Gallup Trip Day 9, 10.....Oklahoma City, OK

4/22/2021

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This morning we were up bright and early and were greeted with a morning fog that was just beautiful!!

Its so quiet and peaceful when no one else is up. This is my favorite time of the day :)

Eventually the fog started to lift.....

Garrett got his skateboard out and was riding it....until he fell....ouch!!

Thankfully he got right back on....with a little help from Dad!

We got out of there pretty early and had no issues traveling that day. We arrived at Rockwell RV Park in Oklahoma City about 3 pm that afternoon. Got checked in and set up. That evening we decided to go out for bbq. We ate at Swadleys BBQ. Before going in they had lots of lawn decorations that Garrett had fun with.

Inside it had a very country western feel. We ordered our food and took a seat. Wasn't long before we had a down home Oklahoma BBQ meal and it was really good!!

We got back to the RV park around 6 pm and I took Garrett up to the pool. This RV park has an inside pool which is awesome!! Burn some of that energy off from sitting in the car.

April 22 - Today we are going to visit the memorial of the Oklahoma City bombings, but first a little more about the RV Park. This place had the best showers!! Very clean, pressure was good and plenty of room.

Then while Tim and Teresa were getting ready to go, Garrett and I took Sassy and went exploring around the RV Park.

They line the RVs right up with not much room in the sites. That and not having a playground was a negative for me.

This building was actually the tornado shelter.

The building to the right of the sign was the main office. Every morning they made home made muffins and coffee/tea for free. The muffins were excellent!!

We had to cross in front of the Bison to get to the dog park. Sassy and the Bison were very interested in each other. Once we got her inside all she wanted to do was watch them, LOL.

Garrett and I left Sassy in the dog park and walked across to take a look at them. They were very interested in us as well....They had several different pens with different Bison in each one.

We could see Sassy from here and man was she watching us like a hawk!!

We finally went back over and played with her for a little bit. The dog park here was great!!

On our way back to the RV and Sassy and Garrett getting one last look at the Bison.

We got to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial around 10pm. I'm going to warn you, this is a very somber experience. It wasn't a celebration by any means and the pictures we took were hard because it is just so heart breaking. Garrett asked a lot of questions about the kids and what happened. I have to say I'm glad they have the memorial but man, it still brings tears to my eyes for these people and the heartbreak that consumed their city :(

Kids from local schools had made tiles. Very moving but it goes to show you how caring children are.

We then headed inside. We didn't take a lot of pictures inside....because well it just didn't seem right. But I will say they made this very moving and respectable to the families that lost their loved ones.

Their was many exhibits inside. One of the most memorable for me was going in a room and listening to a video. Across the street was a courthouse that had a hearing going on. They were taping the hearing and to hear the bomb go off was just, unbelievable. I can't imagine the thoughts that went through those peoples minds and the devastation they came out to and witnessed.

This clock was found in the rubble and had stopped at the time the bomb went off. It hasn't worked since....

It took us a little over 2 hours to go through the inside and then we headed outside.

This garden is for those that lost their lives on that day. The chairs have a name for each person. It was truly moving....

This is the Living Tree. It is one of the only things in this area that survived the bomb and is now thriving....

And Jesus wept......

This, this area was the hardest for me. It was letters, and things people had left on the fence that had lost loved ones. I will never forget a letter I read from sons who had lost their mother. It actually was from this year and they were telling her about their children and how she would have been a great grandmother to them. It had pictures of their families and talked about their kids. Just so heartbreaking to read......

Even though this was heartbreaking it's a good reminder to live your life to the fullest. You never know when that last breath is going to be taken. So love your family, take those adventures, and live!!

We left the memorial around 1:30 and we were getting hungry...so we headed out for a late lunch. While driving I was truly surprised at all of the homeless people in this city....