Along came a Snyder

You may be conversant with the child's nursery rhyme, Little Miss Muffet. If so you know the line which starts "along came a spider". Not professing a fondness for spiders of any stripe, I thought a Snyder would be a workable compromise. So off we headed to Snyder OK. (pop. 1394). It is less than an hour's ride from here. Here is the indefatigable Scooterchick ready to saddle up.

Here are some bridges across a wide span of dry land, weird no? Actually, These bridges span the North Fork of the Red River, and during flood stage, the entire river bottom would be flowing fast. Hard to believe now, but there you are.

Turning off onto Bus 62 we drive east to Snyder. more about Snyder later, but our first stop is Great Plains State Park at Tom Sneed Lake. This is a large Lake and a popular recreational area.

There is a large campsite on the east side of the lake with space for 34 tent sites and 64 RV sites. There is a large swimming beach and a boat launch for those wishing to fish. Here we have 2 scooters hiding in the shade of a tree.

This is the first time I have seen one of these next-gen fire pits. These are manufactured by a company called Pilot Rock. This model is so new they don't even have it up on their website yet. It includes a formed and welded steel base. The entire ring and grill section is hinged at the back for tilting and easy clean out. The grill portion is over sized and multi-adjustable. Now that's camping innovation.

This is a picture of  Tom Sneed on the road to the dam. It's a nice lake, and I would like to return at some point in the future. The one thing that surprised us was the flies. Even at this late date there are still plenty, and with fewer tourists, the flock in pretty quickly. Not biting, just looking for food I guess.

Here is a picture of my darling Scooterchick, smiling and posing for the camera. What a great riding companion she is. She has been feeling  little iffy today, sore throat and such but she keeps rolling on.

This is the dam that impounds Tom Sneed Lake, and provides flood control for those downstream. It has been said that a person whispering at one end of the dam is clearly audible to someone listening at the other end due the curvature of the face, and the benefit of  acoustics. Sadly we were unable to test this out. I was kinda looking forward to it.

Here is a motion shot of Scooterchick riding lakeside, doesn't she look cool. Yes she does!!
The weather today was warm and dry, and it didn't get too windy until we were almost home.

Here is another picture of my beloved. She stopped at the side of the road to take a picture. And just what would this picture be you ask?

Why, it's a barn in a rather dilapidated condition. This one is just about done, and has an interesting angle to it. I suspect next year about this time it will be an artfully arranged pile of lumber.

We rolled back into Snyder. Remember Snyder? This is a sleepy little burgh, and has sections which look fairly prosperous and other neighborhoods which one looks at and goes Sheesh!

This is the FRANROY. It is a theater from the 1930's, now in disrepair. I'll bet it was quite the hot spot back in the day though.

Her is a building which gives little clue to it's previous occupants. I thought the construction interesting though. The lower floor would have been glazed originally, and the upper story looks like stone. Looks can be deceiving though since the face was about one and a half inch stone veneer, and the turret was faced with pressed tin. stamped and painted to look like the stone facing. Only the weathering and integrity of the tin gave it away.

This is a picture of Floyd's. Too bad it's closed up. I would have liked to spend a dollar or two on something useless and when someone asked where it came from I could say, "why, I got that down to Floyd's in Snyder."

Here is a picture of Snyder City Hall. Although it looks in good repair if you look at the next building you will see it is not a building at all.

Here is another picture of the "building" beside the City Hall. Only the brick pillars and frontispiece remain. What was Gem? Was it the Gem, a Gem or Gemlike in it's simplicity. Another riddle......

There is a gas station in Snyder. It's called Willis' Quick Stop. One had better be quick in case someone else wants to use the pump.

For your edification I thought I would include a few shots of Altus Oklahoma, although in truth we were actually there yesterday. Here is a picture of a statue entitled "Crossing the Red" which shows a cowboy trying to get longhorn cattle across the Red river during a flood stage. It almost looks as if the steers are rolling their eyes in terror, while the cowboy wears a look of grim determination.
 

This statue which rests at the corner of a city park is called "Vision Seeker". I though it reminded me of  "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin, in a contemplatively western way. I wonder what he's thinking, or if he's simply trying not to think and let the Creator tell him which way is up.

This is a decommissioned B-47 bomber. They were built between 1951-1965 and used for tactical nuclear support for the US Strategic Air Command.

And so we hit the highway to roll back to Lawton. At one point Scooterchick said her speedo read about 75mph (124km/h) and there was no more throttle left. Going uphill resulted in a loss of speed back to about 70mph, but that's pretty respectable for her scooter.
 

We arrive back at Lawton as the sun is sinking into the horizon, and grab a quick pic of the Welcome sign as we enter town. glad of a ride in the sun and new sights seen.
 

Scooterchick suggested some food, and we stopped at Hong Kong Buffet. The bill was $22. Hard to beat for all you can eat.

My beloved is pointing to her sore throat. Poor baby, she has calamities. Time for food though.
 

I don't know which brave frog gave up his leg for her dinner, but in his memory I say merci!
Sadly, although the jambe de grenouille was the first thing to go, she was unable to finish her plate.
 

I however made shot work of my plate, and went back for dessert. As you can see, I got my broccoli. I am a big fan of broccoli, and always look for some when we're out......or in.

I have included 2 sunset shots although strictly speaking they are Texan in origin. we collected them a little over a week ago on our way back from Texas. The colors of sunsets on the great plains are always arresting if the weather is clear. Any cloud cover is always brilliantly underlit.

The colors are always so transitory and ephemeral in nature. At times like this, I always feel thankful and privileged to be allowed to witness such beauty.
 

The end of my tale comes here......be blessed until next time.