Another from Garden of the Gods

The Calvin Man, He of Great Awesomeness, has started growing again and is almost 6'2". I coaxed him into smiling for one picture but he steadfastly refuses to let me post it. A superhero must maintain his public image, I guess.

Home from Colorado

A very happy nurse celebrates the hard-earned B.S. as proud grandparents and others look on.:

Some Colorado Springs Traditions

First, the lookout from Palmer Park with Kristen gazing:

Devoted blog followers will recognize this familiar scene, featuring cousin Tim:

Tom's five acre place in Black Forest sits at 7,500 feet. It snowed on Pikes Peak every night this week:

Garden of the Gods

Rock climbing in Garden of the Gods is strictly forbidden, forcing Calvin and Kristen to investigate. Tom, Chrissy's father, wanders next to his BMW.

Air Force Academy

Your humble blogger poses with Tom and his sister, Roberta. Tom teaches math at the Academy.

Colorado Springs

The Calvin Man resisting the picture process, a family tradition during all vacations.

Home to Penelope - The Odyssey Ends

Came home to find a notable absence of suitors, so no need for a faithful goatherd or an axe handle contest. What a relief.

Exploring the Lawton Area

Fort Sill is next to Lawton and it has a bunch of history:

Fort Sill is also home to the US Army Artillery Center and School, so of course there's a big museum with...static displays. There are many canons, including many captured from wars and stuff like that, but my favorite is the Crusader. It's a super-advanced US self propelled canon that never got produced because it was so advanced it was too heavy and way too expensive. But it's still cool:

And since there was time I decided to explore the majestic Wichita Alps, er, Mountains. The journey turned out to be risky:

Keeping my watch, and my distance, I faced the danger in the face, so to speak, and continued up the road, until there I was, at the top, viewing Fort Sill and Lawton from the summit:

Certainly very breathtaking. Then the Crump Crump Crump of artillery and the Boom Boom Boom of explosions on the practice range:

There was also a view to the west.

As I drove westward...THERE THEY WERE! The dangerous buffalo I had been warned about. And their behavior suggested the highest level of danger, indeed:

Somehow I managed to avoid panicking. I kept my distance and drove away.

Hints of Lawton's Lost Golden Era

While most of Lawton consists of run-down and ramshackle old houses, there are a couple blocks of nicer homes near the downtown area. They're not exactly mansions, and one in particular is ramshackle and overgrown, but there is more than a hint of a bygone era of prosperity and dignity.

Back to Lawton...by way of Siloam Springs...and Leavenworth

Beloved, happy daughter is now a sophomore and is back home from JBU:

And whilst in Arkansas, the privilege of seeing Timothy, Evan's childhood friend, commissioned as a 2LT in the US Army. His father (retired Colonel) administered the oath of office and his rank was put on his uniform by his mother and his pregnant wife, Sunny:

Tim and Sunny both graduated with honors from JBU the next day. Tim earned summa cum laude (one of only twelve in the graduating class) and was recognized as a University Scholar:

And Later The Same Day...

Rainy Sunrise Over the Comanche Casino

Rainy Evening Ramblings

The Wichita Mountains in a thunder storm:

Headin' east on Cache Blvd...in the rain:

Since 1950, or so it says. Kind of looks like it:

And this:

Lawton: City of Mystery?

What could it mean?:

From the heart of the city itself:

Aha! Mystery solved:

Images from Lawton

There are many sights and things to see visually that meet the eye here in Lawton. And today I saw some of them. It is a hundred degrees, too, which adds to the Lawtonesque nature of the sights.

The majestic Wichita Mountain(s) are even more majestic up close! Here from on Fort Sill:

Lawton has a senior high school:

And right next to it is the Comanche National Museo, also (apparently) known as, or situated next to, a Great Plains Museo, but I didn't see any static displays:

There is a sort of log fort thing next to the museo, which is static in its own right:

There is a Comanche Casino across the highway from my hotel, too, but its not worthy of a picture. 

Another Lawton Odyssey

The odyssey begins. The road to Lawton:

Arrival. Rising up in the distance beyond I44, the majestic Wichita Mountains west of Lawton: