In February of 2015, a terrible fire ravaged downtown Barnsdall, Oklahoma. It wasn't the first time - many buildings in town have been lost to fire over the years, actually - but this one had a very specific family connection. My great-aunt Estelle ran a beauty parlor in town for most of her life. Her … Continue reading The Barnsdall Letterpresses
On Friday, I got shot. har har har My second COVID-19 Vaccine shot, that is! I spent most of Saturday feeling like I'd just barely avoided hangover and didn't quite make it. That's good - and today I woke up feeling completely normal. Normal enough for a little bit of driving - so I set … Continue reading Renewal in Osage County
It's been a little over seven years since I received that terrible phone call, the one that signaled a new age of my life. It's a little surreal to look back at my world at the time of my father's sudden passing. I feel like I was just a kid then, even though I was … Continue reading The March of Time
Last week, in addition to my meandering drive through eastern and central Oklahoma, I made a little jaunt into Osage County. If you've followed my travels for a while, you know how much I love it up there. Both sides of my family hail from within the Osage Nation. For the first time in a … Continue reading The Mercantile
Thursday was my 35th birthday. Over the last few years, I've developed a tradition of taking a road trip on my birthday. Last year I drove up Route 66 to see Afton Station for the first time. The year before that was also spent on 66; I ate at Clanton's Cafe in Vinita for the first time. … Continue reading A Day in the Osage
In the middle of February, a fire gutted a couple of buildings in downtown Barnsdall, Oklahoma. Oddly enough, this was not a surprise; I feel like a good chunk of my memories tied to that town are related to burning. I remember staying with my grandparents as a kid when the old church at the end of School … Continue reading Pressing Luck
Even though I just got home from my travels in New York (and the fact that trip was extended three days due to flight delays) I had an itch to do some more traveling. Combine that itch with the fact the weather this past weekend was going to be in the sixties, and that's a … Continue reading 500 Miles
Rhys' Pieces 