Oklahoma State Fair

We stayed in Oklahoma City an extra day and spent it at the Oklahoma State Fair.  This makes our third state fair: Alaska, Iowa and, now, Oklahoma. In my opinion, this fair falls between Alaska and Iowa.  I was disappointed in the quilt and textile exhibits. I enjoyed the animals, even though we visited just before the last weekend and most of the animals were gone. Lots of 4H exhibits which are always fun to look at.  And I learned some new things.

Russ is rarin' to go!

4 H kids competing with their animals. Love watching them wash, blow dry and comb them to the point where they look like giant stuffed animals.

Getting horses ready to corral the bulls for the evening's bull riding show.

Boar goats were one of the groups in competition the day we were at the fair.

The animal barn was huge!

Llamas and alpacas were two other groups in competition. They are such cute animals - very curious and friendly.

This particular critter was the National Champ!



A kind of obstacle course for the alpacas.



 

 



Love how the 4H program encourages creativity for all age groups.




There were several good displays on native grasses and grains. 





Disappointed in the craft displays - way too cluttered.



Always have to see the pig races!

Southwest Route 66

I decided we would follow Route 66 on this trip to Chicago. Much of Route 66 is gone, either torn out or covered by Interstates 40 and 44. But there are some parts still left. As we travel Interstates 40 and 44, we are getting off to see some of the highlights. Should be fun.

 

 

 

Winslow, Arizona, has done a lot of restoration to its downtown part of Route 66, with lots of photo opportunities.

Capitalizing on the Eagles song, "Take It Easy."  Song sure brings back memories of my younger years.



Saw three different elevations cited here. Not sure which one is the correct one.



There used to be several of these Wigwam motels along Route 66.  Think there are only two of them now.

 

Dinosaurs still roam the Southwest, but most of them are in the rock shops in Holbrook.  Not sure who would buy them, or for that matter, why they were made in the first place.  Guess they made good photo opportunities back in the day.

 

 

Visited the Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.  This is the base instruction for their values and way of life. I was struck by the similarity to what Jesus commands us to do.

 

A beautiful sculpture in the center lobby of the Pueblo Cultural Center. I highly recommend a visit if you get to Albuquerque.



A beautiful display of clay pots and objects.




The artists prefer to use brushes made from yucca leaves to draw these lines because they can make better straight lines.



The cultural center is built in a circular fashion with an inner patio and beautiful murals.



"Warriers in Battle" is dedicated to all American Indian veterans who served in the U.S services.



 

There are lots of Route 66 museums.  We chose to stop at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. It is part of an Old Town Museum Complex.

 

Harleys are an integral part of Route 66 and you see a lot of them on the road taking tours.

 

We are going to see this on our way to St. Louis. The original owner made signs and posted them all up and down Route 66 (kind of a pre-cursor to the Burma Shave signs). We've seen several.

The museum was laid out like you are driving down Route 66. And it is set back in the 1930s to 50s. Pretty nostalgic.

I always thought of these trucks as the modern day version of the Conestoga wagons. Full of hopes and broken dreams as they tried to make their way out to the West Coast on Route 66.

The Old Town Museum had several buildings that were kind of garage shop museums, but the displays were well done.

These are "pig oilers". Pigs rub against them, they roll and ooze out oil which get on the pigs.  Keeps bugs and fleas off the pigs.

Boy they sure made fancy tractor seats - lots of design details.

Not a lot of John Deeres, this seems to be Farmall country.

Some of the windmills tines were bent, we conjectured that it was due to high winds and hail.  We've had high winds  (but no hail) for most of the trip through Oklahoma.



Really cute toy sewing machines that actually sew.



A metal kachina that used to be at a trading post on Route 66 (kind of like the dinosaurs we saw in Holbrook).

 

Stopped by the Old Town part of Albuquerque for dinner and saw this saint stuck in a tree at the church.

The central church in Old Town.



On our way to see the Combine City, we spotted this herd of elk.  Must be part of a local cattleman's collection.  The field was surrounded by developed land so I don't know how a wild herd would have gotten in, let alone wanted to be there.

There were some buffalos here also.

Somebody buried a bunch of combines, like the Cadillac Ranch. Would look better if the grass were mowed.

And then there are the buried VW bugs - this Cadillac Ranch thing gets copied a lot.