Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

Lessons learned on the road:

Things close early once you get south. Early is 5 p.m. We knew we wanted to put our FONZ pass to good use on the road for those in between times. We meant to hit the Tulsa Zoo our first day

out from Branson as we worked to get on I-40. It closed 30 minutes after we arrived. So we waited until the next morning. There was a reasonable entrance discount and many things were well worth it. The merry-go-round was unique and

amazing and the operator very kind insisting that Jessica must ride too and even taking a picture of us. The animals were unseen and unridden before--penguin, otter, shark and gator. Elijah

selected to use some of his "memory money" to ride and the operator blessed him with a second ride because "they weren't busy". We got up close and personal with a grizzly bear.

The Inuit exhibit was amazing! It put the Museum of Natural History back home to shame. Their rainforest was entertaining or maybe it was just the wondrous people we were with. Hadassah fell in love at the petting zoo with an 18-month-old goat named Rebel.

Rebel got lots of hugs and kisses from her. The bigger ones (yes, that's Chris up there too) pretend to be vicunas. Don't be fooled for all the fun that's being had it was very hot and bless them there were no complaints.