Sunday came, and it was time to pack up again and move on down the road. This time, we didn't have far to go. Only about 15 miles, to the little town of Sanger, TX. We picked Sanger because there was a campground there with alpacas! Oh nooo, I could NOT resist that booking. We only booked one night there, and I was wondering if I should have taken more? When we drove up, there he/she was! Sad to say, though, that's about all the friendly he/she ever got. And surprisingly enough, we also found the office closed and locked up tighter than a drum. And not a soul in sight. What the heck? OK, no big deal, right, they'll have a packet by the door, I'm sure. EVERY well-run campground leaves packets for their guests that arrive outside business hours....well, maybe not EVERY one...'cuz there was sure no packet for the Callanders!
Luckily, I remembered that they had sent me a confirmation notice via email just a couple days ago. I knew where we were going, so I pretty much deleted it without reading it. Well, I went looking for it in the Trash folder, and there it was, our site assignment! We were to go to site 66. Somehow, Dick had found a park map (I think in the little metal box I told him to check...) and we found site 66 on it. We also found a warning that site assignments could be changed without notice, so we still weren't really sure that's where we should be heading. We gambled and headed that way. We had to wait a dude pulling a trailer (the wrong way, no less) to decide where he wanted to go, then we headed up into the hillside. Site 66 was in the turn, of course, so we had some finagling to do to get into the site. Remember, we still don't bend in the middle! We only had one night to spend there, so we didn't even hook anything up except for power. We always want the power on; we have gotten quite soft in our old age, and we need that A/C. We'll tell you it's for the dog, but we all know better, don't we!? 😊 There was WiFi there in the camp, but, no packet, so no password. There were bathrooms, but they were locked, so we didn't get in. Not that we would have, anyway, but it would have been nice to know that we could, if we wanted. There was also a notice that alpaca feedings occurred every night, and guests were invited to join in. Well, we didn't see anyone approach the alpacas, nor did we see any feeding going on. What a big disappointment this whole stay turned into. Good thing we only had the one night booked! We packed up early in the morning and hit the road. Wasn't too long when we ran into the leading edge of the cold front. With clouds like this, we knew we would be getting wet soon. We were right! At least the road was good. And flat. Good and flat.
Not too much longer, and we started getting into rolling hills again. We much prefer flat, but what's one to do? We go where the road takes us!
Shortly, we saw a wind farm. I don't know if that's what they're called or not, but that's what WE call 'em. There were probably a hundred of these monster modern windmills, and they were all going around, going SWOOSH, SWOOSH, SWOOSH!
Then we were back to flat again.
Aaaand, just a few more miles, and the road cut through a rock outcropping. Apparently, OK has some hills after all.
Our first glimpse of Oklahoma City, OK. It's a big city! With skyscrapers and everything!
Our dear friend Donna, from our first Workamping gig in Branson, had contacted us when she found out we were headed to Oklahoma. She's been living in Tulsa for a few years now, and we decided we would meet up in downtown OKC (that's Oklahoma City, for you out-of-towners) and tour the memorial.
At 9:01 a.m. on April 19th, 1995 the unthinkable happened. A deranged anti-governmentalist terrorist drove a Ryder rental truck up to the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building and at 9:02 am detonated all the explosives he and a friend had packed inside. He was targeting the government, through the offices inside the building, but he either didn't know or didn't care that hundreds of innocent people were there, transacting their normal city and town business (think water permits, building permits, etc), and the 2nd floor housed a daycare for little children. The bombing was in retaliation for for Ruby Ridge in 1992 and Waco in 1993. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism today, and there are services at the memorial every year to commemorate and honor the victims.
According to Wikipedia:
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building[1] in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the bombing happened at 9:02 am and killed at least 168 people,[2] injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third of the building.[3] The blast destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings within a 16-block radius, shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, and destroyed or burned 86 cars,[4][5] causing an estimated $652 million worth of damage.[6] Extensive rescue efforts were undertaken by local, state, federal, and worldwide agencies in the wake of the bombing, and substantial donations were received from across the country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated 11 of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, consisting of 665 rescue workers who assisted in rescue and recovery operations.[7][8] Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United States, and remains the deadliest incident of domestic terrorism in the country's history.
Within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Charlie Hanger for driving without a license plate and arrested for illegal weapons possession.[9][10] Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack; Nichols was arrested,[11] and within days, both were charged. Michael and Lori Fortier were later identified as accomplices. McVeigh, a veteran of the Gulf War and a U.S. militia movement sympathizer, had detonated a Ryder rental truck full of explosives parked in front of the building. His co-conspirator, Nichols, had assisted with the bomb's preparation. Motivated by his dislike for the U.S. federal government and unhappy about its handling of the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 and the Waco siege in 1993, McVeigh timed his attack to coincide with the second anniversary of the deadly fire that ended the siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.[12][13]
There is a gate at each end of the Reflecting Pond. One gate is etched with 9:01, the other with 9:03. The pool itself represents the moment of the blast. It is also the footprint of the original building. The empty chairs (one for each of the 168 individuals who lost their life) are arranged in 9 rows, representing the floor upon which the bodies were at the time of the bombing. The chairs themselves represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victims' families.
There remains a lone tree, an American Elm, estimated to be more than 90 years old. It was the only tree prior to the bombing, and provided shade for some of the cars parked in the lot on a daily basis. After the bombing, the tree stood tall and strong, but all the leaves were blown off it. Pieces of evidence were embedded in its trunk and limbs, but people rallied around the tree and worked to save its life. It has become known as the Survivor Tree, and it's been incorporated into the design of the memorial. You couldn't help but have your emotions stirred when you stood under it. I'm not crying, you're crying. Maybe we just have some dust in our eyes. Nooo, we're probably crying.
They really tried to make this whole area a place of rebirth and calm. Flowers are everywhere and the beds are well tended. We didn't find a weed one. But we never saw anyone working in the beds, either, so they must have a whole cadre of gnomes that work only at night, when it's cool and no one is around to witness them.
After viewing the memorial and walking all through the museum, we went to lunch at a salad bar unlike any other we'd ever seen or heard of. All their salads started with a mix of spring greens or Cobb lettuce in a bowl. Then they put in whatever add-in options you selected. Dick & Donna both had the Southwest, with corn, beans & avocado, while I had the Harvest, with dried figs, grapes, diced cucumbers and walnuts. Yum, they were all yummy! Coolgreens' Food Ethos states:
FOOD ETHOS
Coolgreens is a healthy lifestyle eatery committed to providing ‘more than’—more than just a high quality, fresh dining experience. We offer menus that cater to all lifestyles. More than a fast casual restaurant; we are dedicated to making the markets that we serve better places to live. More than a chain; we align ourselves with partners who are passionate about serving and educating their communities on the benefits of healthy living.
That is an especially beautiful memorial. The little chairs for the children brought tears to my eyes. Glad you got a chance to see it.
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