Welcome back. Pawhuska three times, Tulsa twice, Oklahoma City and Edmond once with Nowata, Caney and Barnsdall and there’s is no end in sight for my travels this month so you can count on some interesting stories. Arcadia Lake in Edmond is a place where I often spend the night when I’m in the Oklahoma City area and this past weekend the weather was absolutely perfect there. Swimming, fishing, boating or if you’re just looking for a place to get away, Arcadia has it all. There are full RV hookups as well as primitive camp sites, clean shower houses and then the lake view. I’m here this week to say you need to check this lake out.
With the big IFR rodeo in Bartlesville now in the record books, here’s another story about ranching and the cattle industry. For the past thirty years an annual cow sale has been held southwest of Yukon, Oklahoma where if you’re planning to buy a cow, you’d better have the deed to your house handy along with your first-born child. The Big Event, as it’s called, is the August cow sale held by Express Ranches and I’ve been there every year for the past seven years and written about it. This year the sale starts at 1PM on Friday August 14th, followed by Saturday August 15th at noon. Friends, it is not unusual for these cows to sell for as much as a couple hundred thousand dollars each. Fifty, sixty. even seventy thousand each is common as well and with several hundred head selling, you can count on millions of dollars changing hands.
On Friday night after the first day’s sale there is always a steak and shrimp appreciation dinner for all the cattle buyers and other friends of Express Ranch owner Bob Funk which is followed by live entertainment. Every year that I have been there, there has always been a country music superstar and this year, even though it is a secret, I expect the biggest star of them all to perform. This is an event I always enjoy so look for my follow up story on that one as well.
Also, on the 15th of that same weekend don’t miss the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-in held at Will’s Dog Iron Ranch. As for me this week I’ll be heading for Branson, MO to check out what I’m hearing is a tough go for all the shows and restaurants there. Reports from their Chamber of Commerce don’t sound too good as you might imagine so you can look for that update next week too. With a trip to the gulf coast of southern Texas coming up next month, I’ve been talking to several rental companies in the area and here’s a tidbit I founding interesting.
Apparently, people from Houston have been renting all the houses along the coast from the city to Corpus Christi and beyond to get away from the virus. I’ve heard that the situation is the same along the north coast of Long Island Sound where it has become impossible to find a cottage to rent for a week or two as New Yorkers flock to areas outside of the city. Just another sign of the times.
Be safe and till next time, I’ll see ya down the road….