Meandering home - Pioneer Woman and Oklahoma

As I mentioned, we decided to leave Maine a couple days earlier than planned. It was raining the trailer started leaking. We had had some great days with the Hoebekes and a beautiful day in Acadia, so we decided to head home.

Our first stop was Farmington, New York. Randy’s cousin Pam lives in New Jersey and we’d been texting her about meeting someplace. We met at a hotel there and had dinner together, then breakfast before we all headed out. It was great to catch up with Pam. She works at a national park in New York, Morristown National Historical Park.

After that, Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Have you heard of The Pioneer Woman? She started out as a blogger, posting about her life and family living “in the middle of nowhere” on a cattle ranch near the small town of Pawhuska, OK. She is a good writer and photographer, quite funny I think. She posted lots of recipes and several years ago the Food Network gave her a show. I’ve been following her since her blogging days, and really enjoy her show. Now she has a line of clothing, dishes, and even furniture. She and her husband Ladd have invested in the town by purchasing and fixing up a store they called the Mercantile and some hotels and other shops. When Randy was looking at the map to plan our trip before we left, he said, “We could stop in Pawhuska and see your Pioneer Woman.” Sounded like fun to me!

(To enlarge the pictures and see continued captions, click on them. To see the continued caption on your phone, click on the small dot in the lower right hand corner.)

The Merc! (As we fondly call it.)

A Drummond family truck parked by the Merc. The greeter said it was bought by Ladd's grandfather, and driven by his father all his life. He said it still drives now, just needs a jump.

Inside the Merc.

Me posing by Walter or one of several basset hounds featured in the Pioneer Woman's blog and family life.

Yummy latte, biscuit & homemade jam at the restaurant. Pretty dishes!

Me enjoying the breakfast.

The town is a mix of rundown buildings and those that have been fixed up.

Going to Pawhuska did feel like going to “the middle of nowhere” as Ree Drummond says at the beginning of every show. After leaving there, we drove on smaller highways through the Oklahoma panhandle and there were just small towns, some that literally you could miss if you blinked. We stayed overnight at the Townsman Motel in Boise City, OK. It was definitely old school. Clean, though, and it was fine. Choices for meals were very limited—a Dairy Queen, the Blue Bonnet Cafe only open til 2 pm, and a taco place. Oh, and also a Subway at the Love’s Gas Station.

When we left the Blue Bonnet Cafe after breakfast, I thought it’s admirable, really, that the small family who runs it is making a living from a small corrugated metal building like that. The wife served us our meal and was very friendly. Her husband and son work with her and it was sweet hearing them joking around with each other.