Picnic On The Chisholm Trail



Photo by Evgeni Dinev

 My husband and I had a picnic on Saturday. We thought we'd take advantage of the warm spring weather and find something to do outdoors that wasn't expensive, that we could both enjoy, and did not involve throwing softballs in 40mph prairie wind (smile).

So after a quick drive to the storage unit for the picnic basket and a brief stop at home to make the sandwiches, we drove to the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Oklahoma. What's neat about this small town is that it used to be one of the main stops for cattle drivers on the way to sell their herd in Abilene, Kansas. The Heritage Center itself is actually built on part of the Chisholm Trail. You can still see trail markings and the old wagon wheel ruts left behind in the ground if you venture further into town. For you fellow history buffs, you can read about the Chisholm Trail here or check out the Heritage Center's website.

I've gotten a lot of historical information and story ideas from the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. We've visited it before, and it is a very cool place to learn about what this area of the country was like 150 years ago. Visitors get to listen to animatronic cowboys tell stories over a campfire and experience a wild prairie thunderstorm --indoors!

And that was our afternoon spent lounging under a tree on the trail's picnic grounds, eating sandwiches and drinking iced tea. We both came away relaxed and refreshed, and I had inspiration to write a sweet, romantic scene for the hero and heroine in my second novel.

Hope all of you have a chance to enjoy warmer weather this week!