job report - crunch time

down to the wire, paving done, lights on

tire shop

here's your sign

Carl's Jr.

maybe a little more work on the inside the main store :)

the cleaning crew is coming in next Tuesday and will be there over Thanksgiving with Buddy, then the week after that it turns over to Loves for stocking and training, anyone need a job?

Love’s Travel Stop 

**Love’s and Carl Jr.

Now hiring for the new Loves Travel Stop on I-35.
Starting at $9 hourly, benefits, and 401K for full time employees.

~Guthrie News

so long Guthrie

Guthrie in my rearview mirror

Guthrie, OK is one of the more picturesque little towns I have ever seen. A photo-op around every corner, and I have enjoyed capturing some pictures of the town and sharing on Instagram. Carrie and Daniel tease me about the hashtags, thinking I don't like the town, but I am just trying to learn this social media language. Daniel even suggested some hashtags for me, a couple of which are actually appropriate on this, my last day in Guthrie, like #nomoreguthrie and #leavingguthrie

I have enjoyed our stay in Oklahoma, the sky is big, the land is flat with oil running underneath, the earth shakes with fracking, and the wind is ever present.

In this little town, the buildings are old and stately, the streets are brick, the history is palpable. The folks here are friendly, they even say y'all.

I will miss eating at the local establishments, Staples' famous steaks and football-size baked potatoes, Katy's huge pancakes that hang over the edge of the plate.

The fabric store sells western material  picturing cowboys and Indians, they invited me to come and sew along in the shop. The lady at the local yarn shop tried to interest me in some OSU orange, I told her that we liked Tennessee Orange. More friendly folks, tried to get me to come on in and sit a spell and knit with them.

So Oklahoma is history for now, heading East to Georgia mountains and home and family. Hurry up Buddy and finish your job so you can follow me.

So long, Guthrie, in my rear-view mirror. 

trains

A lot of trains come through Guthrie, OK. All hours of the day and night. Luckily we are about 4 miles away from town and can only hear the faint train whistle in the distance, a lonely sound. 

sunrise shots

hail scale

Storms come across the flatlands all year, not just in the spring, one is on its way today with 'large hail and damaging winds'.

Thanks to Emily Sutton, local weather expert, for this chart, I wonder what it will be, money sized hail or fruit sized hail or sportsball sized hail, or the every popular hen-egg size?

obsolete

penmanship poster, typewriter

adding machine

slide rule

radio

browsing Guthrie, OK antique shops, seeing things I remember and actually once used :)

Territorial Quilt Show

I met the creator of this beauty, she said it took 5 months for the hand applique and about a month for the hand quilting.

"Okie Autumn" First Place in hand applique and Best of Show

vintage quilts etc. display

Memories of Route 66

Oklahoma State Cooperative Extension Centennial Celebration Quilt 

The Territorial Quilt Show in Guthrie featuring more than 150 quilts on display, hosted by the First Capital Quilters Guild. 

fall in Guthrie

Guthrie Escape! Fine Art, Wine, and Music Festival

Vernon Hatley Photography

Oklahoma Frontier Drug Store Museum

Annie Oakley music

Fall is in the air (finally!) and that means festivals. We strolled around the downtown Guthrie Escape! festival, met some nice folks, heard some good music. Amused at the folks walking around with their wine glasses sampling the fruit of local vineyards. Talked to enthusiastic photographer Vernon Hatley and a laid back artist from Stillwater, and the folks at the OKC Sawmill. Listened to the sister band Annie Oakley, teenagers who write their own songs and have great voices and talent.

The Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival was also going on this weekend but we didn't feel like spending the $60 so we opted for the free downtown art fest. 

A great little town with lots of nice folks, they think they are in the South here in OK, they say y'all and some even fly rebel flags, just like home!

the Holy City of the Wichitas

Nestled in the Wichita Mountains you will find this Holy City built out of native stone. The area looks much like Israel during Biblical times, and is the site of the nation's longest running Easter passion play, "The Prince of Peace." Attendance reached an all-time high in 1939 when 225,000 visitors filled Audience Hill for the sunrise performance. 

The Holy City of the Wichitas started as an Easter Passion Play in the Wichita mountains in 1926. 

Each year the Passion Play expanded its cast and worshipers. In 1930, it attracted 6,000 people. By 1931, the congregation has swelled to 15,000 with 150 cast members, and by 1934, 40,000 worshipers came. 

Because of the event's popularity, it received a grant of $94,000 from federal funds. The first buildings were completed by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

A radio broadcast of the pageant took place in 1936, during which a telegram from President Franklin D. Roosevelt was read. That year 2,000 cast members came from 65 cities and towns, and there was a congregation of 100,000. 

Thousands of tourists have come each year to see the city and the chapel, where various types of chapel services are held, including weddings.

~The Holy City of the Wichitas

Wichita Mountains

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

LOVE the quilt references - The wildlife refuge area as described in the visitor center:

Pieces of a Whole. The Refuge is one of nature's patchwork quilts. Rocklands, prairie, oak woodlands, and water form pieces of the quilt, each endowed with many plants and animals. This varied landscape may change over time, but all the pieces remain connected. 

Many lakes were built by the CCC in the 1930s.

The visitor center blends into the landscape and takes advantage of the sun with a roof full of solar panels.

The $6.3 million, 22,000 square-foot visitor center uses passive solar energy design strategies, earth-coupled heat pumps, an energy-efficient ventilation system and lighting, and water conservation measures.  In addition, the building was sited carefully to be sensitive to the natural prairie setting.  The building was dedicated on January 15, 1997. ~picture and info from DOI