Gone from the Ranch

Flippen,  AR

We left the Boys Ranch in Gore, OK this morning around 9 and arrived at our "home" for two days at Heart O The Ozarks campground in Flippen, AR where we have a good Internet connection with just my Sprint Mobile WiFi.   

Our time at the Ranch was not only busy but a great blessing.    The ranch has at least 17 horses and lots of cattle.  While we were there we were aware of two calves being born.   There might have been more.    One new Mom did not want to care for her baby.   Len and our friend Olan helped Larry, the Activities Director and one of the young men who live at the Ranch find the calf out in the fields and bring him into a stable to be bottle fed until the mom was rounded up.  Mom eventually decided she would take care of her charge.

Leonard and I used a ranch truck to ride up the hills behind the ranch where most of the cattle are grazing.  When we got to the top of the hill, we turned around to find the cows and calves had followed us up the hill to see what we were up to.

One day we took a ride to Muskogee to The Five Civilized Tribes Museum.  The Tribes are Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole.   Unfortunately no photography was allowed in the museum.  Next to the museum was the Honor Heights Park with flowers out in bloom.

Twice a week the boys are taught horsemanship.   One night Len and I got to ride.  This is something we both miss, having had to sell our horses when we went fulltime.

Our last night there, Larry and his wife treated us to a fabulous T-Bone steak dinner that included a salad and baked potato bar, hot rolls, green beans, corn, picked okra and green tomatoes, kidney beans with jalapenos and this dessert!

Larry with son Luke and wife Deborah

As Larry's house is being worked on, they served us at the Ranch Lodge, right next to his house.  

Those steps are killers!

The view looking down from the Lodge porch.

Each Sunday we attended church at Gore United Methodist.  This past Wednesday we also went to their monthly pot luck dinner.   The church is beautiful as are the attendees.

 Oh, that's right.  We went to the ranch to work.  This is just some of what we did:

Refinished kitchen cabinets

Refinished the dining room table

The men worked in Larry's house hanging Sheetrock, doing electrical and laying flooring.

Leonard and I plan on returning to the Ranch for a few days in June when we will once more be passing through Oklahoma.    Maybe there will be less tornado watches by then?