21 Jun
This morning we started out at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. It is described as "America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture".
It's been here since 1955 and "collects, preserves and exhibits an internationally renowned collection of Western art and artifacts". This is a huge facility that has both indoor and outdoor displays. Last weekend they hosted the 50th anniversary of the Prix de West invitational art exhibit and sale, and the art was still on display today. The paintings and sculptures were awesome. A few pictures:
"The End of the Trail by James Earl Fraser. The sculpture reflects a nineteenth century Indian warrior, defeated and bound for oblivion - frozen in time."
"Abraham Lincoln, by James Earl Fraser. He portrayed Lincoln sitting on a stone in Washington DC gazing down on the troubled capital of the Union, his shoulders revealing the burden of his office."
Paintings by various artists lined the walls in the gallery
Amazing detail and color
More of the Prix de West
And a whole other wing dedicated to western art
Doreen trying on a saddle
An old Wells Fargo coach in the livery stable
The hotel
A stroll down main street
A quick stop in the saloon
Mercantile store
Covered wagon display
Kitsoki, The Village
The first Westerners - Native Americans
Many military displays
Instrument of the Empire: The U.S. Army in the West - the Cavalry
I loved the firearms displays
This awesome Winchester Promotional Cartridge Board. An 1890=pattern presentation of 142 cartridges and shotshells with assorted bullets and primers
The Rodeo display
The craftsmanship in these saddles is amazing
The components of the rodeo
The displays seem so real!
Many displays of Western Performers
The Cowboy Hat display. I should have worn my Stetson!
Many displays of Native American culture
From here we drove just a few minutes south to the Oklahoma Firefighter's Museum and Memorial. Having served in the fire service for 25 years, these museums and memorials have a special place in my heart. I know those who serve pour their hearts and souls into it with great personal sacrifice. We missed a lot of family events, holidays, sleep, etc, but we volunteered for it. It's all about helping others in a time of need. Some give the ultimate sacrifice, and the memorial here pays tribute to them in an everlasting setting. The museum helps to educate and display tools of the profession.
This is the only fire museum in the United States that is owned and operated by firefighters
Oklahoma Rescue Memorial
Wooden ladders meticulously restored and preserved
The various apparatus on display was immaculate!
In 1736, America's first volunteer fire company was formed in Philadelphia PA. This museum is unique in that it displays one-third of the artifacts from Benjamin Franklin, who was America's first firefighter. The other two-thirds of the items are currently stored in the National Archives.
Some more pictures of early firefighting, originating from Oklahoma:
Another unique feature of this museum is their extensive fire patch collection. According to the museum manager, this is the second largest collection in the United States, second only to a collection in Ohio. They are attempting to grow their collection and have it evaluated by Guinness Book of World Records. There are patches here from all over the United States and they have them cataloged and displayed around the perimeter of the museum. So if any of you have a connection with your local fire department you might contact them with this information. Here are some pictures and the museum point of contact:
First Oklahoma Fire Station built in 1889 at Ft Supply - Indian territory
A very early horse-draw, steam-powered engine. The horses look so real!
Beautifully restored fire apparatus. Doreen is standing by a Ward LaFrance engine
Nozzles and other appliances
Oklahoma License plate attachments
Old Number 9 fire station recreation
Sliding down the pole!! I've still got it LOL!
Outside the museum is the Oklahoma Fallen & Living Firefighters Memorial. The Memorial is entitled Just Another Day, and honors all Oklahoma firefighters who have served since 1894 when their association was created. It was sculpted by artist Shahla Rahimi Reynolds of Oklahoma City.
Those firefighters who gave the ultimate sacrifice have the special and most honored space reserved at the park - The Wall of Valor.
A firefighter rescuing a child
Continuously flowing water from the memorial display
The memorial is surrounded by a curved granite wall with names of Firefighter who have served their communities for more than 20 years or retired due to disability. 
They will soon be adding a Memorial Park walkway which will have alcoves for meditation purposes that depict different aspects of firefighters’ courage. The walk will also include honoring the rescue workers, both firefighters and non-firefighters alike, who assisted with the April 19, 1995, Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. Wow! This is truly a national-level memorial!
From here we headed back to the campground to take a break and wait for a repairman to come of our vinyl floor. We discovered a couple small parallel cuts in the vinyl and Alliance arranged a mobile repairman to come and fix it. Glad to get this done so we did not catch something on the cuts and make it worse.
About 1700 hrs we headed towards the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City which is a "thriving urban district is home to more than 45 restaurants, bars, and retail shops, along with family-friendly attractions, public art, museums, galleries," and the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers. They are the AAA-affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League.
For years, this old Oklahoma City warehouse district sat dilapidated and underused. In 1993, Oklahoma City built the Bricktown Ballpark and a one-mile canal that connects the north Bricktown area with the Chesapeake Boathouse along the Oklahoma River.
Canal with pedestrian bridges passing over
The canal that winds it's way around the area hosts water taxis that slowly cruise the waters. There is also a streetcar that ferry's passengers around the area. 
We parked just south of Toby Keith's I 💓 THIS bar and grill, and walked via a wide paved bike path through an underpass to a large city park area. Here we found the Centennial Land Run Monument which commemorates the opening of the Unassigned Land in Oklahoma Territory with the Land Run of 1889. The monument was captured in bronze by artist Paul Moore and features 45 heroic figures of land run participants, frozen in motion as they race to claim new homesteads. It is absolutely beautifully done and massive!
We then walked along the canal, past the Sonic Drive-in Corporate Headquarters building to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. As you approach the stadium you are greeted by a statue of local hero Johnny Bench, who was born and raised in Oklahoma City in 1947. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 and "was honored in 2001 at the unveiling of a 9-foot bronze statue in his image placed outside Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark."
Through the marvels of modern technology we presented the digital tickets on our cell phone (UGH!) and made our way into the stadium. Since I did our due diligence when I purchased our tickets online, we were seated on the third base side in the shade. We walked around the stadium checking out the fare and discovered we were visiting on Tuesday when they offer $2 Budweiser's, sodas and waters!
Doreen and the Oklahoma City Dodgers mascots Brooklyn and Brix.
One picture simply does not do the mascot's justice! Brooklyn and Brix are cattle dogs, "with inspiration drawn from the role cattle have played in the state of Oklahoma's history, including Stockyards City and the Chisholm Trail. During cattle drives, cattle dogs assist leading the herd over long stretches of rough terrain. Cattle dogs are full of energy, and are intelligent and playful--all characteristics key to mascots.". So now you know!
We grabbed a beverage and headed to our seats, which were just three rows up from the field. We had a perfect view of the players warming up, and later of the game.
A view from behind home plate on the entrance level
Warm-up's from our seats
It's obvious we did not alot enough time for this stay. We had a late night last night as evidence of me not getting the blog done, so I spent this morning working on it. Our neighbors arrived back with their Alliance coach and asked if I would give them some advice on their levelers. Doreen did some laundry while I worked on the blog and this afternoon (it is almost 1430 hrs already) we have to get fuel for our trip tomorrow and I would like to wash the truck. So, no stockyards - no touring today.
Tomorrow we pull chocks and head north to McConnell Air Force Base FamCamp for two nights before we head to the Kansas City/Independence MO area.
Next report, Wichita KS
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