The End of the Road...a hui hou, Joy!

Aloha all,

after about 7,500 miles on the road (plus about 15,000 miles in the air and almost 200 miles on the river) we are almost back to where we started in May. And we are at the end of our road trip!

We have arrived at our final campground just outside of Houston, TX. We have two days to pack, clean, winterize & store Joy. Believe it or not, the cheapest flights home were with three day layovers in San Diego and in Honolulu, so while the road trip is over, the journey is not yet. We are also extremely grateful that we get to go home to beautiful Maui and see our ohana…the other half of the “Best of Both Worlds”.

We spent two more days in Oklahoma City. Sadly, Sandra had to slow down a little. I know she loves reading a good book, but if she had felt better, I know she would have preferred to come to the Thunder NBA basketball game and to the local production of the ‘Sister Act’ musical with me. She recovered just in time for us to enjoy a wonderful lunch on the 49th floor of the new Devon Tower overlooking what we voted as “the most underrated city of America”.

A small part of the huge Land Run Monument in Oklahoma City
 with the Devon Tower in the background

The next four days we spent at the “Chickasaw Nation”. First at the Chickasaw NRA, then a full day at the Chickasaw Cultural Center, at the Historic Chickasaw Capitol & Museum and at the Chickasaw White House. For us, this was very different from visiting other Native American tribes. Too often, the main takeaway from visiting and learning about Native Americans is feeling sorry for the injustice that was done to them. Obviously, that’s part of the Chickasaw experience, too. That’s why they are in Oklahoma, not in their native homelands in the Southeast. But their ‘Trail of Tears’ has somewhat of a triumphant ending. You can’t help but marvel at how they overcame their hardships, how they survived and how they thrived. And it’s the first time I visited a Native American site and instead of feeling sorry, I felt a little envious. 

In fact, it seems like the Chickasaw Nation is doing so well, that they barely know what to do with the money. But we like that they spent money to preserve and present their culture, since those are the sites we visited. Coincidentally, we did not visit the one site that most people visit, where they make most of their money. But you know us, we rather look for the smallest museum than for the largest casino. Yes, the largest casino in the world(!) is just one of many businesses owned by the Chickasaw Nation. With 600,000 sq. ft it’s more than three times larger than the largest casino in Las Vegas! And it makes enough money that most of the sites we visited were free.

Spirit Forest at the Chickasaw Cultural Center

The Chickasaw Cultural Center is a modern, world class education and entertainment center. They have their own movie production company, which has produced some really impressive films about the Chickasaw history that are shown in an IMAX style theater. The museum includes some interactive exhibits about the Chickasaw culture and a ’Spirit Forest’ where you can walk through an indoor forest and learn about the myth and legends. They also had a dance presentation, but my favorite part was talking to the Chickasaw. A lot of them look as white as us, but they have some interesting perspectives. I talked to one lady for about half an hour why it’s totally ok that the words for ‘green’ and ‘blue’ are the same in the Chickasaw language. We spent a whole day at the center, but we will have to come back, because we did not even make it to the recreated village, where they have living history presentations on weekends.

Historic Chickasaw Capitol

The history of the Chickasaw Capitol in Tishomingo is symbolic for the ups and downs of the tribe. Being forced off their homelands, they were determined to build a strong new community in Oklahoma. So after humble beginnings and some early success, they built a pretty impressive capitol building…only to be forced to sell it for pennies on the dollar after statehood in 1907, when very restrictive new laws were passed. They finally regained sovereignty in 1971 and after their recent financial success, they were able to buy back the capitol. They did so just so that we can go visit, not because they needed it: Apparently they have larger and more modern government buildings by now. And after they bought back the Historic Capitol building, they renovate it and pay somebody to be there all day to talk to us. They also moved the log house where the very first council was held in 1856 next to the capitol and built a museum around it. And still, there is enough money left to pay another nice lady to talk to us for another hour or two at this museum, too. The capitol and museum was meant as a quick stop in the morning before heading on, but by the time we were done, all we did was go back to the same campground in Tishomingo.

Every single Chickasaw person we talked to also raved about how well the Chickasaw Nation takes care of all their tribal members: Free education, scholarships, help with housing if needed, even free health care. Maybe it’s time we learn something from them about being ‘civilized’.

The Chickasaw White House

Next, we visited the Chickasaw White House, which is the historically restored home of one of their former governors. It might not be as famous as the other White House, but it’s beautiful inside and out. We were surprised to be greeted with: “Are you from Hawaii?”. We instinctively looked at our clothing, but we were not wearing anything to give us away. Turns out, one of the ladies from the other museums had called and told them about us. These are not crowded tourist attractions. Again, we got a long, private tour from a very enthusiastic, welcoming guide. That’s another difference to the other White House: We really liked the people here.

After almost three weeks in Oklahoma, we had already crossed the state line to Texas, but due to a full campground came back to Oklahoma and spent two more days on Lake Texoma. We had spent our first two nights in Oklahoma in campgrounds on lakes, so it was only fitting we spent the last two nights on a lake, too. We were actually grateful they had a two night minimum stay: Sometimes we need to be slowed down a bit. And this gave us enough time to look for RV storage and flights home, including the stops we added in San Diego and Honolulu along the way.

Dwight Eisenhower's Birthplace

Back in Texas, we discovered an unexpected presidential site: Did you know Dwight Eisenhower was born in Denison, TX? Don’t feel bad, apparently he himself did not find out until he was almost adult. We had been to Ike’s home in Gettysburg, including a tour and a ranger talk, but we had no idea, even though I am sure they told us. This shows you why we will never run out of places to visit: We seem to forget things almost as fast as we learn them. I did not even remember that Richard Nixon was his Vice President. Even more surprising trivia: Eisenhower was so revered after the war that President Truman offered him the top of the ticket, with himself as the VP, if Eisenhower had decided to run as a Democrat. 

Canoeing on the Bayou at Caddo Lake State Park

We have seen so much on this trip, but Caddo Lake was something completely different, a real Bayou with thousands of cypress trees growing in the water. Surprisingly, it is also the only lake in Texas that formed naturally. All the other lakes in Texas are man made! First we took a boat tour on the bajous and on the lake, then we rented a canoe, exploring the mystical landscape ourselves. We also went on a short hike with a fun wildlife sighting: Sandra mentioned that she would like to see an Armadillo. As far as I can remember, we have seen an Armadillo only one single time in the wild before. Not even a minute later, I see one in the forest, running away from us before we could get a decent photo, but at least we got to see it. We slowly followed it and surprisingly, it let us approach, and even came closer to us. Not because it wanted to be fed, more because it wanted to dig for food where we were and had decided at that point that we were of no danger. And we got a decent photo after all…

Sandra wants to see an armadillo...

We are not getting tired of touring American historical homes. Some of them might not be older than my grandparents home was, but we are always intrigued by the history and by the dedicated staff or volunteers keeping them alive. The Starr Family Home in Marshall, TX was another prime example. We throughly enjoyed the long, private tour, but I am afraid I will sound like a broken record...

Joy at Camp Tonkawa Springs RV Park north of Nacogdoces, TX

Overall, we feel we traveled slower and more relaxed than on previous road trips, but still got to see just as much. Yesterday was no exception: We were in Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas. Somehow we saw  Stone Fort Museum, the Historic Village at Millard’s Crossing and the Sterne-Hoya House without feeling rushed. The Stone Fort has an interesting history: It’s a 1936 replica using the bricks of the 1776 building, which was the only two story building in all of Texas at the time and was torn down in 1902. Millard’s Crossing is an eclectic collection of historical buildings, started by a lady who had so many antiques that she had to buy antique houses to store them all. We were lucky to get there when they had their living history day for the local schools. I think I was even more impressed how well behaved the over 100 kids were than by the actual buildings or artifacts. 

Living History Day at Millard's Crossing

The Sterne-Hoya House had some extra appeal for us because it was built by a fellow German immigrant. Adolphus Sterne is from Cologne, so from the same river as my home town - but that is where the parallels end: He left Germany by himself when he was only 16 years old! And somehow he became one of the leaders of the Texas revolution just a few years later, enough so that Sam Houston and Davy Crocket came by to visit the Sterne House. At least we made it here, but as much as we enjoy Texas, we are not interested joining a Texas revolution.  

A Hui Hou, Joy!

And that’s the end of the road for us. We are looking forward to coming home to Maui and to our friends there, but we already know that we will be itching to go on another 6 month adventure next year. For us, it truly is the Best of Both Worlds!

Howdy & Aloha,

Chris & Sandra