Come and Get It!

Working cattle out on the open range can generate a powerful hunger in a person. Those of us who rode in the Great American Trail Drive in Vici, Okla., feasted like kings and queens on chuckwagon grub of the highest order.

Each day began with the smell of freshly brewing coffee wafting across the campsite, followed by the odor of bacon cooking. Breakfasts generally consisted of pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy and even French toast.

Lunch was usually sandwiches or something similar and for dinner, the menu included such delicacies as chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes as well as a very popular hamburger macaroni hotdish (called goulash in Oklahoma and many other parts of the country).

The cook wagon followed the cattle drovers from location to location each day. Not only was the food delicious, there was plenty of it and it was served with a smile.

There's something about coffee cooked over an open fire that just beats the heck out of even a cup of Starbucks. Same with bacon. I can take or leave it most of the time, but bacon the volunteers on this drive turned out was a must-have.

A number of those who worked in food service were young people from the community of Vici, who benefit from the proceeds of the trail drive. They did a great job and had great attitudes.

In fact, I was very impressed by the quality of the young people who were part of the event. They were respectful and quiet young people. They weren't prone to cussing or fighting. They could ride like the wind.

As a city dweller, I'll have to say it was great to see young people who weren't dressed in gothic black with black lipstick and black hair. Kind of gives you faith in the generation of leaders coming up.