<MPo Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA

Cow branding

After having been at home for 10 days to welcome my daughter coming back from her 10 months backpacking in South East Asia and be a week with her I returned to Bartlesville on the evening of Monday Septemeber 27th.

As usual we had a busy week of work and meetings but as was already agreed before my stay in the Netherlands: we had an exiting event coming up in the first weekend in October:
Cow branding on the farm of Sue and Chris.

Some of the cows that they had bought earlier this year had to be branded with their mark:
The letters C and S.
Sue and Chris had already separated the animals from the others and driven them into the pits close to their house. Then some (antibiotic) shots and a bug spray were prepared and the electric branding iron was heated by the power coming from a welding unit driven by a diesel engine.

Sue and Chris then sorted off a few cows and their breed from the rest of the group and then started to push them into the section leading to the 'Squeeze chute' where they could be 'treated'. When Miller and I understood what needed to be done we took turns in helping with the several tasks as branding, spraying the backs with bug killer liquid and givin the animals a shot.
Only the castrating of the bulls we left to Chris. We helped him by holding the (young) bulls by their tail so that Chris was able to do his part.
On completion of the Job Sue brought a nice collection of 'Bull's balls' home to freeze them for a family member who loved to eat them ... we were told they are nice if prepared over a fire.

After the work done we went to Caney for a burger and (French) fries, sitting outside in the sun. Then we watched Oklahoma University play Texas University (American Footbal) in the house and completed the day with a dinner in Frank & Lola's, our favorite restaurant in Bartlesville.

Oilmen in Oklahoma

When we were looking for the fairgrounds around Pawhuska we came across the oil pump on the left on the way to Pawhuska lake. For my college's this was fairly new so we stopped to have a look at it. In a way it has to do with the work we are doing here as SGS in Bartlesville is inspecting these well sites for their customers and we are implementing a new Project Management and Invoicing software for them.

When we did found the fairgrounds it was apparently mainly for kids and almost over. After a short walk around and having a look at the old cars of more then 50 years old we continued our way to Woolaroc, the Museum & Wildlife Preserve founded by oilman Frank Phillips.

After watching the videos in the heritage center we went to the museum where we watched an amazing collection of Indian & Cowbow arts as well as daily goods as pottery, tools and carriages. Also the Colt weapons collection was impressive.
A small part of the museum was dedicated to the history of Phillips 66, the oil company founded by Frank Phillips. It included the Woolaroc airplane that he sponsored in 1927 in a race from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii that was won by the airplane and crew.

Downtown Bartlesville

On Sunday September 5th I drove to the downtown area of Bartlesville, about 2 to 3 miles from the Candlewood Suites on Highway 75.

It was a sunny afternoon but surprisingly I did not see many people downtown. Was that because people were out of town celebrating the extra Monday off on Laber Day (weekend) or is it just because all activities related to shopping and restaurants is outside of town mainly around Highway 74 (Washington Boulevard)?

The Price Tower on the far right is the only Skyscraper designed by the Amrican architect Frank Lloyd Wright that was actually build. Now an eye-catcher in the Bartlesville skyline with the white concrete and the green (oxydized) copper.

The JOHNSTONE & KEELER building is reminding me of old times I have only seen in 'Wild West' movies.

Bartlesville, Pathfinder Hike

On my first day off in Bartlesville I decided to start looking for the southern entrance to the Pathfinder trail that is running through Bartlesville on the boarder of the Caney River. I left the hotel and crossed Highway 75 to walk through the neighborhoods Oak Ridge Heights and Wayside to the Jo Allyn Lowe park to find the starting point of the trail.

Then I followed the trail and crossed to the other side of the river before turning north on the river banks.
On the side of the trail I saw several old and working examples of the oil industry that made Bartlesville a booming city in the early twentiest century. That was when oil was found in this part of the USA and Frank Phillips founded the Phillips 66 oil company with the headquarters in Bartlesville.

At Franks Phillips Boulevard I left the Pathfinder trail and crossed the river, this time on the sidewalk of the road and then passed underneath the road to contiunue on a side arm of the trail and walk back in an easterly direction towards Highway 75.

After climbing a hill off track, and not being seen by people when I emerged between their houses, I found the Oakridge Drive in Woodlands View and from there continued my way back through the Woodland Park neighborhood to the hotel.

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