Backtracking to Days 155-158: Oklahoma. where the wind comes right behind the rain…

January 15, 2008 by Julie.

OK this momma is ready to go back and fill in the blanks from out first bite of cold weather in Oklahoma! here goes:

While on the road, we had been emailing back and forth with our friend, Hunter, in NYC, who was from Oklahoma. Upon landing in OKC (still freaking cold) we quickly became aware that all our friends from Oklahoma knew each other, as did nearly everyone we interviewed! Very small world, and very very friendly, with lovely girls who look like they might all have a eye toward the Miss America pageant. (There is a reason for this, we were told- OK is very proud of the number of Miss OK’s who have made it to Miss America.)

We stayed at the abode of the fantastic and fierce Lance McDaniel for a few days, who showed us around OKCU’s campus (where his Dad happens to be President). We interviewed some budding film students at lunch where the cafeteria stopped using trays in an effort to cut down on waste. We were also treated to OKCU’s Xmas Dance Concert (thank you McDanielses!!) which was a very nice diversion from all things green…

One really exciting thing that we happened upon was a Habitat for Humanity build site where every house going up was being equipped with geothermal heating/cooling systems donated by ClimateMaster- very cool, as these homes are built for those of us unable to afford a regularly priced home, much less one with a geothermal system. We filmed the whole neighborhood pitching in for a wall-raising and Ben got them singing a rousing chorus of “Oklahoma!” I took a break from some of the freezing weather to finish knitting the scarf I had started when i realized we were in for some pretty chilly weather for the next month or so…

Speaking from the pregnant back seat, (Did I mention that i am no longer riding in front due to the danger of airbags on pregnant bellies?) I have to mention this wonderful cafe we found for lunch - fresh organic food and fair trade coffee, wonderful atmosphere with internet and nice humans - It was called The Red Cup and it was heavenly. We ate there like 3 dys in a row. I highly recommend it!

We visited with Rep Randy McDaniel (R) and Rep. Andrew Rice (D) to get two differing takes on how global warming is viewed by legislators in Oklahoma. We were not able to get to Senator Inhoff but that is probably just as well as I don’t think we would have had quite the diplomatic and open conversation that we had with Randy McDaniels. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we really enjoyed talking with both representatives very much. And, if you live in OK, please do check out Andrew Rice’s website. He is very much in tune with environmental concerns and is willing to go to bat for them in DC.

We stopped by Boldt Building Corp and got a neat tour of their green facility…and were warned that we might consider leaving Oklahoma a day earlier than planned as there was an ice storm headed our way and Oklahoma drivers are not known for their ice-driving skills…

So we took their advice and drove away a day early with thick red Oklahoma mud on our shoes (and therefore on Rachel Carson’s carpet under our feet) several hours into the night through an ice storm that ended with one knit hat and my back going out, unfortunately not for the last time on this trip…

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