Roadtrip TX

Jake and I made a road trip to see Jayden. Jake was done for the semester and wanted to travel. We started the morning going to church. We saw niece Jaynie at church, and we took her out to lunch. Jake and I then drove on to Oklahoma. I wanted to stay in Claremore. I liked that little town and remember neat antique shops and a great barbeque restaurant. We got in so late that everything was closed so we had to order in pizza to our hotel. We were so hungry! It was 10PM when we ate. Back at home we heard we had hail yesterday morning and also this afternoon.

The next morning Jake and I went to the antique shops and looked around. we found a few things, nothing to exciting. We ate at Billy Sim's BBQ and it ended up being nothing like I remember; it was just ok. We drive on and took a highway going through the town of pitcher. As we drove we both noticed how strangely empty and abandoned the area looked. There were housing areas emptied out and an old school and old churches. There were also piles and mounds that looked to me like a quarry. It was a ghost town. We looked up the name on the water tower and there is a whole history of the little town, a pretty messy one at that. It turned out to be piles of chat leftover from mining and is the most toxic town in the country. The next post tell of the little town. We were intrigued, but did not go back for a second look.

We drove on and on and on. It was Monday evening when we arrived in Early at a restaurant where everyone had gathered to have dinner for Ester's birthday. Everyone was inside and Jayden came over and gave me a big hug. She was smiling so big and then everyone was pointing to her shirt. It took me a minute to read and then another bit to soak it in. Little tiny baby feet with a heart and the words, "Coming soon, December 2023." What? Wait, a baby?! Wow that didn't take long. How exciting it was and how great to learn in person. I was so excited and happy. I cant believe Jayden is going to be a mama!!

After leaving the restaurant, Jayden wanted to feed her horses. We headed past the ranch and the sky was lighting up and looking rather wicked. The radar looked serious too. Jayden assured me that storms always go past Bwood. They predict big storms and they never amount to much, and the storm was a half hour away. She kept telling me we'd be fine. I kept questioning, telling her I did not want to be out in a storm. I told her the skyline looked really close and ugly. Every time lighting would flicker, you could see nasty dark clouds low and close. I could also see the winds were picking up. She was not concerned at all. That is until boom, black wind went gushing past us and in front of us. Jake was at the wheel, Jayden was kind of surprised but still not worried, and I was in a panic. We had zero visibility. The wind was gushing and we could barely see the front of the hood. I was trying to be calm, but was thinking tornado. Jake kept driving even when I told him to stop. It took a bit, maybe he was in shock too, but he didn't stop at first. We were driving into complete blackness. I don't know where he thought he was going when he couldn't see a thing. Then, headlights coming at us: that really freaked me out because neither of us could see well and it was last minute that the headlights came through. That could have been a head on. At this point I was praying. The car passed on and we stopped. Jayden and Jake argued until Jayden got in the drivers seat. She knew the area and knew the road. We sat for a bit. She knew we were along the road of a giant feedlot that is acres of pure dirt, hence the wicked dust storm. It felt like we were in a dust bowl movie. It was terrifying. Jayden backed my Tahoe until she got to a house that had trees and a wind break. We sat and eventually drove out of it. The rain and winds were terrible and my vehicle was a mess. The dust  and rain stuck to one side. I was just glad to be out of it all and alive. We pulled into Noah's shop for a bit. It was just raining and storming. I think he thought we were overreacting. We went to the main house to see all the family and friends at the house for a bit. Later, Jake and I settled into the Lodge, we each had a room to ourselves. 

Tuesday I started the morning outside sitting in the sunshine on a nice warm morning. Jake hung out with Noah and Izzy most of the time. Jayden and I went and got a pedicure and went to a fun bookstore with some interesting history to it. Later, I got groceries made lasagna at the lodge for us, Noah, Izzie, and their friend.

    Thursday Jayden and I spent the day going to the Abilene Western Heritage show. Jake hung with the guys and got all the things he could ever want at the junkyard. He was like a kid in a candy store. If we had more room, I am sure he would have gotten more, but we filled the Wagoneer pretty full. He got 4 nice door panels, a nice bumper, and some other parts. When he bought his truck it came with a smashed in bumper, so it was great that he found one. Having all these parts and replacing them himself will save him a couple thousand dollars, according to him. He was thrilled. Jayden and I enjoyed walking through all the many vendors and shopping at the Western show. Her saddle maker brought her brand new custom built saddle to the show for Jayden to pick up. She was excited about it and it is gorgeous. The maker has to make her new fenders because she has such long legs. The saddle is basket stamped, has Rocking J brand on the fenders and has the Ace of spades on it and some really pretty conchos with turquoise. It took the maker almost a year to build it for her. It is neat! We also spent time watching the Ranch Horse finals. It was fun to see the best of the best horses compete. It is such a neat event and we both agreed it would be a great sport to get into. Jayden has all kinds of ideas of things she wants to do with her horses. She is deciding whether to have her horse Breezy trained as a futurity barrel horse or start her in the direction of Ranch horse. She is going to find a trainer to ride and compete with her. So much potential, but a lot of time and money goes into making them. 

During our time in Texas, we had dinner at Ester's house a couple times. She fixes the best meals Mexican and Chinese. One day I helped Jayden when her farrier came to do her horses. Her little buckskin sure is nice. He is a little pet an lets her catch him and brush him. He did great for his first time with a farrier. 

Friday Jayden picked me up in the morning and we went and rode horses. She was excited to try out her new saddle. We rode out in the pasture and visited the yearlings. We didn't ride very long and it was pretty hot. It was still nice to ride Ace and see the arena and pasture where Jayden keeps her horses. We let Jake choose our lunch destination and he picked Underwoods once again. He really loves that place. Then it was time to pack up and head out. We said our goodbyes to Jayden and Noah. Jayden will be back home to Iowa in less than a month. Noah leaves on Sunday to go to a dunes 4 wheeler race on Sunday going all the way to Oregon. He will go with 6 other guys in a giant motorhome pulling a trailer with their bikes. They will be gone at least a week.   Jake and I's plan was to drive and stay in Guthrie Oklahoma, taking a new route. We got in to Guthrie and found an amazing authentic Italian restaurant called Romas. It was so good and I ate too much. I searched the local hotels and didn't like the choices. We decided it would be better to go on and find a hotel in Tulsa. There are tons of options in Tulsa and it is halfway. We drove parallel to a storm and were thankful not to get in it. There was lightning as we drove. We got in to our hotel across from the Hard Rock at 10:30PM. We sure didn't time our hotel stays very well, it was too late to use the pool. We kind of lost track of the time watching tv and didn't get to bed until 1:00! 

Saturday morning we checked out of our hotel and went across the street to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of Tulsa. Jake had never been inside a casino and this one was huge and neat. Of course at 10AM it is quiet with few people. We didn't spend any money on slot machines, Jake didn't want me too, so we left without losing anything. We visited the gift shop and brought home a few souvenirs. The drive home seemed to take forever! I drove the first leg and missed an exit once, then later got to following road signs about caves and things to see in Springfield. In my mind, I decided that was where we would have lunch. Little did I know it was heading east towards St. Louis. Luckily we saw an antique store only a few miles off the path and I double checked my map. The antique mall was like something out of a bad movie. It was a giant junkyard with so much junk outside I could barely park. It was a hoarders junkyard with nothing worth anything. It was pretty gross and awful. We drove and drove and it seemed to take all day, in fact it did. Tulsa is 6.5 hours from home, however with our many stops it took us 11. Yeah, I am not a great traveler. Being in the car so long really bothers my legs, back, and neck, and I just get tired of being in a car! It was around 8 when we got home and it was nice to be home and in my own bed! Jake and I got some good quality time together, but I'm not sure Ill be driving to see Jayden too often.