Oklahoma,Arkansas and Alberta.

More of a vist to relations than a bagging trip so no hill shots or anything like that.I did spot a US benchmark in Arkansas but Bob will be delighted to learn that I forgot to photograph it :)


Some nice views over London on the way in to Heathrow...



The flight from Chicago to Tulsa was enlivened by a lightning storm out east over the plains with some fantastic displays of forked lightning.....a harbinger of things to come.Although it was about 11pm when we got off the plane in Tulsa it was like walking into a furnace as the heat arose from the tarmac.As arranged, a rather expensive car was awaiting our arrival to take us to the Hotel Ambassador,a listed national historic building, in downtown Tulsa.My second cousin Loriann had been the hotel manager here for a while and had negotiated a room rate that would gladden the heart of the most impecunious Scotsman :)


http://www.hotelambassador-tulsa.com

A change from the usual Wild Country Terra Nova or bothy... :)

The time change had ensured that sleep was kept to a minimum and I was up early for a walk downtown.The streets were empty as I searched in vain for a coffee and the few folk I met couldn`t speak English nor I Spanish.Back to the hotel again and passed an hour trying to find something decent to watch on tv but to no avail.The weather channel had news of an impending storm but I didn`t pay it much attention.Footered around a bit,had a shower and decided to go for another walk,but,on looking out the window,noticed that an eerie silence had descended and a few heavy raindrops wre hitting the window.Turned the weather channel back on and was delighted to see that a storm was brewing.Heather the Weather wouldn`t have a look in here,it was all action,high fives,fancy graphics including a rather nifty doppler radar image and updated by the minute by the storm chasers.Never crossed my mind to bag storms....

Pic of the tv....



Video of storm...this is from behind a double glazed window...it was loud..!



Kim was due to drive over from Pryor and pick us up in the lobby at 11am but phoned to say that there was no way she was driving in the storm.The hailstones were falling the size of golf balls and there was a tornado warning in operation by now.One of their neighbours had been drowned in her car a few weeks previous and eight folk killed in a tornado in Siloam Springs a few months ago.Anyway,the excitement duly passed and Kim and her sister Tracy from San Francisco arrived a little later than planned.A quick tour of Tulsa and a stop for something to eat and we were on our way to Pryor for my dad`s cousins surprise 75th birthday party.We were dropped off at our motel on the outskirts to unpack and picked up later to visit Kim`s for dinner.Never having met any of my relations in Oklahoma before I was a bit wary of the good ol` bible belt right wing scenario unfolding followed swiftly by my eviction but I must admit that you couldn`t find a better set of relations if you tried.Beer and wine were duly consumed and when they told me that they had named their daughter India I felt at home...a couple of old hippies I guessed :)

More relations arrived from California and Florida and you will be pleased to know that I don`t intend boring you lot with photos.Gavin would be interested though in my Uncle Don who owns a vineyard in the Napa Valley in California...even more interested to learn that his son Mark is a wine salesman and who had brought along two cases of the finest red with him.None of your Haddows 3 for a tenner stuff either..! An enjoyable weeknd although the humidity tended to restrict my outside smoking visits until Lisa`s boyfriend Dave arrived.

My dad discovers that not only is the wine free but also the beer, much to Kim and Tracy`s concern...Kim stands by in case he falls over in his rush to neck as much as possible :)



On Monday Kim took us over to Arkansas for a trip round the Ozarks and a visit to the Pea Ridge civil war battle site.The Ozarks were rounded gentle tree clad hills and I do mean tree clad..! Loads of little red dirt roads leading off the highway and typical clapperboard style houses tucked away in the trees.I had googled the Arkanas highpoint before I left but as there was no view from it as it is covered in trees didn`t bother with it.Managed to get one view from a hill at the Pea ridge site though....



....and a nice shot of a turkey buzzard on the escarpment,the only bit of rock I seen in Arkansas or Oklahoma...



Back to Tulsa again and an onward connection to Denver.Somewhere along the way I must have passed over Brian and Martina as they walk from Mexico to Canada..

http://aweewalk.blogspot.com

A five hour wait here soon passed as I went in and out of security each time I wanted a smoke :) There was too much haze for a decent view of the Rockies but as they are pretty boring on this side I wasn`t too bothered and anyway,I`d bagged the biggest one on a previous visit :) Another flight northwards for 3 hours with some good views of the badlands and Montana saw us in Edmonton,Alberta where we were picked up by my dad`s cousin Loretta.
The plan had been to hire a car and escape the city for a few days by going to the Jasper area for some quality bagging but foolishly I had forgotten to bring my driving licence.

As my grandfather and his thirteen brothers and sisters had emigrated here in the 1920`s and 30`s there were quite a few folk to visit.First day was going to see Bob who raced drag cars and organised stunts for films.He is now retired and manages a racing team touring North America.Quite a collection of stuf in his garage which I shall never take Jon to visit..!

Irene and one of the cars..



...and another....



Video of the orange one....brings to mind the Ballad of Lucy Jordan :)



Sorry about the video but the beast had a V8 5.something or other engine in it and was off quicker than I expected..!

Up to Donalds ranch outside Whitecourt,about 120 miles away, the next day.

The road up to Donalds...



...a cracking log house he built himself in the middle of nowhere.He had cattle,horses and a herd of alpacas but ongoing ill health has meant that he has had to get rid of the cattle and horses.The cougars assisted by getting rid of the alpacas for him one night :)

Donalds log house....




He is married to the most delightful Cree woman ,Marielle,and has a granddaughter called Autumn Sky.Nice to see old names carried on.Marielle`s dad had just passed away last year and he seemed to be quite a character,a trapper and guide up North.Another cousin up in Fort Providence in the North West Territories is married to a Slavee nation woman also.

For the life of me I couldn`t get a decent shot of the hummingbird on their feeder due to the shutter lag on these compact digital cameras.It would visit every 10 minutes about 6 or 7 feet away as well.Eventually followed it around until I caught it on the telegraph wire although this pic does not do the colours justice...



Various other things done but mainly family orientated so I`ll leave it at that.
Only 2 new states and one province bagged along with quite a few birds but as it was a visit to relations rather than a bagging trip I suppose I`ll just have to be satisfied :)




A bit weird knowing your great grandparents are buried in Canada.Feel it should be the other way round in that I`m in Canada and they are in Scotland.It must have been an epic journey for them at that time and I tip my hat in their direction....



Nice to see Bob keeping things ticking over in my absence..!