The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 16   July 7

Homeward bound. Not much going on here since we broke a rule and took I-57 all the way home to make sure I got to my Pub Trivia team by 7;00 pm. No sweat.

Here's the recap:

5,300 miles.

Including Illinois, eight states:

Illinois

Iowa

Missouri

Arkansas

Oklahoma

Texas

New Mexico

Arizona

Two Major League  Baseballparks: Rangers, Diamondbacks

 Minor League parks: 7

Women's diners we ate at: 6

Ann Sathers, Susan's, Addie's. Milly's, Madison's, Lucy's

Rainouts: 2.5

Favorite town name: Sessor IL

Signs seen everywhere: Road Work Ahead

                                        Now Hiring

Random Observation from Randy: "Now Hiring Every Position." I would hang that sign outside a Gentlemen's Club.

Random Observation from Randy: We went through 7 states. Oh wait, it's 8. I forgot Iowa, which was a major waste of time.

See you next year!

The Baseball Trip 20

Day 15   Tuesday July 6

We are heading north and east to Marion, Illinois. On the way, we had to stop in Branson, Missouri. Branson is Wisconsin Dells on crack.

Random Observation from Randy: We can't be this close to Branson without showing you. It's stupid.

Replica - One third of the Titanic. Why? I don't know.

Transformers...yeah!

Ozarkland..yeah!

Anyway, we made our way to Marion, Illinois to see the Southern Illinois Miners play the Gateway (Illinois) Grizzlies. The Grizzlies won 3-2 in ten innings in a close game. Both belong to the Independent Leagues, which mean they belong to nobody. There must have been at least 200 in attendance.

Umpires convene at home plate.

Right-center field scoreboard.

Left field fence.

Behind home plate.

The Miners are pretty protective of their facilities:

And, of course, my mascot friend, Grounder:

Grounder.

Random Observation from Randy: I think it's a girl. She did a cartwheel, she did the splits, but the way she rested her arms on her hips really gives her away.

Favorite town names:  Sarcoxie, MO

                                    Eminence, MO

                                    Low Wassie, MO

Favorite Signs: Free Pie Monday and Thursday

                          Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Prisoners.

Random Observation from Randy: Maybe we should pick up those hitchhikers to help them escape the prisoners.

Events we cannot hang around for: Jeremiah's Jammin' Luau, Sikeston, MO.

Next: Home.

The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 14   Monday, July 5

Today is a travel day as we head east and north to Marion, Illinois. There is not much to report on, as the scenery is kind of blah. On the other hand, there is a casino in Tulsa (actually many) that we hit and spent a couple of hours wasting time and money. I also have some pictures that have not been published, some odds and ends to fill the page.

Spirit River Casino is owned and operated by the Muskogee (Creek) Nation. It also has a partner with Jimmy Buffet and the Margaritaville enterprise.

Photo courtesy of Google Images (I couldn't get a wide enough shot to do this monolith justice.)

Random Observation from Randy: If we're going to go to a casino, let's do it early before our brains turn to cotton after all that driving.

Here's something: I forgot to include: a picture of Hornsby, the Tulsa Drillers mascot on the first visit to Tulsa on our way west.

My close personal friend, Hornsby the Bull.

Fireworks night in Amarillo:

Fireworks night in Oklahoma City:

Route 152 drops you right in front of the Beckham County Courthouse in Cordell, Oklahoma:

If you look very cloely, to the left of the bottom of the courthouse, you can see a tiny blue rectangle. That is actually a statue of a bison wearing a blue Oklahoma State Trooper uniform.

Favorite town name: Slick, OK

Favorite signs: Two Baby Creek

                          Guns, Grills & Safes!

Events we cannot hang around for:  Three Dog Night at River Spirit Casino, Tulsa, OK

Random Observation from Randy: If I owned a cemetary, I'd have a sign that says "Plots Available FOR YOU!"

Next: Marion, IL

The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 13   Sunday, July 4

Happy Fourth of July!

Chickasaw Bricktown Park is located in Bricktown, the entertainment and restaurant center of Oklahoma City. Here you will find plenty of restaurants, bars, music venues, shops, and more lining and surrounding a canal that offers water taxi rides. Unfortunately, those that were open on the 4th were jam-packed. However, we found a couple of seats at the bar at Whiskey Chicks, a country and western bar where we enjoyed a couple of adult beverages:

Here are a couple more shots from Bricktown:

The Oklahoma City Dodgers (AAA, LA Dodgers) were facing off against the Salt Lake City Bees, the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. the Dodgers belted two home runs and defeated the Bees, 6-3.

Here are some pix of the park:

Front gate.

From center field.

Grandstand, upper deck ,and suites.

 

Holiday Inn and Hampton hotels behind right field. You can watch from your room.

Dodger bullpen.

                                                                     Right field berm. 

Favorite town names: Goodnight, TX

                                      Canadian, TX

                                      New Mobeetie, TX

Random Observation from Randy: Whatever happened to Old Mobeetie? Must have been some fallout at the Town Hall meeting.

Favorite sign: Shackled by Lust? Jesus Sets You Free.

Event we cannot stick around for: 80th Annual Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo, Amarillo, TX

Random Observation from Randy: I'll pay your half of this motel bill if you take a zip-line ride with me.

Random Observation from the hotel clerk lady: Do it! That's a really good deal!

Uh...no.

Next: Not really sure yet. Seat of the pants!

The Baseball Trip

Day 12   Saturday, July 3

Oh I have seen things:

O endless highway! US Route 60 East to Amarillo, 300 miles to the horizon, 300 miles of nothingness, scrubland: sagebrush and tumbleweed, red dirt and white sand. No trees, no shade, cow and calf wander aimlessly in the heat. Small strange plants with bulbous flowers clinging to tentacle-like stems. A single windmill struggles to churn, utility poles line the road like so many cemetary crosses. Bullet holes riddle the Pass with Care signs, and a dead coyote lies on the shoulder, trampled by a semi or maybe the U-Haul towing a car, fur floating in the air, up into the hot sun.

This is a slog.

Nonetheless, we made it to Amarillo in plenty of time to see the Sod Poodles (that's right, they are the Sod Poodles) play the Wichita Wind Surge. You may remember way back when  - we were supposed to see the Wind Surge in Midland, Texas. But, of course, it was a rainout.

Sod Poodle is a Texas nickname for prairie dogs. Ok...cool.

The Sod Poodles are a Texas League AA affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Wichita is associated with the Minnesota Twins. It was a very good game, fast, well paced. The Poodles scored on a two-run homer in the fourth and a two run double in the sixth. My guy Bryce Jarvice pitched seven innings, striking out eleven and giving up only one run. Final score: 5-1 Sod Poodles.

Here's Hodgetown, the Sod Poodles' stadium. It's named after the 26th mayor of Amarillo, noted businessman and philanthropist Jerry Hodge. He was instrumental in bringing baseball back to Amarillo.

 

Stadium gate.

Left field scoreboard.

Right field berm.

Mascot Ruckus, who was too big-time to come up into the stands.

Behind home plate.

Local color: Melrose, New Mexico, along the way. I don't know what those structures are.

Random Observation from Randy: All of these streets are named after people I went to high school with.

Favorite town names: Yeso, NM

                                      Willard, NM

                                      Muleshoe, TX

Favorite signs: The Thing? What Is It? Come See It!

                          The Store.

                          Now leaving District 3. Welcome to District 2.

                           Karaoke Camp

Random Observation from Randy: Looks like we're not going through Roswell. That's ok because I did not pack my tin foil hat.

Next: Oklahoma City

The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 11    Friday, July 2

Today is a travel day; we are just heading east through Arizona and into New Mexico. Our destination is a town called Soccoro. just a halfway point to Amarillo, Texas. In the mean time, here are some pictures of the devastation caused by the Mesquite Fires in Arizona. Also, some spectacular scenery as we made our way through the mountains of Salt River Canyon. (All photos courtesy of Randy.)

Fire on the mountain.

Burnt scrubland.

The rest are from the mountains in the Salt River Canyon:

Radio telescopes, Datil, New Mexico

Favorite town Name: Pie Town, NM

Favorite Sign: Jumbo Chinese Restaurant

Cancelled event we could not see even if we could stick around: Pie Festival, Pie Town, NM.

Rando Observation from Randy: 'This vehicle GPS monitored.' That's so the aliens always know where he is.

Barns - 0

Bridges - 1

Satellites - 0

Next: Amarillo

The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 10   Thursday, July 1

It didn't take us long to get from Prescott to Sun City West, home of my sister Theresa and brother-in-law Terrence. Since they are both "Terry", we will refer to Terrence by his proper name, Chops. 

This is the very first baseball trip where we could visit my relatives. In previous years we have been able to see Randy's sister, Karen, in Kansas. As you may recall, just a few days ago we stopped at my sister Liz and brother-in-law Jim's place in Arlington, Texas.

Anyway, we shared quite a few laughs and some iced tea before Terry & Chops graciously treated us to lunch at Bonfire, a sports bar and grill specializing in BBQ. Chops is a true raconteur and roustabout; his many stories kept us in stitches - my sister keeps him in check. Afterwards, they gave us a tour of their subdivision and even the whole of Sun City West.

I have to tell you, I've always heard of the "rock" lawns in Arizona, but I never thought it would look as strange as it does. Terry showed me the back yard, and it was pretty surreal:

Grapefruit tree on the left, pipe organ cactus on the right.

Juice orange tree on the left, tangelo tree on the right.

It was a great time seeing the family again, and both Randy and I appreciated their generosity.

That night we sped into Phoenix to see the Diamondbacks take on the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are one of the best teams in all of baseball, and the Diamondbacks are one of the worst. However, Merril Kelly was dealing for the D-backs and pitched 7 strong innings to win 5-3. Some pix from Chase Field. Keep in mind, our seats were way the heck up high:

Center field Jumbotron and right field.

Right field/first base line.

                                                    Upper decks/right field foul pole.

 

Entry gate.

View of infield from way up.

Favorite town name: Bumble Bee, AZ

Favorite signs: Bloody Basin Road

                          Horse Thief Basin Road

                         

Event we cannot hang around for: Party on the Porch, Prescott, AZ

Barns - 0

Bridges - 1

Satellites - 3

Special Baseball Trip Shout-out to: Terry & Terry!

Random Observation from Randy: 'We Have Comics and Vinyl LP's.' That must be my house.

Next: Somewhere in New Mexico.

The Baseball Trip 2021

Day 9   Wednesday, jJune 30

We left Winslow on our way to Prescott Valley and Arizona Downs to play the horses. Befor we left, however; we had to stop for breakfast:

                                                Chicken Fried Steak - Actual Size!

Along the way we stopped at Meteor Crater National Landmark, site of the largest curated meteor crater in the world. The crater is 3900 feet in diameter, 560 feet deep, and the rim rises 148 feet above the surrounding area.  Legend has it that the Apollo astronauts trained here in anticipation of the moon landings. We thought it might be kind a kind of cheesy tourist attraction, but we were surprised. These photos cannot do it justice:

Eventually we found Arizona Downs. I cashed one ticket, but it was not enough to break even.

In the paddock, before post time.

My winner, Hail on Hoofs, being led to the gate.

As you can tell, the infield was pretty barren. 

Favorite town name: Two Guns, AZ

Favorite signs:Therapy on the Rocks

                          Dead Horse Ranch

                          Hippie Emporium

Random Observation from Randy: I need to get an elevation app for my phone. I need to know how high I am.

Events we cannot hang around for: Frontier Days, Cottonwood, AZ.

Barns - 0

Bridges - 1

Satellites - 0

Next: Phoenix