I Am a Motorcoach, Discovering the USA by Tread Windshield and Mirror…

. . . in the land of North American indigenous roots and historic routes of more recent vintage. One of the yougest states in the nation, traveling around the vast prairie frontier that is Oklahoma is to revisit a past impression of raw and wild, though speckled with modern outcroppings. Of course, what I bring to the experience is as modern as it gets: my glossy red-coated machinery and computer technology. And my travels happen upon recently paved roads, not the long-worn dirt paths of tribal connections or cowboy driven cattle. Still, I expect you’ll find some Oklahoma earthiness here . . .

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is one of three structures in Oklahoma designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the only skyscraper Wright ever designed. Though the 19 story design is vertically linear, horizontal elements of Wrights Prairie design style can be seen throughout. Appropriate for its Oklahoma location, the Prairie design motif originated as representational of North America’s native prairie landscape. (The lines on my windshield were for some kind of game our guide came up with. Please, I know I’m just a brute machine, but drawing on my face . . . ?)

Here I am hangin’ out at the Oklahoma State baseball stadium in Stillwater. Now, I’ve never been on a ballfield, but just looking in, it is apparent to me the reason this activity became the “great American pastime” is its graphic representation of the American past: grass and dirt . . .

Those of you who have followed along with my travels for a while know there is one subject that gets me jazzed: my ancestry. In this case, the chuckwagon. Following the Civil War, demand for beef in the east and on the fast expanding western frontier created economic opportunities for cattle ranchers in the Southwest. But the cattle had to be driven to railroad connections in Kansas. At the peak of the cattle drive era four of the five major cattle routes traveled through Indian Territory (later to become Oklahoma). The cross-country travel required crews of cattlemen, which necessitated the invention of the chuckwagon (1866). The chuckwagon was (like me) a home away from home for the long distance travelers. Everything they owned they either wore or rolled into their bedrolls, which were kept on the chuckwagon. All other provisions were also on the chuckwagon. On those challenging dirt paths the chuckwagon was home and identity.

Perhaps birthed of legacy consciousness, just a few decades after the era of the cattledrives Route 66 was opened for cross-country travel. It was visioneered in Oklahoma.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NAME NEWS: Of Choktaw origin, the name Oklahoma means “Red People” or “Principle People.” The Indian Removal Act of 1830 required Native Americans living west of the Mississippi to be relocated east of the Mississippi in what was designated Indian Territory. Five predominant (“civilized”) tribal nations were officially recognized: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. In 1907 the Indian Territory became Oklahoma, the nation’s 46th state. Today Oklahoma is home to many tribal nations, ranking third behind California and Alaska in its number of officially recognized tribal nations.

NOBLE NEWS: Buffalo once roamed the western prairies by the millions. Along with its rebounding numbers, the noble and symbolic image of the great beast can be seen throughout the state in artistic representations.

REFLECTION NEWS: On April 19th, 1995, the Alfred P Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by an act of terror. The bombing claimed the lives of 168 people. Twin “Gates of Time” located where the building once stood bear time imprints representing the last moment prior to violent disruption of peace (9:01) and the moment recovery began (9:03). The gates face one another at opposite ends of a reflection pool.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Recognized as Oklahoma’s “favorite son,” Will Rogers was born in Indian Territory, a member of the Cherokee Nation, in 1879. He later turned fabulous rope tricks, a rare gift of humor, and skilled acting and writing into international renown. The Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma is a Must see.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Never let yesterday use up too much of today.” – Will Rogers

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers