Photo Gallery

Hey everyone. I received a request to upload my pictures so here they are.Enjoy!

My Top 10 list of the Oklahoma Trip

Hey everyone. This is my last blog until the next STAMPS meeting. This one is my top 10 list of my favorite things.

1. Meeting Rangers Lauren, Chris, Kathryn,Minoma,Joel,and Suprintendent Bruce(and the other rangers we met whose names elude me at the moment).
2. Photographing the events (mainly the wildlife).
3. Talking to the 6th grade Sulphur students.
4. Going to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
5. Going to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area and going into the streams.
6. Going to the Washita "Battlefield" and hearing the story from the perspective of a Cheyenne descendant.
7. The Sonic Milkshakes.
8. The Which Wich? sandwiches we had with SHMS alumni Kiera and Najah.
9. Eating the Pei Wei food.
10. Trying a Chipotle Burrito.

The Toy and Action Figure Museum/Wichita Mountains

Hey everyone, it's our last day. But on the upside I got some GREAT pictures. Today we went to The Toy and Action Figure Museum and Wichita Mountains. The Toy and Action Figure Museum was really something else. There were so many toys you’d think a child dreamt it all up. There was one section designed to look like an obsessed child’s room with collectible action figures. My personal favorite was the section that had WWE wrestling figures. Any avid fan would know they were old because they had people like Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan. I saw figures of Batman, Robin, Yoda, and MANY other figurines.

We then went to Meer’s, a Southern restaurant whose food was DELICIOUS. I had some barbecue chicken and in my opinion matched that of my father’s barbecue chicken. We then paid for our food and went to Wichita Mountains. We saw so much wildlife. We saw longhorn cattle, more bison, and………..PRAIRIE DOGS!! I got some great pictures of all of them. There was even a bird of prey (I think a turkey vulture) but the prairie dogs, as evasive as they were escaped the bird. We then went up the mountain by car and boy was it windy! We took some pictures and went back to the hotel then ate with Rangers Lauren and Chris.

We’re coming back!!

Oklahoma University and The Oklahoma City National Memorial

Hey everyone today we went to Oklahoma University and The Oklahoma City National Memorial. We took a tour of OU's campus led by a senior named John Paul? (sp.) He did a great job and we got t-shirts from the visitors center. We went to Mr. Eugene, one of Ms. Trenkle's friends and he gave us hats and t-shirts We then went to a couple of OU stores and got some souvenirs. Afterwards we went to Which Wich?, a sandwich shop with some AWESOME sandwiches( Which Wich? means Which sandwich?). We met some Stuart Hobson Alumni named Kiera and Najah. I had a toasted ham and pineapple sandwich and it was GOOD. We then said our goodbyes and headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The memorial was beautiful but the reason it was built is terrible. The memorial was built to honor those killed in the bombing of the Building. In the museum we saw a video that made me cry because it showed people finding out that their children were dead. It was very sad. We went to the gift shop and got stamps. We then went to the land rush monument that showed some Sooners rushing to land. We've yet to eat dinner but we're going to the Cracker Barrel. Tomorrow we're going to Wichita mountains and the Toy and Action figure museum. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Washita "battlefield"

Hi everyone today we went to the Washita "battlefield". I'll explain why I put battlefield in parentheses when the time comes. Before going to the "battlefield" we went to the visitor's center. There we met rangers Kathryn, Joel, and Minoma, and Christal. Ranger Minoma is of Cheyenne blood and works there educating the public(which is fitting because the Cheyenne and Arapaho were the Native Americans in the"battle"). We sat in a "teepee" and learned what parts of the buffalo were used for what tasks. We learned about her family and their religious practices and connection to God. We then learned about how the American side treated their wounds. Back then if not much could be done for a limb injury they just amputated it. Other injuries for the most part simply required the removal of a weapon part i.e arrowheads, bullets, etc. Afterwards we saw some pictures of the primary doctors and some saws and probing knives. After being utterly disgusted we went back into the "teepee" and learned about the medicines the Cheyenne and Arapaho used in the "battle" and in general. Afterwards we learned that the warriors made their own shields. We saw an almost exact replica of Little Rock, the second in command chief(it wasn't exact because they didn't want to offend his spirit). We then made our own shields incorporating the four stages of life/primary races: white, the beginning of life and the white men, red, aging up and the Indian men,yellow, getting older and Asian men, and black, nearing the end of your life and black men. My shield has water on it which supports life and the sun which represents nurturing and growth. As we prepared to go to the "battlefield" we got stamps and stamped our "STAMPS" stamp with a new date. By now you're wondering why I keep saying "battlefield" and "battle". Well the American forces, led by General George A. Custer basically blindsided the Cheyenne and Arapaho. We saw prayer cloths tied to trees at the Washita River that Cheyenne and Arapaho people put there. What disturbed me most was tat they killed their horses which were considered a part of the family. I'm not done though, sadly. In the early 1900's someone took the horse bones and turned them into fertilizer. We hiked the trail and came back to the visitors center. The rangers thanked us for coming all the way from D.C. to see the park. My favorite part was hearing the events and stories from the perspective of someone who's family was affected by this horrific event. Tomorrow we're going to the Oklahoma City Memorial and Oklahoma University.