Bad Ass Biker

For as long as I've known J, he always said that someday he wanted a motorcycle.

His parents are big-time bikers- they are part of an association called HOG (Harley Owners Group) and his brothers both ride Harleys as well.

Basically what I'm saying is that he was like a kid on Christmas morning when his parents rolled in with his bike this weekend.

During deployment J found a great deal on a used bike and we bought it, having it shipped to his parents. J had not seen the bike in person until his parents came in on Friday, and as soon as boy and bike met, it was love at first sight.

J hasn't been on a bike in years, so we all packed up and went out to the refuge to find a deserted place for J's dad to give him a quick refresher.

J did really well. He's a natural!

After an hour or so getting his bike legs under him we got back into the truck and decided to go up to Medicine Park, this interesting biker/artisan community off the Refuge.There was this one particular store we wanted to stop by:

Hold on, let me give you a close up.

My Dog is a Marxist Revolutionary

Exhibit A

Che Guevera.

Exhibit B

Q dog. 

I was trying on my bridesmaid's dress for my cousin's wedding and the husband and I decided to play dress up with the pup.

CLEAR EVIDENCE.

LETRA

My husband's schedule has been FANTASTIC since he came home from deployment! Because his leave won't be for a little bit and most of his unit is gone now, the few remaining basically just show up for PT in the morning and call it a day. Come 10am (after I've been up just long enough to brush my teeth and wash my face) J is home for the day! I'm not working right now since I'm still on the job hunt, so we really just hang out all day, every day. It's awesome.

The other day we had some gorgeous weather and J and I decided to pack up the puppia and head out to LETRA.

 LETRA= Lake Elmer Thomas Recreational Area

It's this park/lake area right on post, which means it's free to get on (have you noticed yet how cheap I am?) and that anything you'd want to rent is there and really inexpensive. Later this summer we're planning on renting a party boat for $35/day and spending a day on the lake with the in-laws- I'm pumped.

So, we walked around for a while exploring.

 

And then Q heard the Sirens' call of Canadian geese.

You know, the first time I realized our 3-legged dog could swim was when he jumped off a 5-foot ledge to go after a duck floating in a creek.

He seriously loves him some fowl.

LETRA

http://www.sillmwr.com/letra.html

Free

Artist: Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

Artist who produced some of the most iconic landscape photography of all time. 

http://www.anseladams.com/

Home on the Range

The first time I came out to Oklahoma, I was in shock.

I had always been under the impression that buffalo were extinct. (Yes, I'm aware this is not particularly bright of me.)

To my surprise and childlike delight, buffalo, in fact, not only are NOT extinct, but they run around like they own the place at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (which is conveniently located less that a half hour away from where we live!)

(He looks like Where the Wild Things Are.)

This Mother's Day, we decided to celebrate by taking our dog out there to see if he would try to commune with the wild animals. (We enjoy non-related celebratory activities pretty frequently, actually.)

Anyway, to answer the question burning in your mind: Yes. Yes, our little three-legged domestic dog was like King of the Forest and had the cows lowing at him and the buffalo eying our vehicle to weigh whether or not they were willing to attack us. (We took the minivan, knowing that this situation was likely to come up.)

I love the refuge and not just because it's free. It's just so different from where I grew up. J isn't nearly as enthusiastic about it, seeing as he has childhood stories about trying to piss off bison and cow-ownership. I tried to explain- I thought bison were dinosaurs. As in, try to compare this situation to if I took you to a park full of velociraptors. 

You'd be freaking out, too.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Free

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/

I love me some state pah-k.

I found out today that my husband gets weirdly uncomfortable when it comes to the idea of packed lunches.

This morning, when I asked him if he wanted to bring some sandwiches while we went adventuring looking for maybe some trails or swimming or something, he got really weird about it. 

On our two-hour drive (we were in search of Magnetic Hill) he explained that his family always, ALWAYS did packed lunches and it made him feel like a little kid, but not in a good way. (Apparently in a weird way- not totally sure.) 

Either way, we eventually found ourselves spread out on a towel on Sunset Beach at Lake Murray State Park. I was just happy to be out of the car, out in the sunshine, trying to force Q dog to swim by dragging him out by the leash. (Clearly, I am a little kid). Q hopped right into the water, laid down at chest-height, and leisurely drank some of the lake. I looked like a crazy person, out there taking pictures of my dog while everyone else is photographing their kids. 

Eh, whatever.

Unfortunately, J was settling into even more of a funk after looking around. The people there...well, it wasn't really family-friendly, even though it was all families. It looked like an episode of Cops, to be totally honest. Lots of Caucasian men with sunburnt arms and bellies sporting rebel flag and white supremacist tattoos and women in bikinis bearing lots of scarring from C-sections and cigarette burns. I didn't mind- I was totally in adventure mode, but I can understand why J was ready to pack it up early.

Verdict: I'd go again, if I was closer by, but we'll probably stick to the lake around here.

Lake Murray State Park

Free

http://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.4358

Artist: Gaudi

Gaudi.

Famous architect known for dream-like, dramatic facades and irreverent designs.

http://www.gaudidesigner.com/uk/index.html