Day 11 - Oklahoma

Day 11
October 27
Oklahoma

        My Dearest Miss Smith,
    I do know it is Amy’s turn to write, and since my handwriting is not at all like that of my companion nor does she address you as “my dearest Miss Smith,” I realize that you are undoubtedly wondering why I am writing instead of Amy. I will get to all that later. I only wanted to make sure you were quite clear that it is not Amy who is writing this letter.

    I am sitting here in the living room of our cabin enjoying the quiet after such a fun and stressful day. The cabin has four rooms which means Timber can sleep in Amy’s room once more and Penelope will sleep in mine. Natalie and Lydia are both sharing a room and now and then I hear giggling. Well, tomorrow they will both return home, so I decided to let them enjoy one night of whispering and giggling, though I expect they will fall asleep shortly. But I really should start at the beginning of the day, and I shall as soon as I return the ice pack to the freezer.

    The day started early for all of us. No one wanted to miss a single minute of life at The Hitching Post. We ate our own breakfast and then walked out to see what was going on. I do wish you could have seen the four of us, Miss Smith, all striding along in our cowboy boots.
    All the two younger girls could talk about was horses so the first place we headed was the corral. There it was discovered that since we were the only guests, we could take a trail ride whenever we wanted. You may be sure that we all decided that a trail ride right then was just what we had been wanting. Natalie was the first to be helped up onto her horse. A lovely white one. Lydia was next and her horse, to her great delight, was brown. Nearly the color of her boots and hat. My horse was a darker brown with white stockings on her forelegs and a white diamond on her face, while Amy’s horse was nearly black.


    We had a trail guide with us and after showing us the basics of riding, for Lydia had never ridden and it had been many, many years for me, he had us ride a few times around the corral before we started off. Oh, I simply cannot tell you about that ride, Miss Smith. We wound through the woods, the trees of which were dropping their last leaves. We saw a few deer as we had left the dogs behind. The trail brought us into a meadow and to a stream. Very pleasant it all was and I was almost disappointed to return some two hours later.

    Leaving Natalie and Lydia with the horses and the ranch hands, since they couldn’t be persuaded to leave, Amy and I walked up to the main house and were shown around. Everything was charming in its own western way. Perhaps I should redecorate one of my rooms in a western style when I return from this trip. It certainly would be interesting.

    After a barbecue lunch served outside from the chuck wagon, the four of us were taken for a ride on the 1882 stagecoach. The driver was dressed in the clothing of the time as was the man who rode shotgun. We were told that they were taking the mail as well as us on this trip. The bumping and rattling of that ride was enough to keep anyone awake. It was a dozen times worse than the dirt road leading to your great aunt Eliza’s sister-in-law’s granddaughter’s house. I don’t see how folks could ever travel in stagecoaches and were it not for the delight of experiencing first hand how it felt to travel in those long ago days, I am afraid I would not have enjoyed it. As it was, with the younger girls’ great excitement, it was not difficult to share it, especially when suddenly the man riding shotgun called out, “Hurry up them horses, I think those men aim to rob us!”
    We all eagerly peered out our windows. Since there was no glass, we were able to put our heads out and watch. Several men on horseback were rapidly nearing the stagecoach with bandanas over the lower parts of their faces and with guns drawn. It was an exciting race and quite thrilling. Guns were fired both by the men on horseback and by our driver and guard. At last, the stagecoach was saved by the approach of some cavalry troopers who took off after the bandits.
    It was as the stagecoach was leaving the others behind in the dust (and let me assure you, Miss Smith, that it was very dusty), that it happened. We went over an extra rough piece of road and Amy, turning in her seat to look at the retreating riders, was thrown rather violently across the seats and landed on the floor of the coach, her left hand and arm taking the force of her fall. For a moment we could only hang on to our own seats and look at her. Then, when the road grew more level, we helped her to her seat again. Poor Amy, her arm was in great pain though she never said one word of complaint.
    When we arrived back at the ranch, great was the consternation of the driver about the mishap. Amy assured him that she would be all right, but he insisted on having it looked at by someone there. It was declared to be only sprained, but she was told not to use it for a while. She has it well bandaged and resting in a sling made of bandanas.
    As soon as Natalie and Lydia found out that Amy was going to be all right, they headed back to the corrals to visit the horses and see if they could talk someone into letting them ride again. This they accomplished and neither Amy nor I saw them again until suppertime.
    This letter is growing quite long, Miss Smith, I truly hope you do not mind. Amy said for you to please not worry over her. In the morning Lydia’s parents arrive with Joseph (who came down with his family from Wisconsin a few weeks ago, to visit his grandparents, and stayed on so that he might catch a ride down to meet us), and Lydia’s brother Levi. They will be going with us to Texas and I have a feeling they will liven things up even more. I wonder if they like opera?
    And now, my dear Miss Smith, I will go to bed. You shall hear from me soon since Amy won’t be writing any letters for a little while since she is left handed.

With love,
~Priscilla

Day 11 - Oklahoma

Postcard

Dear Miss Smith,
I am having so much fun a the dude ranch. The horse I ride is white. It has white hair too. I love it when I gallope and her hair blows around like the wavy grass on the prairie. I have brown boots on that have spurs on them. My bandana is red and I have a red cowgirl hat with a silver star on it. Being with Lydia on the trip just makes it all the better!

Love,

Natalie

Day 11 - Oklahoma

Postcard

Oklahoma

Dear Miss smith

I am having so much fun at the dude ranch!  My horse's name is Dusty.  She is brown.   I get to wear  brown boots and a black hat.  They have clean and comfortable log cabin's to stay in that are very quiet.  It is very relaxing and I like it a lot.   You should have been here to see Dusty!

Love,

Lydia

Day 10 - Oklahoma

Day 10
October 26
Oklahoma

        My Dear Miss Smith,
    Having a three hour drive ahead of us, we departed quite early. In fact, it was so early that I was the only one awake. Yes, I do realize, Miss Smith, that I am not an early riser. However, this morning I was awake even before Amy, so, leaving the three girls to slumber, I got in the driver’s seat and set off. I debated about what I should listen to, and then settled on Gilbert & Sullivan. I do enjoy their music.

Isn't the lake just lovely?

    Seeing a sign for Great Plains State Park, I turned in and parked. As I had thought, everyone was up, and after a quick but hearty breakfast of Cream of Wheat and toast with orange juice, we all set off for a walk. Well, let me rephrase that. Natalie, Lydia and I set off for a walk with Penelope, while Amy got out her bike and took Timber for a run. One cannot fully use up the energy of that German Shepherd on foot. The younger girls took turns running with Penelope. We took one of the easier trails which was flatter and less rugged. The rocks and trees, the deep blue of the lake shimmering in the early morning sun, the clean, fresh air all combined to make it a lovely place.
    After spending about an hour at the state park, we once again hit the road, if I may use an expression so devoid of truth. As we drove we practiced our Cherokee. I do believe it will take us longer that a week to learn the language.
    Miss Smith, as we continued on our way, we came across an interesting topic for discussion. Twice we crossed over the Canadian River. Now what was the Canadian River doing so far south as to be in Oklahoma? And why did we cross it twice? Having never studied or even heard about the Canadian River, I could not answer the girls questions about where it came from. Therefore, we got out maps; well, Amy, Natalie and Lydia did for I was driving, and began to study them. They found out what river the Canadian emptied into and what states it traveled through. Really, Miss Smith, that would be a good project for you. Call Bekah over some day and I’m sure the two of you will enjoy the research.

The Officer's Quarters

Guard House

    All were quite excited to arrive at Fort Supply. Most of the buildings have been restored to
their original look. There we visited the officer’s quarters, the Commanding Officer’s Quarters and the only brick building, which was the Guard House. Did you know that this was the supply depot for General Phillip Sheridan’s winter campaign of 1868-1869? It was also where the 10th U.S. Cavalry was stationed. That would be Pershing’s own favored 10th. The ones who really saved the day on San Juan hill with Teddy’s Rough Riders, the ones whose only defeat was in Mexico when the fault was not theirs, the ones who helped earn Pershing the name he treasured, “Black Jack.” You must read up about them, Miss Smith.

Fort Supply

    But, to return to the Fort. It was established as a supply base for the winter campaign against the Southern Plains Indians. Did you realize that George A. Custer, who was then a Lieutenant Colonel, was at this post for a time? I always thought of him up north in the Black hills of the Dakotas and Montana. I see I have much to learn about this great nation. Cavalry units also escorted cattle drives traveling from Texas to Dodge City.
    We all enjoyed wandering around and visiting with the staff of the fort. We ate our lunch there and after a bit more visiting, we took the dogs for a run and then we again were ready to depart. The anticipation for our next and final stop in Oklahoma was growing by the minute. Lydia and Natalie could talk of nothing else but riding horses at the dude ranch. Seeing that not one of us had the proper attire for cowboys (or cowgirls, I should say), we made a stop at a western store where we picked up hats and boots for us all. My hat is black. There is a braided black band around it fastened with a silver piece, but it is rather plain. I would have dressed it up more, but Amy told me I might scare the horses if I added any “fancy do-dads” I believe she called them.
    We arrived at The Hitching Post Bed & Breakfast mid afternoon. We are staying in a log cabin. Quiet and clean; this is refreshing. This evening we wandered around and made plans for tomorrow. We are going to go on an 1882 stagecoach ride, go on a trail ride and enjoy western life to the fullest.
    And now, I must end, Miss Smith, for I do not wish to be tired tomorrow for our full day of ranch life.

With much love,
~ Priscilla

Day 9 - Oklahoma

Day 9

October 25

Oklahoma

Dear Miss Smith,

Our first stop this morning in Norman was an Indian museum, Tribes 131. It was really cool seeing all of the Native American fine arts. There were various types, from painting to bronze sculptures to jewelry, to rugs and more! It was wonderful getting to watch the different Indian artists, whether they be full-blood or only part-Indian, working at their various professions.

We stayed there till about lunch time when we headed over to the Sam Noble Museum.  When we got there we went straight to the Red Bud Café for lunch. Their sandwiches were good, though not the best I’ve ever had.

After we ate we walked through the rest of the museum. It’s is mostly about natural history. Due to this fact there is an almost unbearable amount of evolution in the exhibits. One of the most interesting exhibits, I think, was the Gallery of World

Cultures. There were displays from ancient cultures like Roman and Greece, which tend to be rather intriguing to me.

We drove to Duncan next to the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, a museum dedicated to the cattle drovers from the Old West. Though not as neat as Cowboy museum ‘Cilla wrote about yesterday but it was great fun. Any one, especially children, would love it! There are various hands-on exhibits, as well as the regular displays. One of the younger girls’ favorite was the branding station where you could design your own brand. I loved the Duncan Store. Priscilla, wearing her big hat (you know the one with the bird on top), got behind the counter as if she were the clerk ready to help Natalie, Lydia and me with our purchases. She is highly amusing, especially when she is acting, though I’m sure you already know that.

~Amy~