August 14, 2024
Day 31 - still at Ponca City, OK
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For some reason, there was a dog close by barking at 1:25am last night. Other than that I slept well till 5:47am. It wasn't too bad out this morning with the breeze. I went and sat on that platform I was at last night and got the report for 2 days ago posted. Then I took a shower. I guess I could have taken it last night, this shower house is air conditioned also.
There's a heat advisory out for today with the high expected to be 100F. The more things I can get done earlier, the better.
Ready to leave on the near empty bike at 8:38am for my tour of places in Ponca City and my ride south to White Eagle, Oklahoma. Getting downtown was no problem at all, since I was mostly on residential streets. First place for a stop was Grand Cafe for breakfast. I stopped by next at the Chamber of Commerce across the street. I told them about my plans of wanting to see Ponca Tribe related sites, to see if I was missing something. They said my plan sounded good.
I took some pictures of City Hall next, then saw that the city's library is across the street. I popped in there to get a picture, and noticed how cool it was inside. I've read of other touring cyclists using libraries to stay cool or post reports. Makes sense to me.
My next stop was to see Marland's Grand Home. I arrived there at 10:21am. I was greeted by a very knowledgeable lady who provided a lot of information about the place. She then introduced me to a fellow who knows a lot about Ponca history. I so enjoyed talking to both of them. Then I was on my own for a tour of the place.
E.W. Marland made his fortune in oil, and was also the tenth governor of Oklahoma. The house is very interesting, as was the family who had lived there. I was afraid there would be the opportunity to take too many pictures, and that was very true. The main reason I was visiting was they have an American Indian Collection and also information on the 101 Ranch, which many Ponca worked at. I did finally get to the displays I came to see. I'm sure I posted too much of that also, but it's interesting to me.
I was back outside at the bike at 12:09pm. My phone was down to 18% charge, due to so much picture taking. Then I remembered the library, so headed that way to get the phone charged. For some reason, they have an outlet box in front of the library. I had my accessories battery charger with me, so plugged that in to charge that battery. It's been years since I've locked my bike on a tour, but I went ahead and did it this time, since I figured I'd be inside the library for a while, and the bike was nearly unloaded. Waiting for the phone to charge I decided to sort pictures for yesterday and get those posted. Inside the library they have very fast wifi - Ponca City Free WiFi. Later I noticed it seems to work even outside in other parts of the city. By the time I had yesterday's report posted the phone was at 93% charge, so I pulled the plug and left at 2:23pm.
I headed south into the wind toward White Eagle, but my GPS was indicating a stop first at the Standing Bear Museum. I'd almost forgotten about that. I had one bottle of water with me, but as hot as it was, I stopped at a Valero gas station for Gatorade to carry with me to White Eagle, and a pint of chocolate milk to drink right then.
I arrived at Standing Bear Museum at 2:51pm. A gentleman greeted me when I walked in, and explained the different areas I could look at on my self-tour. There are paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and information for six regional tribes. The tribes have requested that no pictures be taken, and I respected that. I was really impressed with all I saw. There's a walking path outside, where picture-taking is allowed, and I got started on that at 3:30pm. There's a statue of Chief Standing Bear here, but the way the sun was, I could not get a good picture. I was done with my outdoor tour at 4:00pm. I paused at the bike and decided I just didn't have it in me to do a close-to 20 mile loop south into the wind to get to White Eagle. Going back to the library sounded like a better idea. So that's what I did.
I have way too many pictures today already, which inevitably leads me to post too many. Sorry about that. I did have them sorted and uploaded by 8:00pm. I moved outside then to enjoy the evening and write my evening report. I'm sitting on a bench in front of the library and have just noticed that the fountain in front of City Hall is lit up with different colors. I may have to go get a picture of that.
Storms are predicted tonight after 3:00am and for tomorrow morning. I've given a little thought to that. I may hold out here in Ponca City one more day. Weather will tell.
Jeff
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2 months ago
Thanks. The Sun Parlor was my favorite.
I had a discussion with my wife early on during this trip, about not being able to keep up with the journaling. I proposed cutting way back, especially on picture postings. All she said was, "Nancy won't like that."
Thanks for all your encouragement.
Jeff
1 month ago
Thank your wife for me ;’-).
1 month ago