Staycation

Plus, a look at a panhandle county and one of the last Civil War engagements in Indian Territory.

Cleaning up the backyard

Vacations are one of those things I honestly don't think about very often. Unless there are family plans, I'll just forget. Before I know it, a year has passed, and I'll be reminded and heavily encouraged to take my accrued vacation days.

So, this past week I've been away from the office on a bit of a staycation. I planned to do some much-needed work out in our yard. I have a storm season's worth of tree limbs, leaf litter, and trash blown in from Third Street that needed to be cleaned up.

Well, wouldn't you know it, it rained. Really. It rained in southwestern Oklahoma. And here I thought we were under a drought.

I had a couple of nice days to get about half of my backyard cleaned up; the rest I'll just have to take on later. Currently, my back and side yards are a leafy muddy mess. Oh well, best-laid plans and all.

How was your week?

Well, mine wasn't all bad. I finally got caught up on a backlog of TV and movies I've been wanting to watch. I'm really enjoying Ahsoka on Disney+, and I finally watched The Flash movie on Max (it wasn't good).

Speaking of TV, I hope you enjoyed my little antenna TV series here in the newsletter over the last few weeks. I enjoyed writing about it. If you have any questions or comments about any of it, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me. On to new topics next week.

More later. Time to finish up that promised podcast.

In The News

A look at some of the latest headlines from around Oklahoma and beyond.

• Three state parks to witness next total solar eclipse | The Journal Record

• Since Ryan Walters took over, 80+ Oklahoma DOE employees have left | The Oklahoman

• Oklahoma House speaker comments on calls for Walters' impeachment | The Journal Record

• We fact-checked Gov. Kevin Stitt on tax cuts | The Frontier

• Oklahoma Lawmakers Weigh Restrictions on Ranked-choice Voting | Oklahoma Watch

• One Oklahoma State Fair monorail engine survives in a rural Canadian County backyard | KFOR.com Oklahoma City

• More states are offering universal free lunch to students — while others consider it | KOSU

• Impeachment win doesn't end Texas AG Ken Paxton's legal troubles | The Texas Tribune

In Oklahoma History

Cabin Creek Battlefield Oklahoma Historical Marker

On September 18, 1864, south of modern day Vinita, Oklahoma, was the last major Civil War engagement in Indian Territory. A Confederate force intercepted a Union supply train enroute from Kansas to Ft. Gibson at Cabin Creek. The convoy of 130 wagons with supplies worth $1.5 million was captured after a heavy engagement.

More Information:

• Cabin Creek Battlefield | Exploring Oklahoma History

• Cabin Creek Battlefield | Oklahoma Historical Society

• Battles of Cabin Creek | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

• Second Battle of Cabin Creek | Wikipedia

• Cabin Creek Battlefield | Wikipedia

• General Stand Watie | Wikipedia

• List of battles fought in Oklahoma | Wikipedia

About Oklahoma: Beaver County

Beaver County, Oklahoma

Beaver County is located in northwestern Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Panhandle. It borders the states of Texas to the south and Kansas to the north. The county was formed at statehood in 1907 from Seventh County, Oklahoma Territory, and was named after the many beavers dams found along the Beaver River that flows through the area. The town of Beaver, Oklahoma is the county seat, the county's largest community, and is known as the cow chip throwing capital of the world. The town is located in the central part of the county on U.S. Highway 270 and the Beaver River. Other notable towns include Forgan in the northern, Gate and Knowles in the eastern, and Turpin in the western parts of the county. The county is also known for Beaver Dunes Park (formerly Beaver Dunes State Park) located just north of Beaver, Oklahoma.

• Established: 1907

• County Seat: Beaver, Oklahoma 73932

• Nation: None

• Map: Google Maps

• Area: 1,814mi² (4,698 km²)

• Population: 5,049 (2020 Census)

• Time Zone: UTC−6 (Central), DST observed

• Area Code: 580

• Congressional District: 3

• State House District: 61

• State Senate District: 27

• Weather: NWS Amarillo

• Tourism Region: Red Carpet County

• History: Oklahoma Historical Society

• Historic Places: Exploring Oklahoma History

• More Information: Wikipedia

Extras

Here are some more things I hope you'll find interesting.

How To Make Gran's Chili Sauce - End Of Summer Sauce | Glen And Friends Cooking

How I almost broke MrBeast's 1-100 video | Jeff Geerling

David Nihill: Cultural Appreciation (FULL COMEDY SPECIAL) | David Nihill

Push It | Garbage

Version 2.0 by Garbage | Spotify

Feedback Welcome

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment on Substrack, email me at blogoklahoma@blogoklahoma.net, or connect with me at Mastodon at @blogoklahoma@social.tulsa.ok.us or Threads at @blogoklahoma@threads.net.

Have a great week.

– K.