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TMNT…Turtle Power
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Olustee really is in the middle
of nowhere, but that is it's appeal. We had never heard of it before Jeff found
us on Couch Surfing. When you email a host on CS you have an option that allows
your ‘blurb’ to be seen by other surfers/hosts in the area and that’s how Jeff
found us.
He said Olustee was in the middle
of nowhere, but on the way to everywhere. When we plugged in the route from
Dallas to Banff, we practically passed straight through Olustee, so it was just
meant to be! It also served to break up our driving days into more manageable
and less boring trips.
Jeff and Rebecca are in the
process of building their own little secluded getaway in Olustee, buying up
most of the property at their end of 6th Street, sort of like you do
in Monopoly. The price of land is about as cheap as in the game, but instead of
hotels, Jeff is building houses, youth hostels and rental places. It will be a
place worth coming back to in a few years if only to see the progress they have
made.
Jeff was originally from New York
City, and Rebecca from Germany, so ending up in Olustee is about as unusual for
them as it was for us. They also have a German exchange student, Lara, who
helped us tick off a few more ‘bucket list’ items. Lara has fully immersed
herself in rural America and the Olustee community and is on every sports team,
and youth group, she can be.
On Thursday night we went down to
the local school and watched Lara and the Lady Eagles take on the ‘Old Girls’
in a basketball practice session. Sad as it is, sitting in the stands of an
American high school is a bucket list item for Nic and I. The school has 174
students, from elementary through to senior year of high school, and their gym
was better than most private schools in Perth. Definitely better than the one
Aquinas had in my years. It became pretty clear that sports has as much,
perhaps even more, of an emphasis than education in these parts of America.
Olustee Lady Eagles in action against the Old Birds
Like all the films we have grown
up watching, the gym has the trophy cabinet proudly on display right outside
the main entrance, banners about the hallways, lockers on both sides, and patriotic
American and Olustee High School insignia displayed at every opportunity.
We were loving it!
The next morning Jeff suggested
that we go with Lara to her first period, America History, and give the class
an impromptu lecture/discussion on Australia. Lara said it would be a whole lot
better than the note-taking they were meant to be doing.
Her teacher, Mr Whitaker, and the
Principal, were receptive to the idea so Nic and I strolled through the doors
like we were newly enrolled students, albeit a little older. We gave the senior
history class a brief introduction to Australia and where we come from, and
just spent the rest of the time talking about our travels and answering a few
questions along the way. Mr Whitaker was probably the most interested in our
stories, and having to tone down a few of them meant they just weren’t as good
as the originals.
Mr Whitaker had the next period
off and took us on a tour of the school. Bucket list items were ticked off by
the dozen. School cafeteria – tick (we were invited to lunch but had other
plans!), principal's office – tick, big yellow school buses – tick, high school
baseball pitch – tick. I guess this would seem mundane to a lot of people, but for
Nic and I we were stoked. Now all we have to do is somehow manage an invite to
a high school prom (maybe as a chaperone, it might be a little creepy
otherwise) and we're set!
After our whirlwind tour of the
school we skipped class and headed out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife
Refuge. Home to an abundance of Prairie Dogs who are as cool as (and look like)
a squirrel and meerkat combined! The ones in the refuge are obviously
accustomed to human contact and will let you approach fairly close before
disappearing down their burrows.
Prairie Dogs – just checking
the coast is clear
The Wildlife Refuge is also home
to a number of bison, elk and Texas longhorn cattle. We were lucky enough to
come across a herd of bison who regarded us with curiosity and a sense of
foreboding. I’m not too sure how aggressive these guys can be but I really
didn’t want to push them to the point of finding out.
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Keep your distance sonny!
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We strolled around one of the
more popular hikes, taking the longer route than most and 8 miles later we
hadn’t seen or passed a single soul. Then again, it is in bum f_ck Oklahoma.
Wichita Mountains
Wildlife Refuge
That night we rounded off our
Olustee experience with the Olustee High School Fall Carnival, complete with
games we had heard of, and ones we wouldn’t come up with if we tried. Bingo was
played and lost, cake walk (sort of like musical chairs but you stop on a
number and if your number is called out you win cake!) was played and lost, the
age old jar of jelly bean guess was played and lost; in fact we didn't win
anything we tried our hand at but it was all in good fun.
There was also the pie toss in
action, ring toss, football through the swinging tyre toss, just your standard
carnival games, but then they had a few that are definitely only found in rural
America. Car Bash was probably the best of them – for the equivalent of a
dollar you got two swings of a sledge hammer to use at your will against an
unsuspecting Ford. One for the entire family… no seriously we saw 5 year olds
having a crack. This was right next door to the toilet roll toss – throw 3
rolls into the dunny and you walk away with as much soda as you could carry!
Olustee High School
Fall Carnival – Cake Walk, Pie Toss & Car Bash in action
Olustee was definitely not a
place we had intended on passing through, let along staying a few nights, but
it will forever remain one of the most random and fun experiences that only rural
America can give!
Life on American
Roads – Cadillac Ranch
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