America - there and back in 28 days: 30.05.08 Oklahoma

Awoke in Texas and endured the most painful shower ever. It was like a mini water blaster. Texans must have really thick skins that's for sure!! After first aid was applied we got ready for the days travelling, about 350 miles are planned for today.

No wonder everything is said to be bigger in Texas.
There's so much space you'd never find anything
if it was small!

Things are bigger in Texas, that's a big cross!
190 feet high on Interstate 40 at Groom, Texas.

My dislike of battery hen farming was added to by witnessing the farming of grain fed beef. The poor cattle are penned in small metal corrals all their lives. They have no shelter or grazing. The pens are just bare soil and when it rains they turn to filthy mud. It was quite sickening to see.

Patriotic Texan Cattle

Leaving Texas, Oklahoma is the next state line that we cross.

A lot more greenery to be seen, as we travel past the scenery is becoming prettier.

The road kill is even more interesting. Raccoons, snakes, armadillos and even little turtles. One bit of ‘fluff’ even leapt up and became a squirrel!! Lucky thing obviously realized that the freeway was not the best place to be and beat a hasty retreat off the road. Gave me a bit of a shock though!

Our entry onto the expressway was intended to speed up our travelling time. You have to pay a number of tolls to travel on these roads, but instead of saving time we ended up in a bit of a traffic jam as three trucks had had an accident up ahead.

We have been travelling for the last week and staying in motels until we pick up the travel trailer (what they call caravans over here) in Indiana on Monday.

I’m actually looking forward to not having to live out of a bag or eat in restaurants each day. Food over here is hard to get used to. I had catfish last night and it tasted just like fish. Not a hint of cat! The biscuits that were served with it are what we know as scones. When I said I didn’t want ‘scones’ with my dinner I got a thing like a muffin instead! Needless to say I didn’t eat that either!

Breakfast normally consists of danishes, muffins and even donuts, as well as cereals and toast. Hash browns are really a pile of fried grated potato served with your bacon and eggs, and forget about the bacon we’re used to. The only bacon I've seen here are skinny little rashers, normally cooked to a crisp. Lumps of jelly served with your salad is really strange too!

The days’ highlight for me was seeing real Buffalo at an Indian Trading post. (A fancy name for souvenir shop!)

the Oklahoma
bombing Memorial

The site of the Oklahoma bombing has had a beautiful memorial built on it. A huge granite reflection pond is overlooked by rows of metal chairs placed on a raised
bank of lawn.

'You are entering the area where the Alfred P. Murrah Building
once stood. The granite used on this pathway was salvaged
from the Murrah Building. The Field of Empty Chairs is a
tribute to the 168 Americans who were killed April 19, 1995.
The nine rows represent the nine floorsof the former Murrah
building. Each person's chair is positioned in the row that
corresponds to the floor on which they worked or were visiting.
The five westernmost Empty Chairs honor those who were
killed outside the Murrah Building'

'This American Elm was surrounded by a parking lot filled with
burning vehicles on April 19,1995. It survived the explosion
and became known as the Survivor Tree, an important symbol
of resilience to the family members of those killed, survivors,
rescue workers and people around the country. Photographs
of this tree date back to the 1920's when it stood in the
backyard of a family's home.'

'A rescue Worker originally painted the message on this wall
during search and recovery efforts on April 1995. The building
on which it is painted was a functioning office buiding when the
bomb exploded across the street. Ceilings collapsed, walls fell
in and glass shards flew throughout the building. Hundreds of
people were injured, many critically. Fortunately, no one was
killed inside this building'

Walking around the memorial and reading the plaques really brought the news reports that I saw when it happened into reality. To me it’s no longer just another horrible thing that I saw on TV.

I stood there where it happened.
Rather sobering.

This fence was erected during the search and recovery. People used it to
place rememberances to those who had been killed. When the Memorial
was built the fence was taken down but public outrage at it's removal
meant it was re erected permanently.