Eastward Ho

We're preparing to leave this serene park in Elk City, heading East on I-40 towards the Oklahoma City environs. 

Yesterday was another pleasant and relaxing day here.  I left Lacy and Eleanor to take care of Floribunda while I headed into the thriving metropolis of Elk City, population about 10K.  It reminds me of Red Bluff, CA with a much more wide-open feeling.  Land is plentiful so it's a lot more spread out than I'm used to in California.

Click on the photos to enlarge

Sunrise over Elk City Lake Park

Looks to me like I'm the only one enjoying it from this vantage point

There are nice homes in the distance - suburbia, OK style

Just us and the trees, sunshine and wind

Beautiful, and new looking, City Hall building in Elk City.  Is is 'Elk City Hall' or 'Elk City City Hall?'

Lunch at Elk City Cafe - Reuben Pro - and a great sandwich it was.  This little cafe does a landslide business.  There must have been 40 people inside the tiny place; and, they were preparing to deliver about 30 lunches to a business in town.  Everything, including the slice coconut cream pie I took home, is home made.  Delicious.

On I-40 the other day as I was driving from Amarillo to Oklahoma the cabinet over Floribunda's driver's seat suddenly came off the hinges!  It didn't fall because those kind of hydraulic things that keep the cabinet open when you want it open were still screwed in.  I pulled over and emptied the cabinet of its contents and put together a bungee cord "safety" to hopefully keep the door from crashing on my head while I drove.  So on my way into town yesterday I stopped at a local hardware store to see if they could suggest somebody who might be able to fix it for me.  Luckily, there was a handyman in the store at the time; he agreed to go out to the park on his way home from work.  He came about 4:30 and fixed it up with his handy electric screw driver and some better screws.  He didn't want me to pay him but I insisted on giving him $10 for his help.  Now, if I had an electric screw driver ........

There's not too much to take photos of in this area at this time of year, but I've enjoyed my stay - getting to know a little about Oklahoma.  I traveled through OK with my mom when I was about 3 or 4.  That's been my experience until now.   Today, it's on to the Big City.