This weekend

This weekend

Tomorrow, we are all going for a little drive. Our first stop will be Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It's a little more than an hour north of Tulsa. I fell in love with this little town when I visited there about 10 years ago. I was working for another hotel company and I flew into Oklahoma and drove up to this sleepy little town. Why is it different? Well, back in the early 20s and 30s it was an oil boom town. You may have heard of Phillips Gas... or Phillips 66 or now, Conoco/Phillips.. well this little town is where Frank Phillips decided to put his company headquarters. So, the town was built around the company. Frank Phillips believed in getting outside so he built recreational areas around the town that take up more land than the living areas themselves. There are soccer fields, baseball and football fields, walking and hiking trails and another gentleman commmissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build a building in town. The Price Tower is Frank Lloyd Wrights tallest skyscraper. It was originally designed for another city... New York City.. but it was built in this sleepy little town, pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. So, it stands out as "a tree that escaped from the forest". I am sure Alex is going to love this building. I have visited it several times.. just thinking about having him there to see it with me.

Then after lunch in Bartlesville, we'll take a short drive over to Woolaroc. Frank Phillips home and wildlife preserve. Take a look at the photo of this guy from the 20s and you can tell that he loved the west, he never stopped wanting to be a cowboy. He collected so many things, that he built his own museum on the premises. It is a rare jewel of a place that is probably only seen by schoolkids during the school year. This place is not on any major roads, it isn't between here and there.. you have to want to go there to get there.

Then on the way home, we'll take the back road and drive along the Wild Horse Preserve. I remember seeing it 10 years ago, how strange it was to see wild horses, ungroomed, roaming across a huge open plain. I had only seen domesticated horses before. It is sort of like seeing a wild chicken... have there every been any wild chickens?

It's going to be a great weekend... and that is just Saturday! I'll take a bunch of pictures.