, and on the sides of the road, uglying the landscape, are massive wind power turbines. I’d like to see these dot the liberal cities of the country, like NY, LA, or Chicago, instead of the beautiful countryside. Plus, they are expensive and take a lot of oil to make, transport, maintain, and dispose of when their lifecycle is over, and they kill so many harmless birds. How good are they really for the environment?
Okie from Muskogee
We passed a road tribute to the late great Merle Haggard, who was from Oklahoma, and I couldn’t help playing a medley of this songs. He is one of our favorite country singers. One song I’m not sure I had heard before that came up was America First. Part of the song talks about fixing our infrastructure, and we were like, how fitting is this song, as we are driving over terrible roads. It’s as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.
We made it to Amarillo, TX, tired and sick of driving, a break for a few days in Santa Fe, NM is on the horizon.
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