Travelling through Family History

Thursday was set aside for my wife and MIL to visit with the extended family in central Oklahoma. We started the day with a visit to my wife’s uncle in a local nursing home. His face lit up when we walked in the room, and my wife and MIL had a lovely chat with him. Unfortunately, he tires quickly, and our visit ended far sooner than they would have liked.

Later, we met a group from the extended family at a local restaurant for lunch. There were three Aunts, one Uncle and several cousins present, and we spend almost two hours in the restaurant, sharing stories and catching up on family news.

I was struck by the contrasts in the town. Driving down the main business street, it appeared that at least half of the buildings were vacant. This is clearly a town that is in decline, and has been for a long time. Even the businesses that remain look run-down and ill-maintained. Many of the homes we saw in and around town also appear to be vacant. Yet in spite of all this, there were a surprisingly large number of vehicles parked along the business district during the day. Something draws people to this town, but I’m not quite sure where all the people were. It was a little strange.

In the evening, one of my wife’s cousins picked us up and drove us around the surrounding area, showing us the locations from their family history. We saw the locations of the various farms the family had owned and worked, as well as some of the school houses they had attended. Most of what we saw is now overgrown fields, with little remaining evidence of the homes that once stood there. One yard was clearly marked out by the trees at it periphery, but there was no sign of any remaining structures. It is humbling to see how quickly evidence of human occupation can be erased.

Near the end of the drive, we stopped by a field that was scattered with blocks of sandstone and limestone. A number of the sandstone blocks had been broken open, revealing fossilized mussels embedded inside. The girls were fascinated by them, and we found a few small chucks with good fossils for them to bring home.

It was a late night, but everyone was reluctant to say good-bye, but eventually we needed to get some sleep before we head out for the next leg of the trip.

Another day, three states

Today was another long day of driving. We were up later than planned last night, which made us later getting started this morning than was originally planned. We finally got on the road out of Wewoka, OK about 9am, heading west on I-40 to Amarillo, TX. From there is was south on I-27 to Lubbock, TX, continuing on US62 through Seminole, TX to Carlsbad, NM, arriving at 7pm (after another time zone change).

We used the GPS unit to find a hotel in Carlsbad, and called ahead from about an hour out of town to book the very last room available. When we arrived, we stopped just long enough to check in and get the room keys, and then headed on down the road to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the focal point of our visit here. We arrived just in time to catch the Ranger talk about the cavern's bats, and then sat and watched the thousands of bats fly out of the cave entrance in a black blur.

Tomorrow, we will head back to the caverns to explore underground (and out of the heat!). After we finish there, we'll probably head up the road to our next destination, Roswell, NM.