Oklahoma City, OK

 I woke up relatively early this morning, Keuriged myself a cup of coffee, rode the impossible tiny elevator down to the lobby and set about seeing early morning Bartlesville (the natives sometimes call it B-ville).  Two things I learned, 1) One night in B-ville is not enough, too much to see and do, and, 2) Phillips 66 built Bartlesville.  B-ville is surprising in that in the middle of the low rolling hills of northern Oklahoma where there is no limit to how far one can spread out, Bartlesville built up not out.  This town only has a population of thirty-two thousand but has at least a dozen buildings of 10 stories or more.  Like mushrooms rising out of the prairie.

Sandy and I are traveling from Bartlesville to Oklahoma City today with another little side trip to  Stillwater, OK

Before leaving B-ville we stopped by the Phillips Petroleum Company Museum.  This was far more interesting than it sounds.  The Phillips Petroleum Co was stared by Frank Phillips and his brother.  Frank, previously a barber, eventually ended up running the company.  From barber to oil tycoon, that’s a pretty good story.  The Phillips Petroleum Co led the way in developing downstream marketing of gasoline, the Phillips 66 chain, producing aviation fuel, developing plastics and plastic products.  The company also sponsored an amateur basketball team, made up primarily of Phillips employees, that defeated the University of Kentucky in a contest to see which team would represent the United States in the Olympics.  The things you learn by traveling.  

                These are all the patents that Phillips Petroleum holds

In the evening we stopped by Oklahoma State University in Stillwater to watch an intercollegiate rodeo.  We enjoyed the competition.  There were nine separate events, bareback bronc riding, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, goat tying, team roping, barrel racing and bull riding.  My personal favorite turned out to be the saddle bronc riding, Sandy liked the bareback broncs.  Both agree the most dangerous was the bull riders.  Only one rider made it all the way through the required 8 seconds.  And, every one of those bull riders are going to be very sore sitting in class on Friday.  We enjoyed the clean-cut student athletes and the students in the crowd.  A part of the rodeo experience is that a lot of country western songs are played over the stadium speakers. The three young coeds sitting behind us seemed to know every word to every song ever written...happily they had great voices and sang in three-part harmony.