I have been caring for my mom at home under hospice care for the past few weeks and finally had a chance to get out for a bicycle ride early on a Sunday morning in downtown Oklahoma City. I have ridden all over the bike trails and per my usual curiosity, I now like to ride in unusual places that many people probably wouldn’t necessarily ride a bicycle. This time I parked my truck at the downtown OKC Scissortail Park where it would be safe from break-ins, and then jumped on my bike and headed west. I really didn’t have a lot of plans but ended up riding over the Exchange Avenue bridge to Stockyards City.
Way back in high school I used to work at the National Saddlery tack store in the Stockyards. I made belts, bridles, harnesses, and apprenticed on making saddles. So I was familiar with the area and had been to the actual stockyards many times over the years, but not lately. National Saddlery is still at the same location, but now it is more of a retail store rather than a manufacturer of saddles and tack.
One summer in school I worked in retail sales at a western wear store in the Stockyards. I mostly sold cowboy boots, tack, and some clothing. The building still stands but it is vacant for now.
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