Oklahoma State Capitol

We managed to get so far out away from civilization yesterday that we didn’t have a cell signal.  No cell signal, no MiFi, no post.  Now, I’m really behind.  I’ll start the catch up process with our visit to the state capitol.

We went on Monday after visiting the Oklahoma City Memorial.  It was a cold, windy day so we didn’t walk around the capitol grounds.  It was a huge, grassy campus away from the downtown area.  It was even called “Capitol Park”.

The building is neo-classical style which we see so often in capitol buildings.  Construction was completed in 1917.  Well, almost completed.  They ran out of money before getting to the dome.  They didn’t get around to adding that until 2002.

They offer guided tours every hour during the day except noon.  Since we arrived about 11:30 we didn’t want to wait around until 1 PM for the next tour.  We went on our own with the help of a self-guided tour book.

We began on the 5th floor and worked our way down stopping in at both the Senate and House chambers, admiring the art work throughout the building, viewing the new dome, and resting a spell in the Supreme Court.

We completed our tour in about 90 minutes then headed home.  I had enough time to get the laundry done before we were to meet at Mike and Peggy’s.  Peggy prepared a delicious dinner for us ad we enjoyed our last night in Oklahoma City with our friends.

This trip has gotten us in its grip and we were anxious to get moving again.  We packed up and pulled out of Oklahoma City Tuesday morning.  Our first stop, of course, was at a gas station.  Monday, we noticed 7-Eleven had gas for 3.39.  It was just a couple blocks from our campground so we went there.  Over night the price had increased to 3.53.  We were there, so we got gas anyway.  As it turned out, Flying J, which had been 3.43 the day before was now 3.55 (diesel cash price was 3.93).  We still saved 12 cents per gallon at 7-Eleven.

We stopped at Washita Battlefield and then camped at Black Kettle Recreation Area on Tuesday.  That story tomorrow.

I was caught off guard with no cell signal.  This may happen more often.  If there’s no post, you’ll know there’s no signal.  Never fear; I will return.

Gene wants to add a final paragraph to today’s post, so here he is.....

First, let me say Mike Evringham is one fine fellow.  Mike checked out my house battery and eliminated some things from what drew it down of our last boondock.  It is in good shape too and was apparently undamaged by the event.

Second, Mike worked on plumbing.  My water heater was weeping a bunch of water.  He found the thermostat was not flush (no pun intended) against the side of the tank, and therefore the thermostat could not sense the heat and kept asking for more.  He reinstalled the thermostat and all seems well. I even learned how to do that.

And more.  In our looking about we found the converter.  Ok, Mike told me where to look.  And it is a 55 amp, not a 10 amp like I had thought.  My coach alternator is 125 amp.  I ought to be able to recharge a house battery!

So I am quite thankful Mike took the time to look into my problems and teach me a couple things.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.