Cody Canada, The Lone Ranger and the Fourth of July

Coming soon: I travel east to seek justice for a dead man.

Welcome back.  The band is called Cody Canada and the Departed. I was invited to attend a recent music festival in Caney, KS where this group was scheduled to perform but unfortunately due to my extended stay covering the fires in Colorado I missed their show. The good news is that I did get the opportunity to visit with Cody on the telephone. He is from Yukon, Oklahoma and many of you may remember him from his years with the popular band Cross Canadian Ragweed. I am working on a future story about his career and the influence of legendary performers such as Waylon Jennings, Steve Earle and Willie Nelson had on him.  Stay tuned for more about this accomplished musician and his new band.

The next bit of information is related to a “soon to be released” movie called The Lone Ranger. I was in New Mexico last year when they were filming along the Cimarron River in a majestic canyon that starts just outside Cimarron and runs up in the clouds to Eagle Nest. The beauty of this place could probably be better described by a more accomplished writer but you really have to experience the area to fully appreciate it with Eagle Nest Lake on one side and the ski area of Angel Fire on the other. The sunsets here at 9,000 ft. attract photographers from around the world.

If you’re not up for a sunset, the village of Red River is just down the road out of Eagle Nest. This is a former mining town that has preserved its historic character and has many interesting shops and restaurants. I haven’t been to many other places like it in my travels and I highly recommend a stop here if ever you’re in the area.

I’m bringing these places to your attention, along with Taos, Cimarron, Philmont Ranch and the UUBar Ranch because on Friday July 5th, the east side branch of ARVEST Bank will be hosting a presentation on the area at 10:30 AM.  Jerry Poppenhouse and several other photographers who just returned from the area will be showing photos on a big screen including footage of wild life, mountain scenery and historic structures as well as scenes from the wildfires which were close to our home base on the UUBar. There will also be photos of the old Santa Fe Trail which illustrate the challenges that travelers faced along the trail. So if you like New Mexico be sure to catch this great presentation which by the way is completely free.

Since I will be leaving for the east coast in just a few weeks I got curious as to what folks up there will be doing for the 4th of July. We have so many great events here and I found out in Yankee Magazine that they will be celebrating New England style. Here is just a sampling of the many events along the coast.  The grand daddy of them all is the annual Boston Pops Concert which concludes with a fantastic fireworks display. The concert is always televised on OETA so you can see it in Oklahoma too. If you happen to be in Boston, you can take a dinner cruise in Boston harbor and experience the fireworks while on board an historic tall ship.

In Bristol, Rhode Island they have the country’s oldest continuous Independence Day celebration which includes a parade, a ball, a drum corps show, visiting ships and of course fireworks.

Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA is a recreation of life in New England during the 1830s with authentic arts and crafts, food and drink and actors portraying people from that era. They offer an old fashioned 4th of July with a reading of the Declaration of Independence and the opportunity to learn period dances and drill with the Sturbridge Militia before ending the day with fireworks. This is a big attraction and always draws crowds.

So from shore to shore, border to border, Americans will be celebrating our independence tomorrow in ways both old and new, on water and on land. You have a good one too, stay safe and till next week, I’ll see ya down the road…

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