God bless Joni Mitchell.It has been a remarkable day.

It has been moving (see above), it has been stirring, it has been educational and it has been physically satisfying. I may not tell you as much about these museums as I probably should; I may save that for another time, if at all. Suffice it to say, this was museum day for me – the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Musem followed by the 45th Infantry Museum. The first is the one everybody, and i mean everybody said I had to visit. The second is the museum that many people suggested should be an essential part of my Oklahoma City visit, and is one I wanted to include in any event. But let’s start with the old western yell, ” Cowboy Up!”This breathtaking piece of art greets you from a distance as you enter the museum. It’s “End Of The Trail”. Created in 1915 by James Earl Fraser, it was moved here from San Francisco in 1968. There is a famous bronze cast of this in Wisconsin, but this is the original. It is iconic; it is moving; I sat nearby and just embraced it before starting on the museum.

Trying to explain or describe this museum in a travel blog like this will be extremely difficult. I took a lot of pictures, a few of which I will share with you here – but I think I will not take the time or space to name them all. Rather, I’ll give you a taste of this very large and rich treasure. That’s some of the artwork, but such a small drop in a very big bucket. I was not prepared for the size and scope of this museum. It is truly a national treasure. Galleries lead into more galleries and more, and more, and more. The museum celebrates Native Americans, The rodeo, the American cowboy, cowgirls, Cattle brands & barbed wire….in fact I think I want to show you something about the barbed wire. The first picture shows you a wall of narrow sliding cabinets; I didn’t count them but you can see they are numerous. There’s another just like it on the opposite wall. The next two pictures show you just two examples of what each of those sliding panels contains. The first is just one of many examples of single-strand barbed wire (the devil’s rope) with four points. The second one is double strand barbed wire with four points. I think in each picture you can read the description; I believe you can also tap the picture and enlarge it using two fingers. The final picture shows the branding irons, the way cattleman identified their property on the hoof. Note the board with brands across it; the irons that made those brands are each just below its own.

I think the barbed wire started to overwhelm me; I was sliding out panels and I think I just stopped absorbing the significance of different twists and turns identifying various wires. I do think I’m going to read more – and that was a feature of today, really. So many of these artists, artifacts and stories I know I now want to read up on. Lots of pictures today; very little context. I absolutely love the Indian head dress. It’s Cree, from the American great plains, and only from 1940. I mentioned the rodeo display, this is the entrance. Plus, the museum has every kind of artifact including a fair number of saddles – some working, some parade, some in between. i’ve mentioned the amount of statuary that I have seen on this trip; of course, it’s to be expected in American museum, but still…

This magnificent sculpture of Buffalo Bill Cody celebrates, as the plaque indicates, probably the single most representative human being (white) of the west. I think you can read the plaque; it tells you about the statue itself as well. And then there is Frederick Remington. I love Remington. If you’re back east, you should know that there is a wonderful Remington Museum in Corning, New York. But this is “Comin’ Through TheRye” created by Remington (also a wonderful painter!) in 1902. Cowboy hats. If you’ve been watching westerns made anytime from the 1920s up until today, you’ll recognize more than a few of those hats. I have not shown you the rather significant exhibit of how all of this Western heritage has been portrayed in the movies – the 8-foot sculptures of Ronald Reagan just back from a ride or Charlton Heston as Will Penny; the beautiful artwork celebrating John Wayne, Joel McRae, Roy Rogers and so many people who were in the movies and on TV… that American west.

What I will almost leave you with is Prosperity Junction. And the signage in the last picture tells it all.

I spent 2 1/2 hours in this museum; I really should’ve been here for four or five hours. I feel guilty that there are some things I passed over deliberately and some things that I wanted to spend more time with. The museum suggests you cannot see at all in a day; they may be right about that!

I’ll take you to the 45th Infantry Museum another time. I would not recommend doing both in the same day – if you’re ever in Oklahoma City. The emotions each museum distilled in me were radically different and, I think, not compatible. I was pressed for time. This day really should have belong to just this museum. So, I’ll just leave you with this: