Oklahoma to Our Home

We left Oklahoma City in the morning and headed south to Carlsbad Caverns. It was a long day of driving, continually impressed by how large this country is, especially having to drive across it. I am also amazed at how flat it is. In Washington, we have a lot of hills and mountains. Much of the country is flat, especially the area we traveled on the 9th of April.
We didn’t stop but twice during the day. One stop was in Groom, TX the home of the world’s largest cross. It can be seen from 20 miles away. Please stop in. There are some beautiful sculptures on the grounds at the foot of the cross.
We also stopped in Roswell, NM in search of some aliens but only found replicas. I am sure that some spotted us. We spent the night just outside Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Talk about jaw dropping awe-inspiring! We visited the national park in the morning of the 10th. We wish we had a longer time to visit. As you pass through the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas—filled with prickly pear, chollas, sotols and agaves—you might never guess there are more than 300 known caves beneath the surface. The park contains 113 of these caves, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest caves in North America. Carlsbad is famous for swarms of bats flying out of the cave at sunset. We were not at the park at the time for the bats since they are a type of bat that migrates. The bats were still down south in Mexico which suited me fine.
We continued our westward trip saying good-bye to the lower gas prices. The further west we went the more expensive the gas became. We ended in Tucson for the night (Priceline).
The next day we drove only to Mesa, as we had to give a private program on Friday afternoon the 13th. We enjoyed being snowbirds for a couple of days in the warmth of the desert spring sunshine. When one is in the desert, the weather page is intriguing to find out what the weather is doing back home.
We had to give another private concert in San Francisco on the 14th at night so we left Mesa in the early afternoon on the 13th to drive as far as we could. We ended our day in Tehachapi, CA and said hello to the most expensive gas I had ever seen in my entire life near Barstow.
We made it to our friend’s home in Foster City, CA where we were invited to stay until Tuesday. Most of my time was taken up by writing a song for American Idol. I found out that American Idol had a contest to see who could write the best song for the contestants for next year. My song was not chosen. The show must be “rigged.”
Our concert in Lodi was fun. It was good to play a concert again after being “off” for over a week. The concert was well attended. We headed north, getting ever closer to home where we had not been for quite awhile. We drove north to Eugene (Priceline) to stay the night and made it early on the 19th to give our concert in Canby. It was almost full. Weather had a great deal to do with attendance. It was a perfect day.
We weren’t able to check in to a hotel, as we had to be all the way east in Pendleton, OR the next afternoon on the 20th to give a school assembly. We drove after the Canby concert to The Dalles, OR to stay.
The students were very well behaved for a harp and voice assembly. It was a pleasure to be with them. Seniors from the community were in attendance as well so there was a large chasm in the age groups.
The night program went well in the cowboy rodeo town of Pendleton, OR. We were delighted to spend time with the Mayer’s who organized the concert.
We started on our way to Wallace, ID the next morning traveling through the verdant rolling hills in the southeast corner of our home state of Washington. The spring wheat was beginning to grow. We drove to the top of Steptoe Butte. Steptoe Butte State Park is a 150-acre, 3,612-foot-tall natural monument. Thimble-shaped, the quartzite butte looms in bald grandeur over the prevailing flat lands. Native Americans called the butte "the power mountain." It was believed that a journey to the butte bestowed a gift of power from the mountain's guardian spirit. The butte's present name honors Colonel Edward Steptoe, who gave years of service maintaining peace in the region. His men were killed in a conflict, which he tried to prevent, with Native Americans.
Wallace, ID was built because of the minerals in the area. Today, silver is still being mined from the hills deep below the surface. It is a small town but very friendly. The concert on Sunday went well, although Katherine had a cold. Until the Wallace concert, she has been blessed on the entire trip by not having a cold. She had to sing with a cold. I have no idea how she can do it but she is able to sing with a cold. It comes from not singing through her nose as most people do. A singer with a cold is like a harpist with a hang-nail!
We left on the morning of the 23rd and had breakfast at a real treat of a place in Kingston, ID. It was called the Snakepit. It was cheap, it was good and full of atmosphere.
One of the prettiest drives in the country is in Idaho on Highway 95. We had the pleasure of traveling the highway all the way to Boise on April 23rd. The road took us along the Salmon and Payette rivers, up and down mountain passes and across verdant wheat fields. If you have the chance to take the drive, I urge you to do so.
We ate dinner in the Basque district of Boise. The food is surprisingly different than that of Mexico. Many immigrants came to Southwest Idaho, Southeast Oregon and Northwest Nevada from the Basque portion of Spain many years ago to raise sheep. We visited the old Boise Penitentiary on the morning of our concert.
We gave the Boise concert in the city high school. What an impressive architectural structure for a high school. It resembles a college. I wouldn’t have minded going to high school if I could have attended a school like the one in Boise. The audience was appreciative and the concert was well attended. It was a glorious night. There were some long time friends in the audience. My aunt and uncle lived in Boise for many years. Some in the audience were familiar to my last name because of my aunt and uncle.
On the 25th we headed for Elko, NV via highways 45, 78 and 51. It was the most isolated we felt during our entire trip. I had a lonely feeling of beauty traveling on a sparsely taken road in southwest Idaho.
I didn’t know quite what to expect in Elko, NV with the competition we might have from casinos. Not too many citizens of Elko gamble so we had nothing to fear I later found out. We don’t gamble either. After the concert on the 26th we went out for a dish of ice cream. The only establishment open was a casino. There they had a nickel machine. I put one nickel in and two nickels came out. We left the casino after doubling my money on one try!
Elko is known for their cowboy poetry contest held each winter. I gave me poetry a try. Here it is:
Early dawn we travel down a long and lonely road
Our F-150 horse hauls a heavy load
Carrying our tools, mics harps and a piano
We head out from Boise on the road to Elko

We have the chairmans of Exxon and Chevron to thank
It costs an arm, leg and two toes to fill the tank
Why do I play the harp it doesn’t fit in a car
Why not the fiddle or flute? I should have played the guitar

The harp is angelic sent down from heaven
But to carry it here I need a 747
As we travel down 225 I tremble with fear
The E on the gauge grows uncomfortable near

I’m going to stop lugging this harp; I’m quitting this gig
I’ll be broke filling the tank on my big ol’ rig
My bank account won’t handle it much anymore
Since it costs community concert patrons just 7 bucks at the door

Alas a grand idea, I have nothing to fear
I’m going to play the mouth harp by this time next year

We headed back north to Boise to spend the next night. On our trip back to Boise, we visited Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park. What I found very interesting is that there are only 2 sand dunes. Unlike most dunes, these do not drift far. The prevailing winds blow from the southeast 28 percent of the time and from the northwest 32 percent of the time, keeping the dunes fairly stable. Although there are many small dunes in the area, two prominent dunes cover approximately 600 acres. These two imposing dunes are striking, particularly because they dwarf most of the nearby land features. The westernmost dune is reported to be the largest single-structured sand dune in North America with a peak 470 feet above the level of the lakes. The winds trap the sand in a bowl formed by the walls of the Snake River Canyon. We stayed for our last time courtesy of Priceline at the Doubletree in Boise. We went for a nice walk on a warm, pleasant evening to the Idaho Fish and Game facility, funded by a donation from the Morrison Knudsen Company. The park lead us on an impressive self-guided tour of a manmade trout pond made to look like a beaver dam. The walk had signage describing the lifecylce of native Idaho trout. We strolled bakc to the hotel and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then drove through downtown Boise to the spot where all the nightlife is. My thought while walking downtown is how young the crowd was. People seem to be getting younger and ounger these days. I am ceratin it is not because I am getting older!
The next day we once again had the opportunity to travel on highway 95, this time going the opposite direction. We could see what we missed the first time. We spent the night in Spokane, WA eating at a very nice restaurant. It was at this time that I decided I was looking forward to home. After awhile (3 months) of eating out for every meal, soon a $50.00 meal tastes like a $5.00 meal. I was beginning to not be able to tell the difference between the two. It was time to get home.
On the 29th of April we gave our final concert for the season in Colville, WA. We noticed the gas price getting higher the further west we came. We filled up with gas at a station that was 10 cents a gallon cheaper than the rest. I asked “why the discrepancy” and it was due to the fact that the owner was away when the recent tanker filled the gas tanks. None of the employees knew how to change the price on the pumps. I wish more gas stations would hire employees like that!
The afternoon concert was held at the high school. We found that many towns have wonderful high school auditoriums and Colville was no exception. The audience was very receptive.
The concert chairman, Ron, and his wife treated us to a dinner after the concert. Since we were with company and socializing, the meal was very good. Good conversations are what make meals good. I had prime rib in a restaurant in Kettle Falls.
Katherine and I left for home after dinner. We traveled home along the Columbia River for many miles small highway 25 in Washington. We were getting close to home when we joined highway 2 in Creston, WA as our hometown of Sultan lies on the Stevens Pass Highway, which is also known as highway 2. We drove home with mixed emotions after having enjoyed time together on the road; just like real musicians. We traveled over 20,000 miles in one week less than 3 months! We looked forward to familiar things like our own bed and pillow. We looked backwards at the many nice experiences we had. Highlights often revolved around other people. Relationships make life worthwhile. Fellowship with others is a joy. We are looking forward to 2008-2009 season when we have an opportunity to make new friends again.
It was nice to arrive home, even though it was late. Katherine's parents were here much of the time we were gone taking care of the house and plants. It was a relief to us to have them here. It was nice to be home in the garden. I don't even mind the weeding after being gone for so long. But we do kind of miss the free housekeepping services in the hotel

Ponca City-Valparaiso, IN

Ponca City, OK was one of the more pleasant cities we visited. We enjoyed the city because of the investment that business leaders made in the city many years ago. Ponca City is an oil town. The foundation was built on oil. Because of the generosity of business leaders, the town is architecturally a pleasant site with all of its’ art deco mansions. Conoco Phillips was born in Ponca City. E. W. Marland was a wealthy tycoon who paid his employees well. Katherine and I toured Marland Estate Mansion, one of America's castles. It is a showplace containing approximately 48,000 square feet spread over four floors -- complete with leather-lined elevator, twelve bathrooms, three kitchens, an elegant ballroom with 24-karat gold leaf-covered ceiling worth over $1.4 million, and seven fireplaces. The workmanship and beauty provide an aura of simplicity in grandeur, impossible to reproduce today. The Mansion is a National Historical Landmark.
The concert was well attended even though there was a threat of thundershowers. The threat came to fruition and it poured!
We left Ponca City the next day to head north a short drive to our next destination for a concert; El Dorado, KS, near Wichita. There was an oil museum in town that we visited. The museum emphasized what it was like to live in an oil boomtown. The large outdoor exhibit contained a reconstructed Midwest town with stores and barbershops on display.
Since the travel distance was short from Ponca City, we had a chance on the 23rd after we set up our instruments to go into Wichita to tour the cattle town, have dinner and see a movie. Please be sure to see Amazing Grace.
The concert went well although it was one of our smallest crowds. Kansas’s folks are intense over basketball. Our concert was held on the same night as the Kansas-UCLA final 64-tournament game. Basketball is more of a hindrance to harp concerts than thunderstorms!
After the concert on the 24th, we treated ourselves to the Sonic drive-in, an institution in the Midwest. It was a delicious high caloric treat!
We headed to Missouri on the morning of the 25th to Bolivar via Fort Scott. Being a Sunday we thought for sure we could listen to a radio sermon but were surprised to not come across one in the outer ring of the Bible belt.
Fort Scott was built on the outer frontier and served many different functions in its history. From 1869-73, soldiers were stationed near Fort Scott to protect a railroad being built through this area. Soldiers fought squatters who had formed an armed resistance to the railroad. This was one of few times in U.S. history that the army took up arms against civilians. The military hospital was fascinating displaying its’ archaic medical implements of war. More people died because of infection than by the initial bullet.
We arrived in Bolivar, MO in the late afternoon, checked in to the hotel and drove 30 miles south to Springfield to attend a church service with close friends of Katherine’s (long story). We were invited to the pastor’s home (they are the close friends) after church for delicious soup and bread where we enjoyed a family evening together.
We set-up for our concert the next morning. The concert was held in the auditorium of Southwest Baptist University. The crowd was pleasant filled with college students, which I enjoyed.
We left for Georgia on the 27th traveling as far as Nashville, TN. We traveled on pretty roads decorated with trees of spring that meandered through the Ozarks of southern Missouri. We stayed at another Priceline hotel near the Opryland Hotel for $50.00 arriving quite late. We left Nashville in the morning with a goal of seeing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and our anti climatic highlight of Pigeon Forge.
The Great Smokies was well worth the visit. I’d drive a long distance again just to visit the national park. We visited Cades Cove, inhabited many years ago by pioneers living in a harsh wilderness. There was a memorable cemetery that we wandered through. We were struck by how many children perished.
Friends don’t let friends go to Pigeon Forge, at least my friends should have warned me not to go. Talk about a tourist trap! Wax museums and all the other entrapments in the beautiful Smoky Mountains! With my diatribe, I don’t think I will be expecting an invitation to play my harp in Pigeon Forge, TN.
We arrived late in Tekoa, GA on the 28th, greeted by our good friends, Bill and Penny Rothrock. They traveled 2 hours north to be a tour guides to in north Georgia and to attend our concert. I met the Rothrocks in Seattle over 15 years ago when I played my harp at the Marriott Hotel. Bill and Penny drove us around to the sights of Georgia on the 29th. We visited Tallulah Gorge and state park. A couple of well-known high wire walkers tight roped across the gorge. Although barely 3 miles long and a quarter-mile wide the cliffs at one point drop 1200 feet to the bottom of the gorge. Twice men have ventured across the tear in the fabric of Mother Earth, both times successfully. Professor Leon made it across on July 24, 1886 and Karl Wallenda repeated the feat 84 years less one week later (July 18, 1970).
By coincidence, Bill and Penny met some friends of their’s at the state park who attended the concert. An acquaintance of mine Emile Pandolfi (yes the famous piano player) and his wife Judy also attended the concert. I consider them my friends now. It was an honor to have them at our concert in Tekoa. The concert was well attended. We had friends from Mebane, NC, Charles and Carol Fortner attend the concert as well. By coincidence, they stayed at the same hotel. We followed in the footsteps of Mickey Rooney as he was the entertainer the prior month for the Tekoa arts series.
The following day, Bill, Penny, Katherine and I drove north to have lunch and to visit Emile at his studio in Greensboro, SC to be amazed at his piano virtuosity (and his amazing card tricks)! We then left south for Bill and Penny’s home to stay a couple of days in Jonesboro, GA. It was a blessing to have them as hosts for us. It felt good to feel like we were at home. The Rothrocks took us to a gorgeous place called Callaway Gardens south of their home. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place quite like Callaway Gardens. Go there!
We had the opportunity to attend church service on Palm Sunday with Bill and Penny and started heading north to Nashville. We had our first little scare with automobile trouble when the brake light came on. We discovered that we had a leak in our brake fluid line. Its uncomfortable when the brake peddle touches the floor. It seems that the lights turn red more often when brakes are bad. We purchased brake fluid at a gas station to solve the problem temporarily.
We found another Priceline in Nashville where we stayed a day. We visited “corporate headquarters” that has organized our wonderful concert tour. Lou and Stacy treated us to lunch and were given the good news that we have been asked to return for another concert trip in the 2008-2009 season.
On the morning of April 3rd we left Nashville to head to Valparaiso, IN. We stopped for a visit at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world's longest cave system, with more than 365 miles explored. Early guide Stephen Bishop called the cave a "grand, gloomy and peculiar place," but its vast chambers and complex labyrinths have earned its name: Mammoth.
Thundershowers and tornado warnings were posted in Indiana. Wow…! We went through the front of black clouds. The van felt like it was lifted off the ground for a moment. I was flying a 747! We met an inovative man with his unique bicyle carrying his little dog at a gas station.
We were in Valparaiso by evening and were greeted by snow. Snow in April in the Chicago area is not unheard of but certainly it shouldn’t be happening in this day of greenhouse warming.
The morning of the concert, I had the brakes fixed and set up the instruments. The concert was not as well attended as usual because of the snow and it being Wednesday of Holy Week. The concert went well.
On Thursday the 5th we drove to Grand Rapids, MI to go to an evening Maundy Thursday service at a church where Katherine’s former music professor (and good friend) is the music conductor. He asked Katherine to sing in the choir while Mrs. Groetenhuis and sat in the congregation. It snowed most of the day.
On Good Friday we stayed around Valparaiso to go to the University Cathedral and listen to the Seven Last Words performed by the students at noon and then return to hear a sermon at 3:00. We hadn’t been able to attend church too much so we certainly made up for it during our time in Valparaiso.
We left on Saturday to be in Mesa, AZ by Friday April 13th to give a program. We were able to drive as far as Springfield, MO. We attended the same church for Easter that we attended two weeks prior on a Sunday night, our friends Phil and Joy Groetenhuis. Phil asked me to bring my harp in from the car and join in on a few songs. We stayed for the potluck and headed on our way again, arriving in Oklahoma City in the early evening.