Oklahoma, Day Two

Slept a little less soundly after my first day on Oklahoma, but awoke in fine enough shape to get in the van mid-morning and head North to Kingfisher, where my grandmother was born, and where several generations of Callisons lived their lives. I knew the way easily, as the day before I'd gone to El Reno, which is on the way to Kingfisher, so the drive was a relaxed one. Great weather-sunny, warm, barely a cloud in the sky, and no traffic, which helped to make it a pleasant one-hour drive.

I headed straight for The Kingfisher cemetery, and with the help of a 22 year old photo of my Mother visiting the same site, and some persistence, I did eventually find the family plot. It has a large "Callison" stone in which "Gone but not Forgotten" is carved. There were a few graves there. One is my great-grandfather, Mattie Callison's Dad, Henry Clay Callison. Henry Clay was a famous and well loved U.S. Senator in the mid 19th century, and he was named after this fellow, interestingly. My grandmother's sister, my Great Aunt, Wilma Callison Snethen is also buried there. It is this Aunt who left money for my Mother in her will and helped to precipitate her reunion with her birth family.

There were many weeds mixed in with the grasses all around the cemetery; if I had pulled the weeds, it would be bare dirt, and they would just grow back, so I left them. One seems to wish to leave a grave side in nicer condition, if possible, it seems. I placed offerings, and did a simple ceremony to honor and show my thanks for their strength and gifts. There was a healthy cedar very close to my great-grandfather's grave. Some of the bark had fallen to the ground and I saved a piece to bring home with me; it adorns a wall in my van now. I love looking at it and recalling the time there. There were a few nice trees in their corner of the place, which pleased me, and must have pleased others, too over the years. I found myself wondering if any of my living relatives had been to visit there recently. There was no one else in the cemetery the entire time I was there, so it was very peaceful and still. I was not able to take the time to attempt to find anyone from the family who might be around here now, but perhaps I will one day.

The last thing I did was to tie a good sized chunk of frankincense to the cedar tree with some some waxed cord that I had. I hope the cedar enjoys the gift. It looked very sweet, tucked in amongst the bark.

I then went just a few blocks away to visit the "Chisholm Trail Museum" and right across the street, the home of Governer Seay, a Civil War hero and well-loved Governor. He lived in the "mansion" for nine years with a couple of his sisters, as he was unmarried. There were only five of us on the house tour, and the fellow working at the Museum simply came and rounded us up to say "I'll give you all the tour now". It was a lovely home, parts of it reminded me of my Grandmother's (my Dad's Mom) home in Marietta, Ohio. There were so many well-preserved artifacts in both the Museum and home, very enjoyable to see.

It was another easy ride back to my campground, during which I made a stop at a local big shop to pick up a few necessary items. Interesting mix of folks, certainly different than I see in my own neck of the woods most days. Nice to see the local flavors and behaviors and "stuff". Along the route I took to and from Kingfisher, there are a lot of churches, a couple of pretty sweet "downtowns", gas stations and fast food. I also passed the impressive entrance to Fort Smith, a very famous Army Station on the Chisholm trail. The famous "Buffalo Soldiers"--black American fighting men, were stationed here and worked hard and sacrificed much. Alas, I did not visit there, but it sounds fascinating.

Got back to the van early enough to wash a load of laundry and make myself a simple meal. I was tired, but it took me awhile to settle down to the point where I could fall asleep; there is a lot of internal processing happening, of course. And then there is the fact that I am driving hundreds of miles every day. My schedule is still loose enough that I only book my stop/sleep spot the evening before I am to drive there. I have to play it by ear. How far do I want to drive? How will it work, time wise? I like not having to adhere to anything very precisely to far in advance. I'm pretty much taking it as it comes. I had a route in mind, it's just the stops along the way that are flexible.

Looking forward to getting to my Brother's place in Ohio and staying put a bit. Not to mention, I can park the van and ride in a car a bit! Once I part from Ohio, I will feel I am on the home stretch. It will be good to be back, and I need to get back so I can have some recovery time and time with my family and time to catch up on all that needs attending before I turn around and fly to the UK mid-month!