The Rest of the Trip

We spent 2 nights in Lawton, OK. We drove through the Wichita Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge is home to long horned steer, buffalo, prairie dogs, horses and elk. We saw everything but the elk.

One of my bucket list items is to see horses in the wild. I always thought it would be someplace like Montana. I'm not sure if this really qualifies anyway. The guys assure me that they are wild--not fed or cared for in the refuge. Still, they are "in" the refuge. I'll cross it off my list since this might be the closest to "wild" I'll really get.

As we were passing through this tiny town of Cache, I told Butch that surely he wanted to stop to find a "cache" in Cache---and he did. City of Cache: "Gateway to the Wichitas"---I asked Butch about this and he said they are mountains. Of course, I'm confused because Kansas doesn't have mountains. I guess the Wichita mountains have nothing to do with Wichita, Kansas. It's probably just some indian word.

I was a little nervous about visiting the guys childhood home. It's been 40 years since we've been here---and the last time, it was a bit neglected and depressing. That's the problem with going back---it can be disappointing. This time, it turns out that the house has been cared for and looks like the "boys" remembered it.

Walter and Butch's dad was in the military stationed here at Fort Sill. It was a pretty big deal to have a house. They moved around so much. They pointed out homes of their friends, the creek they always played in and their school. Unfortunately, the woods they played, camped and hunted in is gone---a subdivision in its place. The little town has grown up in 55 years!

We were excited to go to the original Wayne's Drive Inn. As young boys, they didn't get to eat out much, but when they did, it was this place. 

 We had lunch in the car for old time's sake. 

It's surprising---and pretty awesome that the packaging has not changed. The burgers were delicious. Butch and I shared a chocolate, peanut butter malt. 

We had dinner at a German restaurant that was excellent. Butch found that on Trip Advisor---as he did with all of the restaurants we went to. They have all been good.

Our next stop was Eureka Springs, Arkansas. On the way, we had lunch at this cute little sidewalk cafe. We could not have asked for better weather on this trip. In fact, it's been a bit chilly at times. We   did not come prepared for that so Butch ended up buying a sweatshirt for the fishing part of the trip. 

Christ of the Ozarks. This statue is 70 ft. tall. They do a passion play here and have quite a set-up. You can walk through a replica of the Holy Land. It definitely caters to the tourists with lots of gift shops.

 This is a 10 foot section of the Berlin Wall also within the complex.

This is a bomb shelter from Israel. I don't know how this could save you as it's above ground just like this!

Eureka Springs is named after the many springs in the area. Although they've done a nice job with the landscaping around the various springs, we couldn't find a single one with water! 

After some frustration trying to follow the local maps, we decided to be on our way to our final destination: Roaring River State Park. There is a trout stream that meanders through the park. The guys fished---Butch caught two nice ones the first day. We're taking them home, so if he gets a couple more today,  we'll have a trout dinner on Saturday night.

As for Chris and I, we thought we'd be sitting outside enjoying the outdoors with our stitching. Unfortunately, the best we can do is our own balcony. There is not a front or back porch in this lodge. At least we are overlooking the woods. It's still a very nice way to while away the hours.

Lastly, I had to get a shot of the recyclables. Everywhere we go, whether it's a Titan's game, the beach, on vacation--or even on a cruise ship--Butch makes himself responsible for the recycling. While I admire his dedication, I don't always love the smelly stuff in my car. 

On the note of recycling, I discovered something disturbing last week. I stopped at the Starbucks in the mall. I noticed that in the recycling bin there were plastic cups with straws. I didn't think straws were recyclable so I went back and asked. The barista said that it didn't matter because the mall didn't recycle anyway. Everything goes in the trash! What??? The bins are trash on one side and recycle on the other. They are totally misleading the public. I better not tell Butch!

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