Cloud Family Gathering
Oklahoma City
July 14-16, 2006

Gathering Site and Accommodations

The Holiday Inn Oklahoma City Airport is the site of our 2006 gathering. It is conveniently located 1 mile south of Interstate 40 on South Meridian Ave, and just 5 minutes north of Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport with complimentary airport transportation. The hotel offers 246 renovated guest rooms and suites. It features the Drover’s Café and The Oak Room Lounge along with an 18,000 square foot atrium with indoor heated pool, sauna, whirlpool, game area and fully equipped exercise room.

A block of rooms is reserved for our gathering with a special group rate of $65.00 for rooms with a King or two double beds or $99.00 for a suite.

For reservations call (405) 685-4000. Be sure to mention you will be attending the Cloud Family Association Gathering.

Speaker

Carrie Ann Cook is the Genealogy Librarian for Miami Public Library, Miami, Oklahoma, and Vice President/Webmaster of The Gregath Publishing Company, Wyandotte, Oklahoma. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree in Education from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Carrie has taught genealogy, writing and computer courses. She is a published author, illustrator and free-lance photographer.

Carrie is active in various service and lineal organizations. Her genealogical and historical public speaking spans nearly two decades. A published author of several genealogical and educational works, she has provided many of her own illustrations. She is the fourth generation of a family directly involved in the Gregath Publishing Company where she serves as Vice President and Webmaster. She gives various genealogical, historical, writing and computer programs at meetings, lectures and in the classroom. She conducts genealogical tours and plans the company’s annual genealogical event.

Research Opportunities

The Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division located in the recently completed Oklahoma History Center provides a wealth of information for family research. Collections at the OHS include U. S. Census records, Oklahoma Family Histories, Revolutionary War and Civil War Records, Oklahoma Cemetery records and over 85,000 bound volumes. The archives hold 6,000 oral histories, 15,000 historic maps, 5,000,000 photographs, 3,500,000 Indian records, 1,100,000 linear feet of film and video, 9,000,000 pages of manuscripts as well as Oklahoma newspapers on microfilm.

The Dickinson Research Center is located in the lower level of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., Oklahoma City, OK. Primary subject areas covered include cowboys, ranching, rodeo, Native Americans, Native American art, contemporary western art, hunting, frontier military and Western performers in film and television. The collection contains books, video, audio, photographs, and archival materials. The Dickinson Research Center is open from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Monday through Friday. Research is by appointment only.

Tour

On Sunday morning, a bus will take us on a tour of historical sites in and around Oklahoma City. The tour will feature a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, constructed on the site of the Federal Building bombing on April 19, 1995.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum was created to honor "those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever" by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial includes the Field of Empty Chairs with each chair honoring one of the 168 people who were killed; the monumental bronze-clad Gates of Time; a shallow 318 foot long reflecting pool; the promontory and Survivor Tree; Rescuers Orchard and a special area for children.

A few of Oklahoma City’s many attractions for vacation planning

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Visitors view art from Prix de West Purchase Award winners, the finest contemporary Western artists in the nation, as well as significant works by master artists such as Charles Russell, Frederic Remington and Albert Bierstadt. Of the numerous heroic-sized works on display, visitors are most awed by James Earle Fraser's famous 18-foot sculpture, The End of the Trail; Colorado sculptor Gerald Balciar's 16,000-pound white marble cougar aptly named Canyon Princess; and Windows to the West, five breathtaking Western landscapes by Albuquerque artist Wilson Hurley.

The Museum’s magnificent complex also contains Prosperity Junction, a 14,000 square foot circa 1900 Western cattle town, and major exhibition galleries which include the American Cowboy Gallery, American Rodeo Gallery, The Joe Grandee Museum of the Frontier West gallery, The Weitzenhoffer Gallery of Fine American Firearms, Western Performers Gallery, Native American Gallery and the Silberman Gallery of Native American Art.

Also on site are The Museum Store, Dining on Persimmon Hill restaurant, the Children's Cowboy Corral and the Donald C. and Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center. Outside, the stunning landscape boasts both botanical and natural gardens and additional sculpture and tributes.

Oklahoma History Center & Museum

Located on 18 acres across from the Oklahoma State Capital building, the History Center is a beautifully designed, self-guided exploration of Oklahoma – past to present. Within the 215,000 square-foot learning center are five extraordinary, state-of-the-art galleries housing more than 200 hands-on audio, video and computer activities.

Outside the museum, the Red River Journey offers visitors a walking tour of the Red River Valley featuring land forms, vegetation and important historical locations. The grounds also include an outdoor oilfield exhibit with drilling derricks, a portable derrick and machinery associated with Oklahoma oil explorations.

Myriad Botanical Gardens

The Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City's acclaimed botanical facility, features an enclosed tropical conservatory, the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, built over a two-acre lake surrounded by 17 acres of outdoor grounds. The Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory contains thousands of plants from around the world. Endangered palm trees, begonias and over 1,500 orchids are featured in the 224-foot long glass structure. Look for the yellow and black zebra longwing butterflies and free roaming amphibians that constitute the conservatories wildlife.

Bricktown Dining and Entertainment Center

Once a busy warehouse district, Bricktown is Oklahoma City's hottest entertainment and dining area, with numerous restaurants, nightclubs and shopping available. Other attractions include the Bricktown Ballpark, home to the Oklahoma RedHawks Triple AAA baseball team, a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store, 16-screen movie theater, horse-drawn carriage rides, the Spirit of Oklahoma Trolley, and water taxi boat tours on the Bricktown Canal.

2006 Bricktown Nationals July 14-16

Come and watch 200 of the top boat racing teams in North America. The race is a quarter mile long with 14 classes of boats reaching speeds over 225 miles per hour.

Celebration Station (approximately one mile from the Holiday Inn)

The place to go for family entertainment. Outside you will find batting cages, miniature golf, go carts and bumper boats. Inside, a great pizza restaurant, as well as challenging and exciting games. "Play Pass" gives unlimited access to all outdoor attractions for one low price.

White Water Bay (also near the Holiday Inn)

An exciting water-oriented attraction with body surfing in the Wave Pool, slippery water slides, chutes, flumes, rapids and a crystal clear activity pool. Shoot down the exciting speed slide, The Acapulco Cliff Dive, try the dual speed slide, The Caribbean Cruiser, plunge eight feet down in Cannonball Falls, or try the 4-person Big Kahuna.

Frontier City, A Six Flags Theme Park

Stroll through an authentic 1880's western town and enjoy over 75 rides, shows, games and attractions. Experience the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral, and catch Frontier City's six live shows. Be thrilled by the exciting rollercoasters. Brave the Renegade Rapids river raft ride, the perilous Time Warp, and the Mystery River Log Flume. Go Wild! with the Tomahawk and Get Vertical on ErUPtion. Enjoy the big fun for little mavericks at Paul Bunyan's Tiny Timber Town, with rides specially designed for little buckaroos. Outdoor concerts by legendary music artists and fireworks displays are also featured.

Stockyards City

Oklahoma City's stockyards is the largest stocker/feeder cattle market in the world. Here you can see Oklahoma cowboys working the livestock.

Cowtown offers a variety of shops from old time general stores and tack shops to western duds, jewelry and a 24-hour beef restaurant.

Click here for the Registration Form

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