Back to the grind tomorrow

 Our week off has been very nice, for the most part.

We took a trip up to Jet, near the Kansas border, on Monday, and saw more cranes than I had ever seen in one place on the ground in my life.

That trip was very satisfying.  We heard coyotes, and owls, and thousands of cranes, and saw a stunning sunset.  

Our lodging was modest (an old trailer house), but comfortable, and free.  It's located on the boundary of the state park and the wildlife refuge where the cranes gather.  

We have been welcomed to go back any time we want.  I guess we were good guests. 

Then, we spent the night at home on Tuesday, and left Wednesday for the southeastern portion of the state, where there are forested mountains.

Hoping to see some spectacular fall color, and to use the telescope, we booked an Air BnB house in the country.

We chose the date originally because there was supposed to be a meteor shower peaking that night.

The Air BnB house itself was very nice.  Clean, well appointed, comfortable.  However, the host did not provide ANYTHING by way of personal amenities... no shower soap, no shampoo, not even any coffee.  I have soap and shampoo in my travel kit, and we anticipated bringing our own food...but the lack of coffee really surprised us.

Especially since the host DOES provide a coffee maker, and filters, and sugar.... 

AND THEN, there was the fact that the house was infested with wasps.  

We killed several, and left the bodies on a paper towel on the kitchen counter for the host to see.

One of them even landed on my glasses while we were having dinner.  If I had not been wearing glasses, it could have stung me in the face.  

Then, we discovered that the house, and the nearby properties, had those giant sodium lights that come on at dusk and go off at dawn.

We set the telescope up Wednesday night anyway, in hopes of seeing something cool, but there was so much light pollution that it was a lost cause.  

There were more visible stars to the naked eye out there, though.  Way more than we can see here in the big city.

Never saw a meteor, though.  Just a bat, chasing the bugs that were drawn to the giant light.

Thursday morning, Dave's anxiety over the wasps inside the house (he's allergic) got the better of him, so we got up and left right away- instead of relaxing, as we had planned.

We stopped at a drive through for coffee, and then drove on south into the hills.  

It was a lovely drive, but there was very little fall color yet, and we didn't stop anywhere to hike, as we had also planned.  Dave was tired from not sleeping well, so we just got to the turnpike and headed home.

We were home by about 2:30 in the afternoon.  

So, the second trip was kind of a bust.... but the drive through the hills sure was pretty, none the less.

We have just spent Friday and Saturday here at home.  Dave has done a couple of errands, and I got my cleaning and chores caught up.

Oklahoma has been seeing its highest Covid-19 numbers to date, and nothing is being done about it.  No further lock downs, or restrictions, state wide.

On our little trips, we were usually the only ones wearing masks when we made stops... and it is in the rural areas where the virus numbers are spiking.  

Their "faith, not fear" tactics are not working.  We currently have the highest number of people hospitalized with Covid to date.

You're doing fine, Oklahoma!!

Today, I have an on line visit with my classmates for the course I am taking, and our dance studio's online Halloween dance show is this evening.

I need to remember to re-set the alarm, and set my office space back up.  

Looking forward to our cabin camping trip. We have confirmed that they will NOT be providing dishes, pots, pans, or any kind of kitchen tools what so ever.  

We have decided that adding one more big box to our packing will now require that we rent a vehicle. 

 We are looking at a U Haul van, because that looks to be SO much less expensive than renting an SUV through Enterprise (about $80 compared to $300!!).

We will be able to take guitars this way, too.  There would not have been room in the car for them to start with.

SO, we will press forward with our plans for that trip.  Dave tried to pick up some fire wood at Lowe's yesterday, where we had seen it a few weeks ago for $6 a bundle.... and they didn't have any left. We missed that opportunity, and will now need to pay more for my cabin fireplace obsession.

My little bit of overtime pay will help with that.

I am off to make breakfast, and start my day.

Have a good week, friends!