I'm back! Did anyone notice that I've been gone for almost a week?





Don't answer that.

Anyway, I just got back from the lovely city of McAlester, Oklahoma. (I am not being sarcastic; I really liked the place.) I drove to McAlester on Saturday and came back today. The drive from Birmingham to McAlester is just under 650 miles. Coincidentally, the return trip is almost exactly as far. (Who'da thunk it?) The point is, I am now home after slightly more than ten hours on the road (about 9 hours of actual driving, add in lunch and pit stops and the total drive took a little more than 10 hours) and I'm feeling kind of punchy, so I think I'll do a trip report about my trip to Indian Territory.

The trip was about 25% pleasure and 75% business. That fact notwithstanding, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by southeastern Oklahoma and I would like to go back there sometime. I've been to Oklahoma before but this was my first foray into this part of the state. The terrain was more diverse than I was expecting, the overall scenery was a lot greener than I was expecting, and the city itself was a lot more vital and vibrant than I had any reason to expect.

There is also a very strong Native American presence in the area (as there is throughout the entire state). During the 1830's, the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes" (the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicksaw and Seminole) were uprooted from their native lands in the southeast and driven to reservations in Oklahoma along the "Trail of Tears." The first to go were the Choctaw. McAlester is in Choctaw territory, very close to Muskogee (Creek) territory.

Have I ever mentioned that I am 1/8 Choctaw? One of my mother's grandfathers was pure blooded Choctaw His ancestors opted against relocation to Indian Territory and remained in Lousiana and/or Mississippi. But it's the same people.

Needless to say, the trip was very meaningful in that regard.

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Charlie...Please tell me that was part 1....It was just starting to get good.

See...I come from the tribe that writes...looooong trip reports.

Glad you had a safe trip.

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I lead with my Heart and my Body follows

Dan & Sweet Georgene

Charlie,

Welcome back. You have plenty more to tell and interesting to boot. Bring it on!

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Novelist, Pilot
http://www.bentpage.wordpress.com/

i agree with everyone charlie. tell us more.

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vote now!!!!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/N...uba/index.html

Thanks for the encouragement but, truth be told, the trip wasn't really that interesting (and I'm not feeling nearly as punchy as I was 12 hours ago) but I'll see if I can spice things up for dramatic effect.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn express with two women (how's that for spice?). One is a very good friend of mine who has been involved in the oil and gas exploration business since the first of the year and is trying to help me break in. The other woman was her adult (30 something) daughter. We all bunked together then drove together to the town of Holdenville, about 50 miles to the west, each morning to work at the Hughes County Courthouse. When they closed the Court house each day (at 4:30), we drove back to McAlester and sat outside by the pool and unwound with adult beverages and good company until dinnertime. Speaking of dinners, Saturday and Monday, we ate at a Chili's that was, for all intents and purposes, in the same parking lot. I know that sounds kind of unexciting but it was real convenient and, well, you all know what kind of stuff you can get at a Chili's and the quality was pretty consistent. One night, I had cedar-plank tilapia with chimichuri sauce and the other night, I had a New York strip steak. Nothing wrong with either one of those meals.

On Tuesday night, we had sandwiches from a place that is obviously franchised out throughout the region; I saw lots of them in Oklahoma. It is called "Braums" and is a combination deli, ice cream place, and market. I had a good grilled chicken sandwich and Betsy and Trish (the two women I was with) raved about their hot fudge sundaes. On our last night their, we went to a place called Chef Billy's that specializes in cajun cuisine, which seemed odd in Oklahoma but was very, very good (best meal of the trip, actually). I had blackened salmon with a rice pilaf and asparagus and I cleaned my plate.

Lunch options in Holdenville were limited but that did not turn out to be a problem. They have a wonderful small-town type cafe ("Pat's) with daily specials that featured a meat and three vegetables plus a salad. On Monday, I had a hamburger steak with mashed potatoes, spinach and pinto beans (and about a quart of gravy to pour over the whole thing; on Tuesday, I had an open-face hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes a salad and another quart of gravy (this was not one of the specials, it is a regular menu item); Wednesday was meat loaf with mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and steamed cabbage. No need for a go-box after any one of those meals.

Oh yeah, we ordered pizza delivered to our room Sunday evening and breakfast was free in the lobby of the hotel each morning.

I met some of the coolest people during my little stay, too. Dozens of people involved in the same profession have descended on McAlester and were all staying in hotels and motels along the same stretch of highway. One whole crew had come from Michigan and the other main crew (the one my friend works for) is mostly Texans. I also befriended a guy from near Tupelo, Mississippi and another guy from near Mobile, Alabama.

All in all, everyone has the best attitude about the job. When it's time to work, they bust their guts. When the day is done, they kick back and enjoy themselves. In fact, besides the hands-on experience at the job itself, the other thing I learned about the job is that it incorporates a whole lifestyle of living for months at a time (with respites) in extended-stay hotels far from home with a bunch of other people in the exact same boat as me. That's obviously not for everyone but, for us weirdos of the world, it is very appealing.

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.