Road Trip 2021 - The road home

Having completed what we could on the house it was time to think of the return trip.  Fran wanted to delay a day for a round of golf with her brother and I wanted to delay another day to visit the Carillon.

The Carillon

I got the RV ready while Fran golfed.  The next day we hopped on the bikes for a ride to the Carillon.

John Patterson

The ride through the Hills-n-Dales area is very much park-like with lots of hiking trails.

I blogged the Carillon in detail a few years ago HERE.

But first a correction on that post.  The dog on the carrousel is not Orville Wright’s dog,  Scripio is owned by Deeds and is the mascot during the founding of DELCO.

Scripio

All the rides on the carrousel are related to Dayton's history.

The Pierce Bicycle (no relation) was the first to use shaft drive and full suspension.  Later they made the Pierce-Arrow automobiles.

Pierce Bicycle

New at the Carillon is the Light Tower from NCR’s Old River Park.

Back-in-the-day Fran and I canoed at Old River.  Now to be part of University of Dayton.

The Wright Flyer, the one that actually flew at Kitty Hawk is at the Carillon.  This 1905 Wright Flyer III is considered the world’s first practical airplane, and the only airplane to receive national historic recognition.

There are replicas at the Smithsonian and at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton.  I have blogged the USAF Museum HERE. 

When/if you do visit the USAF Museum, be sure not to miss the only known Wright Brothers Women’s Bicycle.  When I first asked Information Desk where the bicycle was located the response "We're an Air Force Museum, why would we have a bicycle?".  It is now on prominent display in the heritage area.

We’re finally on the road!, we took the central route west on US 40.  Having read “Killers of the Flower Moon” I wanted to visit the Osage Nation. 

The murders of the Osage People for a bit of money is one of the blackest atrocities against Native Americans in the 20th century.

There are videos on YouTube and an upcoming Martin Scorsese movie that will provide more enlightenment.

Bill Hale was edited out of a tribal photo on the wall at the Osage Museum.  I tried as gently as I could to enquire of the docent at the museum of those dark days, and she began to cry.  Memories are still very painful for these people a century later.

After 4 trials Bill Hale was convicted of only one murder, although the BOI (Bureau of Investigation – later to become the FBI) was convinced he was responsible for some 24 murders.

The Osage Nation has well over 100 suspicious deaths during the Reign of Terror.  None of the other deaths have been investigated, let alone prosecuted.

I was asked not to take pictures by a sobbing docent, hence we have only memories of our visit.

But I will show you why the natives were murdered …

money!  Their oil rights.  Getty Oil, Phillips Petroleum and others all made millions on Osage lands.  Phillips Petroleum maintains a large presence there still.  The surface of the reservation is controlled by the US Government, but Osage maintain the rights below the surface.  Making them the only 'underground reservation' in the nation.

We did not stop in the Tribal Capital of Pawhuska (PAW-hus-ka), where more information may have been found.

 

Instead we continued west through the tallgrass prairie.  Didn't see any buffalo.

When we stopped for the night we had these beautiful butterflies visit our site.  They are not swallow tails, know of any other black butterflies?

We made a brief stop at the Bug Ranch in Conway TX to stretch our legs.

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Not really worth the time …

We whipped past the 72 oz. steak at The Big Texan in Amarillo, but did stop at Cadillac Ranch.

There is a vender selling spray paint cans.  We did not buy one as there were quite a few left at the trash cans, where Fran left our mark.

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Passing into New Mexico is Russell's Travel Center.  WOW! now that’s an underrated find.  I did not take a picture of the 50s themed diner, but the FREE museum is just awesome!

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Another day ... and it’s Fran’s birthday!  We did not make it home in time to celebrate.  But I did buy her a Date Shake!

And she could choose her lunch spot, as she drives on the last leg home.

The restaurant at the Golden Acorn was closed. :(

We’re home now and getting settled back into our routine.  We both have books to pick up at the Pacific Beach Library.  We’d like to bike the bay and just check out any changes from our 3 months on the road.
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