Can you believe it... More than one post in a week... or rather a month??  I am going to get this blog thing up and rolling again...   I know you will all be able to sleep much better tonight because of this..  Just here to help!

The whole reason I got to go to Oklahoma was because my step Mom grew up in the area.   The ranch belongs to Fran's sister, Nancy.   So one day Nancy and Fran decided that I needed to see where they both grew up and on the way we just happened to go by The Pioneer Woman's ranch.   After I got to Oklahoma I found out the Nancy knows Ree and Marlboro Man's family...  How cool is that?  

So without much say about going on this trip I was in the car and Nancy was driving down the road to what seemed like no where land... 

The difference between Nashville and the middle of Oklahoma is ... well ... a lot!   We drove through one town that felt like a ghost town. It did have a coffee shop.   It was so cute but no one was there drinking coffee.  You would not see that in Nashville.    And this town also had a gas station and that is just about all.  

I was starting to get a little worried that I might not get to eat until we got back home when we ran into another town that did have a restaurant and a little grocery store.   ( I found out later that this is the store that Ree buys all her groceries from for all the great food she cooks for her blog..   OK I am not a fan of The Pioneer Woman or anything...)  This was a nice town with a lot of history and really it seemed like a city compared to the other little town we drove through. 

After we ate and got a nice tour of this quaint town.. we continued on our road trip.   Nancy and Fran were telling me that they grew up in a very small town.   Very small as in , when they were young it had a church, post office, small market, and a school.   Today all that is there is four houses , a church and a grave yard.   

I started to get a little worried when we left the two lane paved road and turned onto a one lane gravel road.....

Yep only 20 miles down this gravel road....  No really I swear!!

Then as we were driving down this long gravel road we came upon some beautiful wild Horses... and guess what they were Ree's Wild horses!!!!   Yep that's right Amy...  Ree's Wild Horses!! 

OK so since I was in the car with Fran and Nancy I couldn't just run into the field and take close up shots.   I don't think the horses would have stayed there very long anyway.   But they were so beautiful.   And I felt bad asking Nancy to stop the car every two minutes. 

Then a surprise... we turned onto another gravel road and we ended up here.... 

At The Pioneer Woman's Lodge...  OK this is starting to sound creepy...  I am not a stalker I swear...  Ree has absolutely nothing to worry about.    

But we did get to talk to some of the men working on the Lodge and then I found out that Fran's best friend when she was a little girl lived on Ree's Ranch. (Of course it wasn't Ree and Marlboro Man's ranch back then)   

Fran had all sorts of stories to tell about the houses and the barns.  I was fascinated to learn that the little girl that was Fran's friend was the daughter of a Dr. that lived here.  There are a lot of long barns, that are about to get torn down because the roofs are bad, that used to house all the stud bulls.    She said that people from like New York would rent a bull and they would come and stay at the Lodge and get to "take care" of their bull for a weekend.  

Fran had one of her basketball parties at this lodge when she was in high school.   Since Ree is totally renovating this place it has change a lot.  Fran told me how it used to look.  

This is the view from the deck.  When I was there the deck was not finished.   So we were walking on planks.  I think it is all finished now.

And this is Ree's house...  Way over there past the pond...  Man this land is beautiful!!!

OK I am finished with all the Ree stuff...  I will stop sounding all creepy ( no I am not in love with Ree....  Well maybe just a little.... )  I didn't get to meet her in person even though we did call and tried to get together with her . Maybe next year Ree..  Mark me on your calendar... 

So we get back on the 20 mile dirt road, on our way to Fran's very small town, and I keep seeing these weird stacks of rocks...  They are everywhere at the edge of the fences.   Nancy said they used these as fence post.  humm... Well it makes a nice photo... see the oil rig in the back ground?  They were everywhere too. 

For some reason I didn't take pictures of the church and 4 houses that are still left in the town (didn't want to bother Nancy to stop the car) until we got to the graveyard.  It was on a hill and the wind never stops blowing.   Nancy said that it was so cold there in the winter and that she did not want to be buried there.  Too Cold!    There was nothing but cattle for miles around this graveyard.   A little creepy..  no doubt!!

When we got back on the gravel road and drove a little while longer we came across these... Bison!  How cool is that?   Notice that oil rig back there again.  I told you they were everywhere!!

I felt like I was in the movie "Dances with Wolves"

Except there weren't any of these back in those days....  Those Bison ran free. 

As our road trip came to an end, the clouds started getting dark.   By the time we got back home you could see the storm coming up over the pastors.   It was so amazing.   You can't watch storm clouds for so long in Nashville because of all the hills.  But here in Oklahoma... Wow!  

How lucky is this shot?  Well it is out of focus but that is because I was shooting constantly until lighting struck.  I think it scared me and I jumped. 

Look at those clouds...  It kept getting darker and darker.... 

OK after this shot I got all chicken and had to go in...  Man did it rain with this storm!!   But it was so beautiful!

So this day turned out pretty well all in all.   At first the idea of this road trip worried me a little,  But wow look at all the green grass I would have missed if I didn't go.  And let's not forget The Pioneer Woman...  How would you now?  If you haven't read her blog yet you really should... then you too will fall in love... with Ree's ... photos...   

No names of towns were mention on purpose to keep Ree incognito

Staying at a Ranch was pretty cool all by itself.  But my favorite thing to do while I was there was drive the gator down to the horses.   They had a barn at  a good distance from the house and their own Pasteur.   It was hard to walk there because of the cattle grid you had to go over, although Sadie and I did try and she almost broke her leg when she slipped through.  So we took the gator which was way more fun anyway!!!

I went to see them at sunset one night and got some great shots

A lot of time we would take treats to the horses, like shucked corn husks.  So when they heard the gator coming they would get excited and come to us. 

Griffin was sitting here and the horses were nuzzling him and he said, "Mom is this real or is this a dream?" 

"It sure does seem like a dream doesn't it?"

Hey there big fellow... lookin' for something??

 Then there were times they didn't want us to leave... So they would stand in front of the gator.  

They must have been lonely.  Poor things... 

So we would stay, because really what else did we have to do anyway??

They did not even mind if Sadie gave them kisses...  what great horses!!!

This beautiful boy is my favorite! 

Just look how handsome he looks all decked out....  This was after I got to ride him.. for a very short time.  These cowboys are funny about their horses. Even though I was trained in dressage since I was 10 years old, and worked in many a barns, I still may not able to ride their horses....  hummmm 

I told them, the next time I come for a visit I really wanted to herd some cattle...  I don't understand why they laughed when I said that...   Obviously they don't read The Pioneer Woman...  and not to mention that in my 20's I did a 10 hour cattle drive on horseback in Montana....( that was just the coolest thing I have ever done!! )

 So cowboys.... the next time I come for a visit,  I will ask again...  "Please can I herd some cattle with you??"       Maybe they won't laugh and they will say "Sure come on!!"    Some reason I bet I will hear laughter again.. but that is o.k. I was starting to get use to it.  

Speaking of The Pioneer Woman...  I did go to her her farm while I was in Oklahoma... found out she was just down the road!    I will post about that next time! 

Finally a new post!   I know you have all been waiting for this moment... 

 After Camille and I got back from Camp Merri Mac I got a call from my Dad asking if the kids (this includes Sadie) and I wanted to take a road trip to Oklahoma... Well... I have never been to Oklahoma and I love road trips so sure we wanted to go!! 

Now my Dad and Step Mom Fran, have a pretty large RV. (Plenty of room for all of us)  But on this trip they chose to bring a smaller camper that fits in the back of the large truck.  Smaller? OK we can live with that...  After meeting them in Alabama, we begin our journey.  Three adults, two kids and a large dog all in a truck.  A large truck with back seats, but still a truck none the least!

The first day we made it all of two hours to a campground in Mississippi.   The second day we made it to Arkansas and finally on the third day we drove into the Strom Ranch in Oklahoma.  

 I thought I was going to die driving three days, sitting in the back seat between the kids and having Sadie at our feet, but as soon as we got there I knew suffering through the three days was going to be worth it!

The Ranch is owned by Fran's sister and brother in law.   And this visit was a family reunion so there were lots of people there upon arriving.  This was our first meeting so we had a lot of names to remember.   By the end of the 10 days I think I finally got everyone down.

The first thing we did was get on the gator and ride all over the place.

Griffin wanted so badly to drive the Gator.  Wanted to take Ella for a ride...

One of the first things we did was watch the tractor make hay bales.   I felt like I was The Pioneer Woman for a moment.... 

This was a great place for the kids.  They got to run around all day and explore the land.  They didn't have to be watched every two seconds because they were safe on this large ranch.   That was a lot of fun for all of them.    They found a few interesting things like:

A cow's skull.  This is Ella my step sister, Missy's daughter.  

They found a snapping turtle. Alexis did not think it was too cute! 

I thought he was pretty cute!!  Good thing he was so small! 

Griffin got to be all boy while we were there. 

With my supervision he got to shoot a BB gun.  He was so thrilled! 

My Dad brought his motorcycle which Griffin was  most fascinated.  All he could talk about was riding that bike!  

Then he got his chance!  I went on a long ride into town one morning.  It was fun, once I relaxed and realized Dad knew what he was doing..  

Of course we all got to go horse back riding.  

Thanks to Jason... a real cowboy... 

These horses are so good...  They work hard on this ranch..  even giving kiddie rides.. 

I even got to ride!!!   I could so do this all the time!!!!

Riding through the fields, the wind blowing through my hair, the smell of fresh cut hay....  HEAVEN!

More later.....

We went to Atlanta for the weekend.   My Aunt and I and the kids went to Atlanta to meet up with my cousin Shannon and her son Ryan.  We also met my other cousin and Aunt and Uncle (mother's side) at the Aquarium.     It was a family affair!!

Friday night the kids were just down right crazy!  Been in the car too long and were so excited.  It took everything we had to get them all to bed.    But Saturday we made sure they were all very tired so there was no problem getting them to go to sleep Saturday night.   

We went to the Georgia Aquarium Saturday morning.   What a great aquarium!  I have been to a few aquariums and I like this one the best so far.    

I think the kids loved all of it  but my favorite was the Beluga Whales.   

I could have stayed and watched them all day.   They each had their own personality and they seem to come by and say hi to each of us. 

Griffin liked them too.  He actually stayed in one place longer than a minute. 

We met Paula, Ed, Tracy, Barry, Luke and Melody at the Aquarium.    We haven't seen them in so long so this was such a great treat.

Luke and Barry touching a stingray. 

Hi Melody!  It is so nice to finally meet you!!

Here is the group minus Terry, Shannon and Ryan.   

See all the pictures here

Terry, Shannon and I got to go to Ikea.   What fun that is.  And the kids go to play and had babysitters while we shopped.

Camille and Griffin got new bedroom suits for their new bedroom. 

I went to college in Atlanta.    I spent 4 years at The Atlanta College of Art.  ( left about 17 years ago) It was located above the Woodruff Arts Center.    I lived in a dorm right behind the High Museum of Art.

This was where the dorm used to be.   Many parties happen in that spot... 

Then I found out that just last year The Atlanta College of Art was taken over by the Savannah College of Art.    They rebuilt the dorms close by where they used to be and I bet they are much nicer than the rooms we  lived in.    The last time I  came by the school about 8 years ago  everything looked pretty much the same.   It was strange to see how different it has become.    

Sunday we went to the Zoo.  Griffin loved brushing the pig.

Camille the gorilla.

Camille and Ryan playing on the Zoo playground.    

We had a great time.  Having fun is something we all needed!

To see the rest of the pictures go here.

I have a really cool project that I have been working on and I am hoping I can show pictures tomorrow.      

Warning:  This is a long post.   After getting home,  getting over being extremely tired, catching up with work and dealing with the internet going on and off,  I was finely able to finish this crazy post! 

We left the Bed and Breakfast on Thursday morning.   It was raining, again, but we had a good trip.   It took us 6 1/2 hours to get to San Francisco.  Even though it was raining we still got to see a few cool things along the way.   

After leaving Klamath we saw a sign that said Elk crossing.   Here in Tennessee we see Deer crossing all the time and sometimes we see a deer.  So when we saw a sign that said Elk Prairie we thought we would stop and see if we saw an elk.     Well...

We saw a whole bunch.   They were hanging out at a rest area.   

There were signs all over the place saying if you see elk , do not approach them.   

But since these were all laying down I thought it would be o.k. to get a little closer.    They didn't seem to mind. 

The drive from Northern California to San Francisco was so beautiful.    We would go from ocean scenes like this:

To river scenes like this:

In just a matter of minutes.   It really was just amazing!!

We even saw Big Foot!!

One thing I didn't get pictures of was the vineyards.    It was raining too much to stop to take pictures but man was the landscape beautiful with all the grape vines all over the place!

We arrived in San Fran around 5:30.  Rush hour traffic and rain.  A perfect combo for a big city.   Ha Ha

After getting settled in our room, we decided to do a little shopping in Union Square.    Terry felt right at home in this busy, noisy place, I wanted to go back to the wilderness.   I am not all that comfortable in the middle of a big city.  Give me the sound of crickets over car horns any day!!

This is the view from our room.   We were on the 9th floor of the Chancellor Hotel . 

The next morning the sun was shinning and I was rested and ready to conquer the big city.   Our first stop for the day was Alcatraz!!!!   We did the tourist tour because two or three people said that it was a really interesting tour.    I loved it!!    I was more interested in the plant life than anything but hearing about the history and the prisoners was pretty awesome too.      

I love the green moss all over the roof.   

Alcatraz became a prison as early as 1859  and shut down in 1963.   The salt water has done it's damage to the outsides of the buildings  but the cells and inside look like they did all those years ago.   Not your  grand hotel by any means...

This is in the dinning hall.

There were a lot of broken windows.

This was the warden's house.   All the flowers on the floor are Milkweed.    Uhhh funny how some seeds made it into my pocket.     How cool to grow Milkweed from Alcatraz!

This plant is called a Century Plant.  It grows all around the edges of Alcatraz.    I think it was put here so if anyone tried to escape they would be caught by the thorns...   

Look at the thorns on this plant!   I don't know what kind of plant this is but I would hate  to fall on it. 

This succulent was my favorite of them all.   It is called Tree Aeonium.   um mm  funny how a small rosette jumped right in my pocket...   they are easy to root.  I don't think anyone will miss it.    Aren't they beautiful.   They were also all over San Francisco.   

These flowers were so beautiful.  This is a Fuchsia .  Camille and I think it looks like a fairy.   

The view of the city is great from Alcatraz.   

There it is The Rock.     Pretty Cool! 

After spending the morning on The Rock we decided to go to Chinatown.   So Terry flagged down this guy...

the guy that peddles the bike that has two seats in the back.  I don't know what that is called but it was a neat way to see the city.    He was from Poland and going to the Art school here.     He took us the long way from Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown so we could see more. 

We walked around for a while and bought a few goodies, like cakes, ginger and some candy. 

I loved the markets that were everywhere.    So much color!

Even people's underware looked cool. 

We left San Fran Saturday morning.    We had to fly into San Diego and I saw the fires from the plane.   I just didn't know at the time what it was.  It was a beautiful day and I thought it was strange that there was a section of the landscape covered in clouds. ( so I took a picture)  It was the smoke.   I didn't know about the fires until the next day. 

So that is all.   We got home late Saturday night.   It was such a great trip.    So good for me.  So much fun and I had a great time taking around 800 pictures...    See I could really torture everyone with many more photos!      

I really want to go back and take the kids.    Hopefully one day I will!