July 18, 2015 Road Trip

Friday Night 
Fred and Gay, Glen, and Doug (from Cowboy Church) practiced music for Sunday morning worship service that will be held on the grounds of the rodeo.  Several people pulled up chairs to listen and enjoy the gospel music.

Saturday
We picked up Fred and Gay and went to the local grocery store for breakfast!

The grocery store is "one size fits all".  There is a florist section, pharmacy, bakery, greeting cards, and a dining area as well as all of the groceries.  One of Fred/Gay's friends told us the best breakfast was at the grocery store.

We have to agree.  THE best biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs.

From there we drove toward the Bartlesville area to "WOOLAROC", a museum and wildlife preserve. (Note: when Fred said we were going to "Woolaroc", I thought he was saying "Willow Rock".  I didn't know what to expect.

WOOLAROC was built in 1925 by Frank Phillips---of Phillips 66 fame.  He was a resident of NY City but loved the Oklahoma hills.  He/his company was developing the oil and gas conglomerate.  WOOLAROC consists of 3700 acres  and is "a haven as romantic and rustic as the woods, lakes, and rocks from which it takes it name.  From the buffalo, longhorns, deer, elk, and more....to the historic Lodge home and the beautiful, rolling Osage Hills, a visit to Woolaroc is unique."  Woolaroc is a mix of "woods, lakes, and rocks."

There is also a museum that has one of the finest collections of southwest art in the world..  It is a massive building.  It would take days to view each object, and read each description.

Frank Phillips has herds of various exotic animals on the ranch.  There is a drive through loop where several of the animals are visible.

Some of the wildlife are: longhorn cattle, ostrich, sika deer, fallow deer, bison, wapiti (elk), highland cattle, llama, zebra, water buffalo.  

Frank Phillips died in 1950.

 I think this is a sika deer from Japan.

 There was a huge herd of bison.

 This massive bull elk was a long way away.

Just one of many bronze statues on the site.

 Fred called this a "mountain boomer."  The lady in the museum called it a collared lizard.

 The brightly colored lizard is of the male species.

 The front of the art museum.

 Close up of the tile work in the entrance to the museum.

 The front of the lodge where the Phillips stayed. 

Glen, Fred and Gay seeking shade!  It made it to 101 degrees today.  We did very little walking outside!

Tonight we went to the rodeo performance.  Remember the performers are all ranch hands from the local area ranches.  They are all amateurs!  There were the usual barrel racers, calf roping. bronc riding, bareback bronc riding.  And--last but not least--wild cow milking.  Two cowboys on a team; one ropes the cow, the other "holds" the cow by the head; the roper gets off the horse, milks the cow--there has to be some liquid--and races back across the time line.  The one holding the cow has to get the rope off the cows head before the milker crosses the time line.  It was a hoot!

 Of course, pople watching was as much fun as the events. Here are some aspiring trick riders!