Lord Alfred the Airstream Update No. 009

 

We left Pawhuska and headed to Ponca City, Oklahoma - 

we continued to drive through thousands of acres of ranches...

But also saw LOTS of notices about being on Native American lands 

- During our drive through Oklahoma, we drove through [or near] tribal lands that included: Choctaw, Creek [Muskogee], Cherokee, Osage, Pawnee, Ponca, Tonkawa, and Kaw... 

One of Ponca City's major industries is the oil refinery and people warned us that we would smell it before we got into town... Yep.

It's a nice size town with an older down-town and standard strip malls, neighborhoods, etc branching out from there....

We enjoyed seeing a statue honoring the [original] Pioneer Woman / Women who kept their families together in the westward trek ...

And we LOVED our COE [Corps of Engineer] campground that evening. 

Let's just be honest - I want a campground that FEELS like I'm camping, but still has paved roads and mostly level pads for my camper - ha. 

A view is always nice as well - 

And Osage Cove [COE] on the shore of Kaw Lake did not disappoint. 

 

We found that most of the COE Campgrounds we stayed at during this trip were a bit off the main road - but WORTH IT.

 

The walk down to the water was covered in these huge flat boulders

and the sunset over the water was the best way to end the afternoon!

 

 The covered picnic tables provided a little [much needed] shade for reading and checking in on the socials.  And the weather was PERFECT.

We had a slow morning and enjoyed breakfast under the shelter 

before we headed out to Wichita.  

[I'm wearing my new PW shirt that came from the free box at The Lodge -]

 

There were lots of things we wanted to do and see while there, but we only had a short time to explore Wichita so we narrowed down to just a few -

 

Mini-stonehenge or Stonehenge, Jr.: 

The standing stones mark the solstice and equinox at high noon local time.

It's like a giant sundial - and pretty cool piece of art.

I kinda hated there was a school group there - but also glad to see them enjoying outdoor space in their city - 

 The Keeper of the Plains

 is a 13 + meter steel sculpture by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin. 

It stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers downtown. 

 

It's next to the Mid-America All-Indian Center.

We didn't have time to go through it but 

enjoyed the river walk and exhibits along the trail.... 

 

It was pretty cool area to walk around and at night a ring of fire flames up around the stature... to o bad we didn't have time to stay for that!

  

Next up - THE TROLL 

Y'all know I look for the wacky and weird things, and this guy did not disappoint. 

Here's some info: The Troll first appeared in 2007, chained to some pipes beneath a large sidewalk grate near the Arkansas River. [Created by local sculptor Constance Ernatt] He is seven feet tall, and weighs 200 pounds and is kind of spindly, with green skin, a bald head, and big ears. He looks more like a goblin... 

 

He's easy to walk right by since he's UNDER a grate in the walkway.

And they say he has a green light illuminate him  at night...

We also drove by the Frank Lloyd Wright House - It was amazing - 

but I have to say EVERY house on that street was amazing!!

All different architectural styles - but so, so cool.

We finished off our time in Wichita with a quick lunch at a Hispanic seafood place...kinda weirdly good... maybe? 

Onward to Newton, Kansas!

OSAGE COVE COE CAMPGROUND

Beautiful!

Good internet and cell - 

The bathrooms we found were national park toilet style... 

But there might be a modern one up the other way...

We'd stay here again -