Chasing the Great Unknown

I have spent a lifetime exploring the mysteries that surround us. In a college paper, I described it as the Great Unknown, the GU, for short. Since then, I have called it God, the Mystery, and eventually musterion. Sometimes, it was a systematic search for evidence and understanding. Other times, it was like a kitten chasing a laser light. Why am I telling you this? Because I have come to believe that my wanderlust is just a different manifestation of this lifetime pattern of seeking to experience and understand the unknown. Why do I chase the mystery? This is, in reality, another way of asking why I wander? But before getting into that, let's catch up with our wandering.

Turner Falls

We started our week at the Arbuckle RV Resort in Sulphur, OK, on Sunday. We took a quick trip to the Turner Falls Overlook near Davis, OK. These Falls are at the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains and sit on private land. A tourist trap has grown around them. For $15 a piece, you can park your car, walk to the Falls, wade in the water, and climb the hill beside them. Or you could park at the Overlook and get a beautiful view for free. If you know me, you will not be surprised by my choice. The view from the Overlook was beautiful. A long zipline also took a pair of riders across Honey Creek before releasing them to zip back across. I didn't do that either, but I offered to let Marlene do it! She declined. Here are a few of the shots of our afternoon at the Overlook.

Turner Falls of the Arbuckles

The Castle

Rock Creek below the falls

 

On Monday, we engaged in one of the Midwesterner's favorite Spring pastimes: waiting out thunderstorms. These storms sweep in on cold air from the north and drag moisture up from the Gulf through Texas before unleashing rain, hail, and the occasional tornado on North Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. We have been waiting out one storm a week since we left the Rio Grande Valley on the first of March. So far, we have avoided being bashed by hail or spun around by a tornado. However, I have noted in my journal that I should reconsider taking so long to travel through North Texas and Oklahoma during the spring. We may need to pick a different time of year or shorten our stays. In fact, we decided to shorten our stay in Sulphur to avoid traveling through the storm system on Wednesday.

 

Monday was also Eclipse Day in North America. We had a partial eclipse in Sulphur. Initially, we had planned on seeing the Full Eclipse in Little Rock, AR, but when they said the rates would be $100+ a night with a three-night minimum. I decided that that was too much to risk on an event that could disappear behind a Midwest storm front. It turned out that we had partly cloudy skies and watched a partial eclipse. The light began to dim. The songbirds grew quiet. The color of the light started to change, and I pulled out my camera. Here are a few of those shots.

 

Unfiltered shot of Eclipse

Filtered and processed shot behind clouds

Marlene basking in the Sun

An eerie midday

 

We hoped that Tuesday would be our new drive day. I couldn’t book our early arrival in Claremore until I heard back from our Arbuckle RV Park. But they had stopped answering the phone or staffing the office. On Monday evening, I called the Claremore KOA and found they could accommodate an early arrival. We started packing up at 9:35 AM  on Tuesday. We buttoned up Koko and were on the road by 10:30 AM. We had a three-hour drive and a four-hour window before the storm was projected to hit Claremore. There would be no lunch stop on this drive day. After fighting some high winds on secondary roads to avoid the Turnpike tolls, we arrived at Tulsa/Claremore North KOA in Claremore, OK, with a few hours to spare. We got set up and settled in before the skies clouded over.

 

The rain lingered through Wednesday, making it a good day for chilling and chores. We got the laundry done, and Marlene made a pot of stew while I caught up on a few odds and ends.

 

Blue Hawk Peak

The sun came out on Thursday, and we drove to Pawnee, OK, to see the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. Gordon W. Lillie acquired the stage name Pawnee Bill when he worked as a Pawnee Interpreter with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. He grew up in Bloomington, IL, but his family moved to Kansas, where he first encountered the Pawnee. This began a lifelong association with them. (Wikipedia has an excellent article about him. Click Here.) He and his wife, Mae Lillie, were Godparents to my mother. My grandfather was an oil man in Oklahoma in the 1910s and 1920s, when he likely did business with Pawnee Bill. Their wives had similar backgrounds, and they were both Presbyterians. We have a signed photo notecard from them to my mother when she was a little girl. We have no evidence that they were ever in Pawnee. Still, it was a joy to walk the grounds and imagine my Grandfather and grandmother being guests at this ranch. Here are a few photos from our day at the ranch.

 

The Mansion and Tower

Dining Room

Living Room

The Parlour for Visitors

Master Bedroom (smallest of the bedrooms)

Pawnee Bill

Bill Jr's. Room who died at 8 years old

Bill and May

Family Portraits

Bill's pet Cougar

His pet Alligator

Bill's Study

Front Entrance of Living Room

Bill and May on the 50th Anniversary, two weeks before she was killed in a car accident.

The Grandstaircase

A painting complete with ghost of Will Rogers

Will Rogers Bedroom (has best view in the house)

Will Rogers

Will Rogers' Boots

The maid's room

Buffalo Bill's Bedroom

Photo of the Two Bill's merging their Wild West Shows

This photo says it all about these two men, the Two Bills.

The upstairs Bathroom (A bathroom was a novelty when the house was built.)

Blue Hawk, Bill's Friend and original owner of the ranch.

Detail in tile on front porch.

The front of the Mansion.

The view from the front

The tower and grounds

A folly of a log cabin on the grounds

Closeup of the Advertising Mural

Only half of the advertising mural.

Part of the ranch's herd of longhorns.

A bull from the ranch herd of bison

The Lillie Crypt

The family's final resting place

 

On Friday, our travels crossed paths with Dale and Terri. I have known Dale since seminary, and we have stayed in touch despite having never lived in the same state since 1981. He and Terri stopped on their way home from Oklahoma City for a couple of days. We spent Friday catching up and enjoying one another’s company. This trip has allowed us to visit friends and family. Every occasion reminds us of how important this part of our wandering truly is.

 

On Saturday, we went to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore and then drove to Will Roger’s Birthplace near Oologah (OOH-la-ga), OK. Will Rogers is an elemental part of the American Character. He was not only an “everyman” for his time, but he represents a timeless portrait of the best of the American Spirit. He became famous not so much because of what he did as for who he was. His is a story that we need to hear now! His well-known epitaph is "He never met a man he didn't like." I have heard repeatedly, "If he were alive, would he say the same thing in 2024?" After reading his story, seeing the collection, and getting to know him through the museum and his boyhood home, I believe he would! I hope every man and woman living through these days can learn to say the same thing! Here are a few photos from the museum and the birthplace.

 

Marlene, Dale, and Terri

Looking out toward the tomb

Replica of Will Rogers' Study in California Home

A painted Charles Russell Statue of Will Rogers

Will Rogers' laptop that was recovered form the plane crash that took his life.

The Burial site

The Famous Epitaph

Will Rogers on his faithful mount, Soapsuds

The Museum

A last farewell to Will

The kitchen at his birthplace

The dining room

A Bedroom

View from the Front Porch (The lake was not there when he lived here.)

The Living Room

The kitchen

The necessary

The barn

A couple residents

A couple more

The hayloft (I am sure Will played here.)

Marlene makes a friend.

Dale tries his hand at roping.

Marlene gives it a try as well.

 

We then came back to Claremore and went through the Museum of History. It was a full day of renewed friendships, learning about a fascinating American, and discovering a city that is very proud of who they were and are. 

 

 

Marlene with the original Surrey with the Fringe on Top

Oklahoma!

Homage to Claremore Natives, Patti Page and Lynn Riggs.

 

Throughout the week, I have been pondering that kitten chasing the laser light around our living room. Why did that cat chase the spot of light? Did he believe he would catch? What would he do with it if he did? Was he just being foolish and wasting his time? What purpose could all that activity have? He was doing the most important thing he could do; he was being himself. He was being the very essence of kittenhood. Chasing things is what cats do. Without the chase, they are no longer living out their being a cat! Their lives would be immeasurably poorer and less joy-filled. They may even cease being a kitten altogether.

 

Yep, that is why I wander! There is a world of unknowns around me. Mysteries abound! If I had not wandered into Claremore, I would have never known that Patti Page grew up here. I would have never seen the actual Surrey with the Fringe of Top. I would have never learned about Lynn Riggs, the author of the book that formed the story behind Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.” I would have lived my life not being able to appreciate Will Rogers's talent for rope tricks or the depth of his compassion for people caught in natural and human-created disasters. I would not have experienced the eerie silence of the birds during the eclipse or discovered the humanity behind my Mother's Godparents and (by extension) my Grandparents, whom I never knew.

 

By living into my wanderlusting spirit, I am discovering the edges of the mystery beyond and within my own experiences. My humanity is all about chasing the mystery that life flashes around me. I suspect that without the chase, a significant part of myself would die or, at least, miss out on much of the joy in life. So, I will keep traveling and chasing the GU, believing that the only real reason to do so is because it is there. And that is enough for me. In fact, it is my lifetime!

 

Happy travels, my friends!

 

Bob