My truck is dirty, inside and out.  I’m fine with that, though, because dust, dirt, and mud are testimony to where I’ve been during my trips.  The windshield, on the other hand, must be clean – always!  I discovered, a couple of weeks back, that one of my truck’s wiper sprays quit working and, as luck would have it, it’s the one on the driver’s side!  As I prepared to leave the RV Park in Aransas Pass, TX [on Thur. May 13^th] I peered through the windshield and remembered what the combination of humidity and sea mist can do to a vehicle’s windows.  A clingy t-shirt I can [usually] tolerate.  A streaky misted up windshield?  That, I cannot!  After a trip to the gas station, I was soon well on my way to Aransas Port via the five-minute ferry ride.

 

I remember this ferry from my camper trip around Texas in January-February 2007.  The ferries are small, maybe 20 vehicles at a time…less if an RV hops on…and the crossing is barely five minutes.  Why don’t they build a bridge?  I pondered that question as I made my way from the terminal to Rt. 361 and headed south. 

 

After about 15 miles, I turned left into the Mustang Island State Park to get some information and to inquire about available spaces [with water and electricity] on Saturday.  Compared to most of the state parks I have visited, this one is quite small – they have only 48 sites.  The lady at the entrance said they had spaces for tonight, but they were full on Saturday.  Of course, it’s the weekend and the state park is right on the Gulf of Mexico and I’m not the only person who loves the seashore.

 

At the junction with Park Road 22, I turned left and soon entered an environment that is as beautiful as it is unique – Padre Island National Seashore, near Corpus Christi, Texas.  Padre Island is a barrier island and the 70 miles of beach, the “longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world,” is protected by the National Park Service.  Information about the history and culture of Padre Island can be found on this website, http://www.nps.gov/pais/historyculture/index.htm.  I was here three years ago and loved it so much I stayed for four days at the Malaquite Beach campground.  Now I’m back, and for a very special reason, too! 

 

Turning into the campground, and remembering how full it was three years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were many wonderful spaces at my disposal.  Ah, the snowbirds have returned to their northern homes, and it’s not the weekend just yet.  I picked a site and, thanks to my Golden Access membership, paid only $8.00 for a two-night stay.  While there are toilets and showers at this campground, there are no hookups.  I haven’t “dry camped” in the camper for quite a long time, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes while I’m here.     

 

I had some time to kill that afternoon so I took the John F. Kennedy Causeway, which links the Padre Island National Seashore to Corpus Christi, and found a mall, which, since it had continued to be an overcast and humid day, provided some welcome relief.  There were delays in her flight, due to severe weather in Dallas, but I was soon at the Corpus Christi Airport to pick up my dear friend, Lisa, who had flown in from Tucson, AZ for a “very special reason” as well!  We got some dinner first and then, just as it began to get dark, started the approximately 20-mile drive to our site on Padre Island.  Driving along on the darkened two-lane road, it wasn’t long before we already ran into a bit of heart-pounding excitement.  Spotting some deer just ahead, I lifted my foot off the accelerator and then hit the brakes when this one deer suddenly materialized in front of me!  I started to worry that I’d hit the deer, but Lisa reassured me that she knew what it felt like to hit a deer and I certainly didn’t hit that deer.    

   

Lisa helped me back up into our site, we brought her bag inside, I extended the slideout, turned on the propane for the refrigerator, showed Lisa how to work the toilet, and spelled out some basic “camper rules” that I apply even to myself, the most important being “Take it slow, don’t rush, know where your feet are.”  As I was doing all that, I kept glancing at the panel on the refrigerator.  It’s been a long time since I activated the fridge on something other than electrical power, and then, sure enough, the panel began to flash “LO-FL.”  I checked the battery power indicator on the main monitor [underneath the microwave] and it lit up red -- “weak.”  NUTS!  I told Lisa my concern was for the food in the fridge…the perishables…and my very important supply of ice for my drinks.  Lisa said that maybe the propane needed a bit of time to run through the line -- and she was absolutely right!  Not only did the panel stop flashing the “LO-FL” warning, the battery power improved to “fair!”  All is well, I can sleep tonight!  We converted the dining table/benches into a bed for me and Lisa made herself comfortable with a book to read up on the cabover bed.

 

It was windy throughout the night but when Lisa and I woke up the next morning (Fri. 14^th) we both acknowledged to the other that we slept just fine.  I took a quick peek at the panel on the fridge – nothing there but the little green “on” light.  I checked the freezer and was satisfied to find that my ice was still frozen.  I checked and noted that the battery power was still holding steady at “fair.”  Most excellent!  One more thing to test – the generator.

 

I rarely activate the camper’s generator.  I don’t need it when I’m using electricity at a campground.  And when I’m “dry camping,” I don’t really need electrical power for anything.  The propane keeps the refrigerator going and the battery power is sufficient to operate the camper’s lights.  But Lisa has got to have her morning coffee, and, when I’ve got French Vanilla, I enjoy having a cup or two with her, too.  So, to get the electricity going for the coffeemaker, we have to activate the generator.  Just press and hold the switch for a second or two and….it kicked on!  Most excellent! 

 

We sat outside and Lisa enjoyed her first good look at the sand dunes and the Gulf of Mexico, all just mere yards from our site.  There were the obligatory sea gulls flying around and every now and then we would look upward and marvel at the grace of the Brown Pelicans in flight, going north or going south, along the shoreline in groups of two, or four, or even as many as 12.  We later spotted a heron (a Great Blue Heron I think) and I told Lisa the heron reminded me of “George,” who hung around on the dunes, three years ago, waiting for this guy to toss him some fish he’d caught.  It’s not likely this is the same bird, but Lisa decided to call him “George” anyway. 

 

 

Lisa, admiring the view of the Gulf of Mexico, and with a good book, too!  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

It was still a bit windy, overcast and humid, but we had a beach to check out.  We walked along the water’s edge in one direction and on the return we walked closer to the dunes, keeping our eyes out for nesting sea turtles.  The NPS has notices posted throughout the park informing visitors that the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles are now nesting along the Texas coast, and to please not disturb any turtles we find, but to mark the spot and report our findings.  Other than encountering a few “Turtle Patrol” personnel driving up and down the beach in their jeeps, we didn’t find any tell-tale turtle tracks or nesting turtles.  I momentarily put aside, for now, my obsession about finding an armadillo…I now wanna find a sea turtle!

 

 

Lisa, walking along Malaquite Beach.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

Later that day, we went back to the beach and walked over to the Malaquite Beach Gift Shop and Visitors Center.  While Lisa and the young fellow on duty were busy trying to activate the captions for a DVD about the sea turtles, I talked with another staff person and asked why they wanted us to report any nesting turtles that we find.  She said that these turtles nearly became extinct (man’s doing, so what else is new!) and to ensure the survival of the species, they retrieve the eggs from the nest and incubate them in a secure location until they hatch.  The baby turtles are then brought back to the beach and released.  Information about this invaluable program can be found on this website,   

https://imrcms.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/releases.htm.

 

Back at the camper and ready for some supper, we activated the generator again and used the microwave to heat up some chili.  When it got dark, I gave Lisa my big flashlight and grabbed my smaller one and we went back to the beach – not to look for sea turtles, although a sighting was always a possibility, but to look for Ghost Crabs, also known as sand crabs.  It was years ago at Ocracoke, my favorite Outer Banks (NC) seashore, where I learned about their nocturnal habits.  According to an online website – “At dusk, these crabs will sprint to the ocean in order to obtain oxygen from the water which washes over their gills, and in the beginning of the summer, females will release their eggs into the ocean.  They are omnivorous and will eat other crabs, clams, insects, vegetation, and detritus. Feeding activity takes place at night, while burrowing occurs during the day. Burrows show zonation with young crabs found closer to shore, near water. Older crabs tend to burrow farther from water. The large eyes of the crab are sensitive to changes in light intensity.”  With our flashlights, we found these crabs everywhere on the beach and they would just freeze when we shone our lights directly on them.  Some of the crabs, especially those at the water’s edge, were pretty big.  Once or twice, if I was shining my flashlight elsewhere, I’d feel a crab scuttle across my foot.  After about 45 minutes of this, we found our way back to the camper and went to bed with the sea breeze coming through the open windows.

 

 

Ghost Crab, in a defensive posture.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

I suppose if I did some research I’d find out whether or not it was a stormy morning on May 15, 1950.  It certainly was stormy this morning (Sat. 15^th).  What a way to wake up to my 60^th birthday!  And what a delight it was to have Lisa be the first to wish me a happy birthday!  But, boy, what a storm we were having!  The clouds were dark, the waves were rough, there were no birds in sight, it rained, and, wonder of wonders, we had lightning!  I don’t remember the last time, or if ever, I saw lightning in the morning.  “This is Mom and Dad’s doing,” I told Lisa.  I had to agree later when she included Ernie in the mix.

 

I was born at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, which is right across the causeway from Padre Island, and my birthday today is the “special reason” why we’re here on Padre Island.  We had our coffee at the dining table and with the storm raging outside I opened a few presents and the many birthday cards Lisa had collected from family and close friends.  No sooner did I finish that when we noticed it had become calm and there was a break in the clouds.  The storm was passing us by and soon the morning morphed into the best present of all – a clear blue sky, a gentle breeze, and zero humidity!

 

We secured the camper and after I submitted advance payment for our third night here we left to go check out Corpus Christi.  I knew where the Navy base was as I’d been there twice before (as an adult, that is).  The first time, they let me drive around the base.  The second time, three years ago, and post 9/11, they wouldn’t let me in.  At the entrance to the base I asked the security official if we could drive around and visit the base.  He asked me if I had a pass or some other appropriate credential.  I didn’t, but with Lisa’s help, we explained to him that my Dad was stationed here and I was born in the clinic, right here on the base, 60 years ago today.  I told him I attempted to obtain, through email, permission to visit but didn’t get a response.  He asked for my driver’s license, went inside to make a phone call, which actually ended just as it started, and came back outside shaking his head.  He helped me turn around to exit the base and that was that.  That’s alright.  Tight security of my birthplace is very important, even to me!

 

Leaving the base behind, I headed towards the Corpus Christi Bay and drove up and down Ocean Drive, a rather prestigious street that follows the shoreline of the bay.  We passed Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, “the only University in the nation located on its own island,” looked at many big beautiful houses, and drove past some beautiful public parks.  There were a lot of people in the area, many of whom had just participated in a race.  We saw the skyline of downtown Corpus Christi and the U.S.S. Lexington, a World War II era aircraft carrier, which now rests in the bay and is a popular tourist attraction.  For an early dinner we went to Doc’s Seafood & Steaks, a family owned restaurant located on the Laguna Madre [lagoon] and right under the JFK Causeway.  Lisa had seafood and I had steak!

 

Back at our site we changed for the beach and went out to sit and read at the water’s edge.  The shorebirds were back, including sandpipers (or plovers), and they provided us with constant entertainment.  With the sun setting behind us, at the lagoon side, we went back to sit outside the camper, and with cocktails in hand, enjoyed the setting sun’s play on the clouds.  We played a game and when it got dark enough, went back to the beach to look for more Ghost Crabs!  A great birthday this was and I’m so delighted Lisa could share it with me!

 

 

Me, 60 years and a few hours old!  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

Seagulls on beautiful Malaquite Beach.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

Pelicans flying over Malaquite Beach.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

I changed my mind.  Completely.  On Sunday morning (16th), Lisa’s last full day with me, I took one look at the sky, at the sea, and at the pelicans flying by, and decided that this place was just too beautiful to pass up for a full service RV Park.  Lisa listened to me go on and on that tonight’s two-hour final of “Survivor” isn’t really that important.  I can find out later who won.  The internet also isn’t important.  My emails, many of which I knew were birthday greetings, would just have to wait.  Let’s stay here for a fourth day and night.  Let’s not relocate somewere else just so I can watch “Survivor” and check my emails.  And besides, our food hadn’t spoiled and the ice was still frozen!  The grin on Lisa’s face was all it took to convince me that I’d made an excellent decision! 

 

With that decision made, it was time to make the coffee!  We needed more bottled water and as I walked around the camper to get the water from the back of the truck, I nearly had a close encounter with a spider!  If I hadn’t seen it, I would have walked right into it!  Seeing this dark blob suspended in the air, it took me a few seconds to realize I was looking at a spider.  A spider in the air?  How’s that possible?  Sidestepping around the spider, I then saw that the spider was actually right in the center of its spiral orb web.  One strand of spider silk extended from the web to a spot on my truck (or camper) and another strand extended from the web to a spot on the nearby picnic table shelter.  Both of those strands were holding the spiral web in place, literally “in the air.”  The spider clambored up the strand to the shelter when it felt me tweak the strand on my truck with a stick.  Lisa came outside, extended her hand, I gave her the stick, and she took care of the entire web.  She wanted that water, like now!  Thank goodness, I thought, I didn’t need anything from the truck the night before!

 

After coffee, we got dressed and set out for Port Aransas.  I’d been there twice, to get on/off the ferry, and I suggested to Lisa that it might be fun to go there and look around.  We were ready for some breakfast, too, and Lisa declared that she was in the mood for grits.  She spotted what she called a “local restaurant” and we went inside.  It was a small family-owned place and, as it turned out, they did serve grits!  We drove around afterwards, looking at houses and rentals near the beach, and eventually ended up near the marina where we found a place to park.  There was a long line of cars, pickup trucks, RVs, and motorcycles, snaking around this loop road, waiting to get on the ferry to cross the Corpus Christi Ship Channel to Aransas Pass.  Lisa struck up a conversation with this fellow who was fishing at the channel and while they were talking, another fellow close by was reeling in a catch, a 28-inch redfish.  There were dolphins (or porpoises) in the channel, too, which very much delighted Lisa and me because we also like dolphins.  I made my comments about the ferries and learned from this fellow that, because this is a ship channel, they would have to build a drawbridge, if they built a bridge at all, so it was cheaper to use the ferries.  Yeah, that makes sense -- those Navy ships can be quite massive.  After a quick stop in a souvenir store we returned to “our” beach for a last romp in the water.    

 

Monday morning (17th) promised to be another nice day and we had several hours to enjoy the seashore a while longer.  With a very sturdy trash bag provided by the park service, Lisa walked up and down a section of the beach to pick up trash that had washed ashore.  This is a common problem, not only here, but at many beaches, and the park service appreciates it when ordinary folks help pick up trash.  A lot of the debris is dangerous stuff.  Birds – and baby turtles – often get entangled in them.  We really hated to leave, but by 11:15 a.m. we were on our way back to the Corpus Christi Airport.  We said our bye-byes and I then began the first leg of my long drive back to Arizona. 

 

 

Lisa, at our Malaquite Beach campsite.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

Lisa and me, at our Malaquite Beach campsite.  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

 

 

I had time, since my goal was to arrive in Tucson on Saturday, to extend my trip in Texas for another couple of days.  I decided to go north and then cross into New Mexico at a town called Hobbs.  From the airport I took Rt. 44 W to Rt. 281 N (which overlapped for a few miles with I-37) through San Antonio and got a site at the Texas 281 RV Park in Bulverde.  I wasn’t on the Gulf of Mexico anymore, but this park had its charms – it was full of mesquite trees!  I spent the entire evening reading and responding to emails and so focused was I that I didn’t know it was pouring rain outside.  When I finally realized that a strong breeze of cool air was blowing through the windows I looked outside and was surprised to see the rain and the flashes of lightning.  I shut down the computer and watched TV instead.  The storm let up around midnight...I think...

 

On my way again the next morning (Tues. 18th), I took Rts. 281 and 46 W to eventually connect with Rt. 87 N towards San Angelo, TX.  There was some overlap with I-10 but I wanted to stay on the secondary road because it traverses through a portion of Texas’s beautiful  “Hill Country Region.”  The rolling hills were a gorgeous green and mesquite and other trees and colorful wildflowers were all over the place.  By mid-afternoon I arrived in San Angelo and got a site at the Spring Creek Marina and RV Park, located on a section of Nasworthy Lake.  I did a bit of writing until it was time for “Lost” and “V.” 

 

 

One of many Texas wildflowers, along Route 87.

 

 

On Wednesday 19th, the rolling hills fell behind and the terrain became flat as my drive north on Rt. 87 took me through the “Panhandle Plains Region.”  There were hundreds of wind turbines along this route, between Sterling City and Big Spring.  Driving through Big Spring brought back some wonderful memories of the time Chris Krentz and I were there, some 15 or so years ago, to meet with Gallaudet alumni who worked at the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (SWCID).  Gosh, the town certainly has grown since then.  The thing I remember most about that trip is the setting sun.  It was a huge ball of orange and it seemed to just melt onto the flat horizon of the Texas plains.  Chris and I couldn’t keep our eyes off of that gorgeous sun! 

 

I turned west onto Rt. 180 and made a mental note when I crossed into New Mexico that it was an hour earlier.  In view of the extra hour, I decided not to stop in Hobbs but to keep going and get a site at the Carlsbad RV Park in Carlsbad.  If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have met this lovely couple who approached me as I was sitting outside the camper reading a newspaper.  I learned their names later, but Frank and Linda Morgan got my attention, pointed to my camper and told me that they also had a Lance camper.  They’re at the end of the row, site #31.  We spoke briefly and I told them I’d come by.

 

On my way over to their site, something caught my eye and I made a detour over to what appeared to be a holding pen.  Oh, a miniature horse!  Oh, two of them!  They belonged to the owner of the RV Park and when she saw me looking at them, she said to come on inside the pen.  She said they were about 12 years old, not related to each other, but had grown up together.  She explained, when I asked if small children ride them, that the horses are not ridden anymore.  The smaller horse, as a matter of fact, was allowed [by previous owners] to become obese and that caused her to develop a lot of pain in her ankles.  Both horses are well cared for now and obviously healthy and happy and undeniably cute!   

 

Frank and Linda invited me inside their camper and we compared notes about our campers.  They have a 2004 model (mine is 2005) and their camper is about the same size as mine.  They don’t have a slideout but as I looked around I noted that we had many of the same interior features.  Later in the evening, as I was sitting at the dining table, they came over to see my camper.  They’re from St. Augustine, Florida and have been traveling since April 28th.  They will return home on September 30th.  My gosh, that’s 22 weeks!  Or five months!  Or 153 days!  My longest trip was seven weeks and that seems to be about as long as I want to travel in the camper.  Linda said they just love to travel and they plan to drive all over, visiting places in California, Nevada, Utah.  Can I do that?  Can I just keep going for eight weeks?  Three months?  Four?  I honestly don’t know and I really do admire Frank and Linda for their stamina and their adventerous spirit.  It was a delight to meet them and we parted ways agreeing that it would be wonderful if we met up again on the road somewhere someday!  I know for sure that every time I see a Lance camper I’m going to look to see if it belongs to Frank and Linda!

 

As I write this it’s Sunday mid-morning, May 23rd and I’m at Lisa’s house in Tucson, AZ.  I was on the road for several hours on Thursday (20th), continuing my drive on Rt. 180 W, which took me past the famous Carlsbad Caverns (I think I visited the caverns with Nancy Becker during our fabulous summer ’70 cross-country trip), back into Texas, and through the Guadalupe Mountains.  At El Paso, I got on I-10 W, crossed back into New Mexico, and stopped for the night at the Little Vineyard RV Park in Deming, NM.  From there, on Friday (21st), I crossed into Arizona, stopped at the KOA in Benson, and began my camper clean-up ritual.  I dumped the tanks on Saturday (22nd), grabbed some breakfast, and arrived at Lisa’s house in plenty of time for a late afternoon BBQ birthday celebration that she hosted for me and two other “May Baby” friends, Sarah and her daughter, Lydia.            

 

This was one terrific six-week, 5,150-mile CAMPER ADVENTURES journey to Oklahoma and Texas.  As I sit here and contemplate my trip, I think if I were to travel around Oklahoma and Texas again, I’d go in the fall.  The outbreaks of “severe weather” warnings did cause me some concern, especially since I was often caught by surprise when they occured.  On the other hand, however, I did benefit tremendously from the gorgeous blooms of spring grasses and wildflowers and the chance to see new birth among the Bisons.  While I will admit it would have been incredible to see a funnel cloud, off in the distance, I do feel badly for those communities that were devastated by the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma.  I’m reminded of this handmade birthday card I got from Linda, my dear friend and classmate.  She wrote, “Congratulations!!!  You made it to 60 in spite of yourself!!!”  I burst out laughing when I read that.  There is, I know, a lot of truth in that simple but very meaningful statement.  When I arrive home from my camper trips, I am grateful I made it home SAFELY!

 

Thank you, Lisa, for helping make this trip especially meaningful.  Padre Island is great, isn’t it?!

 

 

Leaving our shadows…until we return!  Padre Island National Seashore, TX.

Wednesday, May 5^th was another beautiful morning which held a lot of promise for another great drive.  Leaving the KOA in Sallisaw, OK, I got back on Rt. 59 and headed south, soon connecting to Rt. 271 S.  At the town of Talihina, I turned left onto Rt. 1 E, the western entrance to the Ouachita National Forest.    

 

Route 1 is also the Talimena Scenic Byway, which traverses through the 26,445-acre Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area, between Talihina, Oklahoma and Mena, Arkansas.  Spring, with the display of blooming wildflowers, and fall, with the autumn colors, are the most popular times to travel the byway.  I stopped at nearly all the overlook vistas and really had to appreciate the day, which was beautiful, and the crowd, which was non-existent.

 

Some wildflowers from this drive –

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t drive all the way to Arkansas, which would have been another 25 miles or so.  At the junction with Rts. 259/59 N, I turned there and then took Rt. 270 W to the Lake Wister State Park, near Wister, OK.  The lady at the park office fumbled her directions enough to totally confuse me, but with the somewhat fuzzy xerox-copied map she gave me, I got lucky with a guess and found the correct left turn onto this narrow road and drove the requisite seven miles to the campground.  Actually, I passed the campground but found a place up ahead to turn around (just barely…big truck you know…) and arrived to find plenty of sites to pick from, most of which offered wonderful views of Lake Wister. 

 

At many parks like this one, in order to have the closest proximity to the hookups, I have to back into my site.  Traveling solo, with nobody to spot me, I usually need to get out of my truck two or three times to make sure I’m backing in straight and not about to hit something that I can’t see behind me.  At this site I was doing just that when this fellow, with a head of white hair and wearing coveralls, walked over from his site to guide me into my spot.  He then proceeded to show me where the electricity and water were, which made me smile inwardly because I already knew where they were.  He was just being so nice and helpful and after I thanked him for helping me, he strolled right back to his RV.  Later on, after sitting outside for about an hour with my book, the campground “host” came by to collect my payment.  No, I’m not “totally disabled,” I told him.  Am I a Senior Citizen, he wanted to know.  Not expecting anything, and knowing that 62 was their definition of “Senior Citizen,” I told him I was going to turn 60 very soon.  That did it for him -- he gave me the $2.00 discount anyway!

 

Right at the water’s edge, about 30-40 yards from where I was standing, was a Turkey Vulture.  It had found a dead fish and, with my binoculars, I observed the bird.  A second one came along but didn’t stick around.  As valuable as these birds are to the environment, taking care of carrion on the road and elsewhere, they do have a face only a mother can love.  In spite of that, up in the air, they are quite beautiful…graceful... 

 

As I write this [on Thur. 6^th], I’m at my last RV Park in Oklahoma.  Leaving the state park this morning, I backtracked to the Ouachita National Forest and then continued south on Rt. 59 to reach the Broken Bow Inn and RV Park, in Broken Bow.  Tomorrow, I cross into Texas.  As far as RV Parks go, this one is rather drab…not a very exciting place to spend my last night in Oklahoma…but I did find a nice restaurant nearby and had catfish again for lunch!

 

As soon as I crossed the Red River [on Fri. 7^th] I was in Texas!  Driving along on Rts. 259 S, 49 E, and 43 S, I discovered that the rains had done their work around here, too.  There were trees in full bloom, the fields were green, the roadsides were dotted with yellow, white and other colorful wildflowers, and there was an assortment of livestock grazing everywhere.  Eventually, I got on FM (Farm Road)–2198 and reached the Caddo Lake State Park, located near a town called Uncertain.  The lady in the park office, when I told her I wanted a semi-modern site (electricity and water included), said they had just one left.  It was only about noon and when I expressed surprise about that she said, “Oh, yes, it’s Friday and people made their reservations for the weekend.”  If that last site hadn’t been available, I would’ve taken a primitive site – assuming they had any of those left. 

 

There was no mistaking it.  Something in the air, instantly recognizable, and there was no getting away from it either.  Something I haven’t felt in a long time, not since I lived back east.  Humidity!  That warm, muggy, pocket of unmoving air.  It’s like catching a whiff of freshly mowed grass – the sweet smell of the cut grass takes me right back to childhood.  The humidity, as soon as I was aware of it, transported me right back to the life I lived in Washington, D.C.  Ah, well, hello old friend.  D.C. I do miss, you I certainly don’t! 

 

In view of the size of its land mass, Texas has seven color-coded regions that are promoted by the Texas tourism bureau.  Caddo Lake, located in northeast Texas, is part of the Pineywoods Region, described as being a “verdant, wooded and water-rich environ.”  Louisiana is just a few miles east and both states share the wetlands and bayous that make up Caddo Lake.  Not far from my site was a fishing pier and when I walked over there, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself looking at a picturesque bayou, filled with moss-draped cypress trees and heart-shaped lily ponds.  My Park Guide booklet describes Caddo Lake as an ecological jewel where visitors can “…immerse themselves in a primordial, swamplike setting of mixed woodlands and a spidery network of cypress tree stump-studded sloughs at the only natural lake in Texas.”  Lots of swamp wildlife here, including alligators, I read somewhere.   

 

At 7:30 p.m., I walked over to the nearby amphitheater to watch a PowerPoint presentation about owls.  There were about 25 people there, including ten or so kids.  I couldn’t understand the ranger, of course, but his presentation had lots of pictures and text and I found the information presented on the screen most interesting.  He also had audio recordings of the sounds different owls make.  My hearing aids, alas, are still stuck in that stubbornly-stuck storage drawer, but I told myself I probably wouldn’t have been able to detect any sounds anyway.  We then followed the ranger to an area where he obviously knew an owl resided (a Screech Owl, I think).  He played the recording and sure enough, we all saw this owl fly from that tree over there to a branch directly above us.  Some of us had flashlights and we shone our lights on the owl.  I had the stronger beam and I soon realized it was just my light on the owl.  I looked at the ranger and saw that he was talking and pointing up at the owl.  And that’s when the irony hit me.  Here I am, standing stock still and keeping my stronger beam on the owl for everybody’s benefit, and I’m not learning anything about the owl.  Well, such is life!

 

I went back to the fishing pier because they had some overhead lights on and I wanted to see what the bayou looked like in the dark.  Remembering some turtles I had seen that afternoon, sunning themselves on a stump or something, I looked out over the wooden railing to see if they were still there.  They weren’t but I caught a reflection of something below me and I looked down.  Oh, a spider web.  But, wait!  It’s under construction!  I have never seen anything like this before.  I have never seen a spider weave its web.  Shining my light on it, I was just mesmerized!  I could just see its glistening silk as the spider went around and around, closing in to the center.  There were many of these spiders and I found a bigger one to observe.  Turtles, an owl, spiders – twas a good day!

 

I had left all my windows open during the night and when I looked out the overhead window the next morning (Sat. 8^th), I saw streaks of sunlight and patches of blue sky through the branches of the trees surrounding my camper.  It had been overcast yesterday and, noticing that it was also much cooler inside the camper, those subtle hints seemed to promise a very good day.  I went back to the fishing pier and was delighted to see that the morning’s brightness brought out so much more color and clarity to the bayou.  The spiders were gone, and most of the webs were torn up, but I saw white birds fly overhead and watched this group of people set out in canoes.  They were decked out in wilderness clothing, wide, floppy hats, and their canoes were loaded up with camping gear.  Looks like fun, where they’re going!

 

 

The bayou, on a muggy, overcast afternoon.  Caddo Lake, near Uncertain, TX.

 

 

Canoeists, ready to explore the bayou on a crisp, bright morning.  Caddo Lake, near Uncertain, TX.

 

 

Turtles among the lily ponds.  Caddo Lake, near Uncertain, TX.

 

 

With a name like “Uncertain,” I just had to see this little speck of a town so I drove over there.  Camping and cabins and boat rentals are all that seem to make up this little hamlet.  It’s right on Caddo Lake and I guess they get pretty busy there, too.  Turning around I got back on Rt. 43 S, connected to Rt. 59 S, and drove for a couple of hours to the Paradise Lake Resort, just outside Nacogdoches, TX.  Surrounded by trees, the lake is small and tranquil.  The RV sites are situated around a section of the lake and there’s a group of four ducks that would come out of the lake every now and then to hang out.  As I write this, I’m sitting at the dining table, looking out at the water and enjoying the cool breeze through the window and the open door.  Okay, it’s 5:30 p.m. and I’m done with writing.  I’m going to sit outside and read my book.

 

Awwwwww, the Sea Rim State Park, my pick for today (Sun. 9^th) is closed!  The description of this state park sounds interesting – marsh grasses, marsh wildlife, airboat tours – but as soon as I approached Sabine Pass after driving along Rts. 59 S, 69/287 S, and 87 S/W, “CLOSED” was plastered on the sign for the state park.  Checking the Texas state park website later, I learned that the state park had sustained damage from Hurricanes Rita and Ike and its re-opening date is unknown.  I pulled into a nearby motel and after reviewing my Texas map and campground directories, decided to head for the Trinity Bay RV Park in Anahuac, TX.  I got there in a couple of hours or so by way of Rt. 73 W, I-10 W, and Rt. 61 S.  The town is situated on Trinity Bay, itself a part of the larger Galveston Bay.  The RV Park also sustained some hurricane damage…the cable was out and the restrooms were closed.  It was just a place to crash for the night and, considering the lack of amenities, I was glad when the owner charged me $25 instead of the posted $35. 

 

Monday the 10^th was a much better day!  Going north on Rt. 61 and getting back on I-10 W I braced myself for – Houston!  I’ve driven through and around Houston before and this is one BIG town!  There are oil refineries all over and a really big one looms into view as you drive on a very high 610 loop overpass.  You can’t miss it…these refineries are massive!  Eventually I found my exit from the beltway and got on Rt. 59 S for the drive to Edna, TX. 

 

I spotted a place that looked good for lunch but first I went to the Lake Texana State Park, just off of Rt. 111.  The lady there was just leaving for lunch herself, so I told her I’d look around, get some lunch, too, and come back.  The restaurant I went to serves daily specials, cafeteria-style.  The owner-chef and a young woman (her daughter, I think) were very helpful, telling me that catfish wasn’t on the menu today but that cut of meat here is brisket and this here is chopped brisket with barbecue sauce, and that’s sausage over there and fried chicken here and over here are the assorted vegetable choices.  I asked if the chopped brisket was spicy.  No, the young lady said and she gave me a sample to taste.  She said the sausage was really good and she gave me a piece to taste.  I told her she might as well just feed me right there!   

 

Lunch was just wonderful, the brisket/sausage combo with mashed potatoes and corn.  I selected the “medium plate” (they go by weight) thinking I’d have some left for later.  The owner laughed because I cleaned that plate good!  She came over to talk with me, asking where I was from, where I’m going.  I asked her if she prepared everything.  Yes.  Seven days a week?  Yes.  She said she gets there at 6:00 a.m. and they’re open only from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  I told her I really enjoyed my lunch and I could just imagine how wonderful her catfish must be.  She told me to come back.  I am tempted!!

 

Back at the state park, the lady in the office recommended a popular site on the lake when she pointed out to me that the one I selected didn’t include electricity.  Not two minutes after that, while she was registering me, this fellow came in, saw where she placed the “reserved” marker, said something, to which she looked at him and said something in response.  He then left, I guess to go get his wife, and the park lady mouthed to me that he was grumbling that I’d taken site #115.  She mouthed “too bad” and gave me a big smile.  Yup, we girls gotta stick together!

 

I got help again backing into my site -- and a great site it was indeed!  The lake was in front of me and about 75 yards behind me was a cove with a fishing pier.  The sign in front of the pier said to not feed or harass the alligators.  “Take that to heart, MAP, and watch where you step because the snakes are also out and about now that the weather is warm.”  I took a short walk on one of the park’s trails, spotted some turtles in a pond, and a big, fat caterpillar.  Still no armadillo, not today anyway.  Sitting outside my camper later with my book, I observed cardinals, a woodpecker, some egrets, and up in the air, the ever-present Turkey Vultures.  Texas has such wonderful state parks!

 

 

Sunrise on Lake Texana, near Edna, TX.

 

 

Hats off to Duane!  Duane Yavelak of Galaxy Campers!  He solved my stuck-drawer problem!  Galaxy Campers, in Ontario, CA, is a family-owned business, specializing in Lance campers.  I met David, Duane’s son, first at an RV show in Pomona, CA, and bought my camper from him.  Rhonda, their office manager, handled the financing for me and I have, ever since then, maintained a friendly relationship with these wonderful people.  After a couple of email exchanges with Rhonda about the drawer (and the leaks), she wrote again to pass on a suggestion from Duane.  Put aside the [dining table] bench cushions, unscrew the four exposed corner screws using a Phillips, and remove the panel.  I did just that but discovered I couldn’t remove the panel completely without also removing this plastic thingie that ran across the edge of the bench.  I could, however, lift one corner of the panel just enough to stick my arm through and pull out the items I needed.  As I was doing that, I somehow fingered the latch just so and the lock button popped out.  I thought I’d never get so excited about opening a sliding drawer!  There was nothing wrong with the latch.  It wasn’t broken at all.  A screw had come loose and that’s all it took to tilt the latch and prevent the lock mechanism from working.  I replaced the screw, tested the lock, and put everything right back in the drawer (except my new tube of toothpaste!).  That’s how much confidence I have in the drawer now!  THANK YOU, DUANE!  BIG HUGS COMING YOUR WAY LATER!

 

As I write this [on Tues. 11^th], I’m at the Ransom Road RV Park in Aransas Pass, TX.  From the countryside of Edna, I reached the bays of the Gulf of Mexico via Rts. 111 E, 172 S, and 35 S.  Crossing over several causeways, there was no mistaking those beautiful birds with the conspicuous profile – pelicans, my favorite!  This RV Park has everything I need at this point…cable, internet, laundry…and a marina within walking distance.  Seafood!  I’ll be here tomorrow as well.  Got chores to do and get ready for the coming weekend!  Gonna be a big one! 

Tuesday, April 27^th turned out to be a really nice day, albeit just a tad too windy to be able to sit outside and read the newspaper.  It was a great day to dump the black and grey tanks and that I did.  I also wanted to add water to the water tank, but I couldn’t open the cap.  I retrieved the step stool from inside the camper but even with the added height and improved leverage, I couldn’t get that cap to budge.  Never mind, I’ll deal with it in the morning.  I saw an RV repair center nearby so I’ll swing by there on my way out and ask them to help me pry the cap loose.

 

When I went back to the office this morning to pay for today’s stay, I noticed a corral out on the field.  I could see hay and, based on the telltale shape, I thought the brown animal I was looking at might be a bison.  I walked over to the corral and, yup, there were six bison, one of which was rust-colored – a calf!  Mama bison sure was protective!  She actually charged at me, stopping just short of the heavy wire fence and metal bars.  I backed up a bit and just stood there quietly and motionless.  She relaxed but kept an eye on me.  Another bison sauntered over and, as if to offer an extra dose of protection, kept his (her?) gaze on me, too.  I hung around for maybe 20 minutes, just long enough to watch the calf check things out, nuzzle another bison, try to chew a piece of wire, get milk from Mom, and finally lie down.  Heading back to my camper, I ran into the guy that owned the bison.  He said they were from a herd that was exported back to the west from the Brooklyn Zoo [in NYC] and that the calf was 15 days old.  I mentioned the mother and he concurred she was indeed very protective.  This was her first calf, he said.  I was glad for the close observation but came away wishing they had a lot more space than that corral. 

 

 

 

Bison and her calf, at the Rockwell RV Park, Oklahoma City, OK. 

 

 

Swinging by the nearby RV repair center the next morning (Wed. 28^th) it took this fellow all of one minute to loosen the cap to the water tank.  I’ve got pliers but maybe I should think about investing in a longer one.   Fueling up after that, I was back on I-40 heading east and towards Rt. 177 N.  When they (the local news) said last night that high winds were in the forecast, they weren’t kidding!  Driving north most of the way, I had no problems because the wind was at my back.  Driving east, however, on the interstate, and later on Rt. 60, it was a different story!  I really had to keep a tight grip on the steering wheel!  The further north I drove, when I could look around at the scenery, it was very pretty…a terrain of gently rolling hills.     

 

By mid-afternoon, after a lunch of catfish at a café in Pawhuska, I had myself a site at the Osage Hills State Park.  As I paid the lady at the park headquarters, we got to talking about the wildlife in the area.  I told her I have long wanted to see an armadillo but I keep finding them as roadkill.  Matter of fact, I told her, I spotted one a few days ago and since it wasn’t all smashed up, I stopped to take a closer look at it.  All it had was a small wound on its armored back and I couldn’t understand why it was dead.  The lady said that what often happens is when an armadillo finds itself suddenly underneath a moving car, it becomes startled and will jump, hitting the undercarriage and wounding itself.  She told me about an encounter she once had with an armadillo.  On someone’s advice, she used a broom to shoo away the approaching armadillo, and since they have poor eyesight, she startled the creature instead and it jumped about three feet in the air.  That made her jump and they both ran off in opposite directions.  She was laughing so hard at the memory!  I just gotta find me a live armadillo!

 

By 8:30 a.m. the next morning (Thur. 29^th) the opportunity finally presented itself – a chance to go on a short hike, following Sand Creek and ending at a bluff overlooking the creek.  One look at the sky and I knew I had to take advantage of this weather.  It was still windy, but it was warm and sunny, the best it has been since I crossed into Oklahoma 15 days ago.  The wind was just going to make it more interesting, where I was going.

 

 

Sand Creek Falls, Osage Hills State Park, near Pawhuska, OK.

 

I backtracked to Pawhuska and when I located the corner with the “triangle-shaped building” I turned and followed the road to “The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.”  Until you have seen a preserve like this, you really can’t begin to imagine what our country looked like before “the west was won.”  Quoting from the brochure –

 

“Originally spanning portions of 14 states and covering over 142 million acres,

the tallgrass prairie was one of North America’s major ecosystems.  It was a

complex landscape, harboring a rich diversity of plants and animals, that was

shaped by the natural forces of climate, fire, and grazing.

 

Today, less than 10% of the original tallgrass prairie remains.  Most of it has

been converted to farmland and is now known as ‘America’s breadbasket.’ 

Large, unbroken tracts of tallgrass prairie only exist now in the Flint Hills of

Oklahoma and Kansas.  As a functioning ecosystem, the tallgrass prairie is

extinct.”

 

The 38,700 acre preserve is under the guardianship and management of the Nature Conservancy.  The Conservancy’s goal is to “…recreate a functioning tallgrass prairie ecosystem using fire and bison.”  Controlled (or “prescribed”) fires, we have since learned, removes dead vegetation and encourages new growth.  Grazing is equally important, and the Tallgrass Prairie today has over 2,500 bison from a herd of 300 that was reintroduced to this precious tract of land in 1993.   

 

The gravel road from the entrance to the preserve headquarters was only 10 miles, but it took me a good two hours to reach the headquarters.  This is not the kind of place to just drive through.  I had to stop, again and again, to take it all in.   I saw bison, of course, some wildflowers, and just as I figured, the wind made it all the more interesting, the way it rippled across the grass. 

 

 

The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, near Pawhuska, OK.

 

 

My camper, truly out of place on such venerated ground.  The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, near Pawhuska, OK.

 

 

Wildflower, The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, near Pawhuska, OK.

 

 

There are ranches (and oilwell pumps, too!) outside the boundaries of the preserve and, still driving on gravel, I passed many cows and horses.  I stopped for them, too, which interested this particular group of cows very much, and had to marvel at the rich, green grass of their pastures.  Eventually, I was back on Rt. 60 and drove east, through Pawhuska and past the Osage Hills State Park, to the Riverside RV Resort and Campground in Bartlesville.  I’m now located, as a point of geographical reference, in the northeastern part of Oklahoma.  

 

On the last day of April, (Fri. 30^th) I woke up to discover -- rain.  I groaned, I sighed, I thought, “Oh, no…” but then I remembered how perfect yesterday was and that made me feel immensely happy that yesterday was the day I visited The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.  Today also marks the beginning of my final week in Oklahoma and there are five other state parks I want to visit as I head south to Texas.  We’ll see how it goes, but I decided to stay at this RV Park another day.  Might as well stay put and keep an eye on the Weather Channel.   

 

Saturday, May 1^st – May Day – dawned grey and cool, but dry.  I got a bit of breakfast at a highly recommended café, located in a very quiet downtown – it was Saturday after all.  I looked, but didn’t find a Bank of America.  At the next town, along Rt. 60 E, I stopped at a grocery store for a few items (darn, they didn’t have my specific brand of Crest toothpaste, so I got something else), but I didn’t locate a BOA until I arrived in Tahlequah, just off Rt. 82 S.  They were closed – it was Saturday after all, just about 2:00 p.m. when I got there.  No problem…where’s the ATM?  Where’s the drive-through ATM that I can just walk up to?  Turns out this branch of BOA is in an old building that used to be the National Bank.  Surrounded by other old downtown buildings, they don’t have any ATMs or drive-through window service.  Oh, dear, I muttered to myself as I got back in the truck, I’ll have to replenish my supply of cold cash some other way if I don’t find a BOA as I go.  At the corner, I turned right – I could have turned left, I could have gone straight ahead, but no, I turned right – and there it was, the modern-day BOA drive-through for the driver in a hurry.

 

The weather cleared a little bit as I drove along Rt. 82 and I noticed how different this terrain was starting to look.  Compared to the flat plains of the western part of Oklahoma, this part of the state was hillier and the roads were more winding.  There were more trees, making everything look so green, and there were a lot more bodies of water – rivers, creeks, and lakes.  I was driving through Cherokee Nation and it was beautiful.  I soon reached the Cherokee Landing State Park and selected a site with a western view of Lake Tenkiller.

 

It’s inevitable, of course, wear and tear.  My Lance camper is a 2005 model, purchased new in 2006.  I’ve gone places in this camper and it has served me well.  Anything I can fix with a screwdriver, I’ve fixed.  Anything else a bit more complex that needs to be fixed or replaced, I’ve had my guys at Galaxy Campers, David and Duane, take care of those for me between trips.  I discovered a new problem this evening and now I’m stumped.  The push-in, push-out lock for my slide-out storage drawer, located right under the dining table bench, won’t pop open.  I can’t open the drawer and the most important item in there is the charger for my pager.  Until I can figure out a way to release that lock, I’m keeping the pager off.  Stay tuned on this one!

 

Sunday (2^nd) started out just like yesterday, weather-wise.  My agenda for this morning was to visit the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge and, thinking it was on this side of I-40, it took me an hour to finally figure out it was actually about 10 miles east on the interstate, near the town of Vian.  I got there and drove the six-mile auto route through the refuge.  They had a lot of wetland and ponds, but, surprisingly, I saw no waterfowl save for three ducks and some geese.  Timing is everything, especially when these birds are migrating, and I figured that if there had been birds resting at the refuge overnight, they must have taken flight at first light.

 

Back on I-40 W and looking for Rt. 56 N I got my directions a little mixed up again.  I got off the interstate too soon, but needed gas anyway, so took care of that, got back on track and arrived at the Okmulgee State Park.  The sun was shining very brightly by then and I had a very nice view of Lake Okmulgee from my camper.  No waterfowl here but plenty of boaters and people with fishing rods.  I like to watch people fish.  I’m amazed at their patience.  I remember fishing as a kid in Indiana and while I did want to experience deep-sea fishing at one time, I’m a bit ambivalent now about “goin’ fishin’.”

 

 

Lake Okmulgee, Okmulgee State Park, OK.

 

 

As I write this [on Mon. 3^rd] I’m in the woods, it’s nearly dusk, and I’m observing some squirrels find stuff to eat from underneath the leaves on the ground.  As far as the weather, it was absolutely perfect today, just like the day I visited The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, but with hardly any wind.  I left the campground early this morning, hoping for a little better luck at seeing waterfowl and other wildlife (e.g., the elusive armadillo!) at the Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge.  I could see the refuge on the map, shaded green, but I didn’t find the entrance.  By the time I’d driven around the refuge on Rts. 56 E, 75 S, and 266 E, I decided the entrance was probably back at Okmulgee and I just simply missed the signs for it.

 

Connecting eventually to Rt. 2 S, I found myself driving through a fertile landscape of farmland.  Contrasted with the blue sky, the sun brought out stunning vibrant colors – rich green fields, everywhere I looked, and covered with a blanket of yellow wildflowers.  I spotted a group of horses (which included a pony) and that was all I needed to stop and try to capture the scene with my camcorder and camera.  

 

 

A beautiful white horse and its reflection on a field pond.  Somewhere along Route 2, OK.

 

 

Around noon I arrived at the Robbers Cave State Park, located in the scenic, hilly woodlands of the San Bois Mountains, near Wilburton, OK.  I paid for my site first and then followed the park road to Robbers Cave, so named because it was a former hideout for outlaws.  The notorious Belle Starr lived in a rough frontier cabin about 20 miles north of the park.  She befriended many outlaws, among them, Jesse James, and, “According to legend, the cave and its surrounding bluffs, ravines and rock formations was a hideout for notorious Old West outlaws…”

 

The ¾ mile loop trail to the cave is marked by yellow dots painted on trees and spaced a few yards apart.  This was no easy “stroll in the park!”  Not only did I have to make sure I found the next dot of yellow, I had to watch where I planted my feet, taking care as I climbed up rocks and stepped over tree roots.  It was an upward climb to the entrance of the cave and then more climbing to reach the bluff above the cave.  The view from that bluff was incredible, a forest of trees that stretched for miles.  At the bottom, a sign pointed to the “Stone Corral,” which is where the outlaws hid their horses.  I’m glad it was such a perfect day to visit the cave.  I wouldn’t have wanted to attempt that trail on a wet or a windy day.

 

Out of nowhere, during the quiet of my evening, an image came to my mind and I remembered something.  I looked in the truck this morning (Tues. 4^th) and there it was, there it has always been – an auto charger for my pager!  Plugging this charger into my truck’s power source, I can keep my pager charged.  Yay!  I still want to open that locked storage drawer anyway.  My hearing aids are also in there…and some packets of Kleenex…and the tube of toothpaste I just bought the other day… 

 

The wind has picked up a bit, but it’s another beautiful day.  The rains of the past few weeks are becoming a distant memory.  I was on the road for about an hour and half this morning, driving along Rts. 2 S, 270 E, 82 N, 9 E, and 59 N to the Sallisaw/Fort Smith West KOA in Sallisaw, OK.  I’ve got internet here…and cable…  

 

 

A salad of green for the cows (outside the boundaries of The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, near Pawhuska, OK)…

 

 

 

…and a salad of green and yellow for the horses (along Route 2, OK)…

 

 

…and a salad for MAP!

The rain stopped but the grey cloud cover still lingered, keeping the temperatures in the mid 50s.  When did I last see the sun?  It’s been a week!  Three days at the same RV Park is my absolute max, if I can help it, so I left Elk City today [Mon. 19^th] and turned towards the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, near Medicine Park, OK. 

 

Getting on Rt. 6 S first, I soon connected to Rt. 152 E and then Rt. 58 S into the refuge.  A good drive it was, the roads were dry and visibility was good.  My friend, Karen, had good advice for me – enjoy the rain, she wrote to me, as it’s better than running into a sandstorm.  I further told myself, “MAP, best you enjoy this cloudy and cool weather now.  You’ll soon be facing 115 degree days this summer in Palm Springs.”  Thanks, Karen, for helping me keep things in perspective!

 

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, administered by the [Department of the Interior] Fish and Wildlife Service, is a wonderful place!  To quote from the brochure, the mission of the Refuge System is to “administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.”  In my honest opinion, this is our [white man] government’s long-winded way of saying, “We screwed up.  We killed off native animals.  We trampled and destroyed the environment.  This is our attempt to make amends, not only to the Native Americans, but to the animals, the fish, the plants, the environment.” 

 

Initially established in 1901, the refuge was designated a Forest Reserve and Game Preserve in 1905, making it the oldest managed wildlife facility in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife system today.  Unfortunately, there was, by 1905, very little wildlife to preserve.  Due to over-hunting, bison and elk were already extinct and other animals had dwindled in number.  Today, thanks to restocking and careful management, this beautiful 59,020-acre refuge, with its craggy mountain range and vast grass prairie, has herds of bison and elk as well as deer, coyotes, longhorn cattle, raccoons, gray fox, eagles and bobcats.

 

The sign at the entrance warned that Bison and Longhorns are wild and dangerous!  Before I encountered any animals of the wild kind, I drove up to the top of Mount Scott (elevation 2,464 feet) to check out the view.  Parking the truck, I noticed this row of about eight other pickup trucks and a fellow carrying a helmet and other equipment I’d never seen before.  I asked him what it was for and he said that he and others were rappelling down some nearby rocks.  I followed him to the location and watched these guys get their equipment all set up.  From my angle, I wouldn’t have been able to see any actual rappelling, so I returned to my truck and went back down to the main road. 

 

It didn’t take long before I encountered my first group of bison.  I’ve seen many bison now, having been to Wyoming and other places in the camper, but I’ll never tire of observing them.  They’re so massive, majestic, and simply beautiful.  Looking into their eyes, you can just see ancient wisdom radiating from within.  My spirits brightened when I saw two bison calves in the group.  You could tell by their rust color that they were born just recently.  Their playful romp and clumsy attempts to keep up with mama were fun to watch!

 

On my way to the Doris Campground, I first stopped at the Visitors Center to look at their displays.  The U.S. and Oklahoma flags were flying at half-mast.  Having watched the news the day before, I knew that this was in honor and memory of the Oklahoma City bombing victims as today is the 15^th anniversary of that bombing.      

 

Arriving at the Doris Campground, I selected a site just a few yards from the Quanah Parker Lake.  Swimming is not allowed, not that I want to go swimming in this weather, but they had another rule that I found intriguing – liquor on the refuge is prohibited.  I don’t know the reason or how they can enforce this rule, but I respected it just the same.  A Google check later revealed that Oklahoma has some of the strictest liquor laws in the nation. 

 

The woodsy environment, the nearby lake, and some pretty busy squirrels relaxed me so much I actually konked out while sitting at the dining table!  I had a restful night and woke up on Tuesday morning (20^th) to find the sun peeking out from the clouds.  Deciding that I best take advantage of the improved weather, I left my campsite and turned onto a road leading to a trailhead.  As soon as I did that, I ran into my first group of longhorns.  They were roaming about freely and paid me no mind.  There were two calves in this group, too.  Back on the road later, after a brief walk on the trailhead, I stopped to observe a colony of prairie dogs, another group of animals I never tire of watching.

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t see any elk, truly the most elusive large animal of all!

 

 

Quanah Parker Lake, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK

 

 

Longhorn, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK

 

 

Oklahoma has a great highway system.  Unlike Nevada where I had to drive around mountains to get anywhere, Oklahoma has a network of connecting roads which makes it possible to select more than one way to get to my destinations.  From the refuge, I drove 115 miles on a series of roads – Routes 49 W, 54 N, 19 E, 115 N, 9 E, 146 N, 152 E, 81 N, and I-40 W -- to El Reno, where I got a site at Best Western Hensley’s.  Nothing spectacular about the place, but they had cable and I got to watch “Lost” and “V.”

 

Wednesday (21^st) was a beautiful day – blue skies and a slight breeze.  Perfect weather to go find a lake somewhere, but that’s later today.  Traveling in the camper, it has been my preference to try to avoid the interstate (not always possible), and big cities as well -- unless there’s something significant about a specific city.  Oklahoma City is definitely special, so I took I-40 E to downtown and visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.  This is where the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building happened, on April 19, 1995.   

 

To quote from the website (http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org), “The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial is a place of quiet reflection.”  The memorial encompasses the area where the Murrah Building once stood.  It’s a beautiful and very serene place to be, quite emotional, too, I should say.

 

There’s a “Reflecting Pool,” anchored on the west and east ends by monumental twin gates, “The Gates of Time.”  These gates “…frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.”  Facing the reflecting pool, which is where N.W. Fifth Street used to be, the street where Timothy McVeigh parked the explosive-filled Ryder truck, is the “Field of Empty Chairs.”

 

You are drawn to these 168 chairs.  Each bronze and stone chair, resting on a glass base, represents “…the lives taken on April 19, 1995.  They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor.  Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children.  The field is located on the footprint of the Murrah Building.”  Bearing witness to the entire scene, on slightly higher ground, is “The Survivor Tree,” a 90+ year-old American Elm that survived the blast.    

 

I found Baylee Almon’s chair.  Like all the other chairs, to mark the 15^th anniversary, her memorial chair was adorned with flowers, stuffed animals, and notes from loved ones.  The image of Baylee, who had celebrated her first birthday just the day before, is forever etched in my mind because of the photograph of the firefighter carrying her in his arms.  That photo of Baylee “captured the horror of the bombing and took it straight to the heart of a sorrowful nation.”  I found that photograph again when I toured the museum, as well as a picture of a laughing Baylee, one of 168 pictures on a memorial wall.  This is one incredible museum -- three floors of unbelievable display, including a photo and video timeline of the arduous task involved in sifting through of all the debris, the investigation, and the subsequent arrests and trials of Timothy McVeigh and others.  A truly memorable visit this was.

 

 

West gate, “The Gates of Time” - Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, OK

 

 

 “Field of Empty Chairs” facing the Reflecting Pool - Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, OK

 

 

A view of some of the nine rows of chairs, “Field of Empty Chairs” - Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, OK

 

 

By late afternoon, after taking I-40 W and I-44 E and connecting to Routes 74 N, 33 W, 8 N, and 8-A, I arrived at the Roman Nose State Park, near Watonga.  I enjoyed this particular two-hour drive because I really had to take a moment (many moments!) to appreciate the gifts of all that recent rain we had.  The open fields, dotted with cows and horses, were a vibrant green color, standing in stark contrast to reddish soil and to other fields that were covered with bright yellow flowers.  At the state park, which is named for Chief Henry Roman Nose, a Cheyenne who lived in that area, I was the only camper at a site I picked out near Lake Watonga.  For company I had a pair of Canadian Geese and a pair of ducks, all four of which practically came within touching distance, as if to greet me.  Other waterfowl was nearby and the tranquility was soon broken when a huge motorhome pulled in. 

 

 

Camping near Lake Watonga, Roman Nose State Park, OK

 

 

As I write this, it’s Thursday evening (22^nd) and I’m at the High Point RV Park in Enid.  I was actually planning to go to another state park today, but as I drove north for awhile on Rt. 51-A, I looked to the west, towards the Panhandle, and thought the clouds in that direction looked a little worrisome.  I changed my mind about the state park for today and headed towards Enid via Rt. 412 E.  Fortunately, this RV Park has both cable and internet access and I decided it would be better to be situated where I could try to stay tuned to weather alerts.  Matter of fact, the local CBS channel has been displaying all evening a thunderstorm and tornado warning for certain counties in western Oklahoma.  Thank heavens for the internet access because, since I had no idea where all those counties were, I was able to pull up a map of Oklahoma’s counties and get my bearings.    

 

Call it intuition or call it plain good luck, it is a good thing I thought it would be a good idea to stay within the relative safety of a town like Enid.  The severe thunderstorm cell that had originated in the Texas Panhandle reached Enid at about 2:45 a.m.  Something woke me up, I looked out the cabover window, saw heavy rain hitting the window, noticed the impact of the wind on the branches of the tree above me, and then shut my eyes to the first flash of lightning.  In spite of the wind, the camper did not rock.  I told myself to just wait it out and hope for the best.  Pretty soon, I felt a drip – oh, no, there’s two leaks now coming from the overhead window.  Nothing major, but I got the towel again and decided to sleep across the foot of the bed.  Just don’t roll off into the void below, MAP ole girl, I told myself. 

 

Back on the road the next morning [Fri. 23^rd] I had to marvel at how blue the sky was.  But for canals of water along the roadway ditches, it didn’t look like we’d just had a storm at all.  Additionally, although tornadoes had been spotted in Texas, none had touched down in Oklahoma during the night either.  It was windy today, though, but I think it’s almost always windy in the Plains.  Driving north on Rt. 81, I could see clouds to the east, the direction the storm is now headed.  I turned west onto Rt. 64 and then reached the Great Salt Plains State Park via Rt. 38 N.  Before heading to the park’s campground, I backtracked and followed signs to the Salt Plains, “…literally a sea of salt and an Oklahoma geological phenomenon.  It is the only place in the world where you can dig for hourglass selenite crystals.”  I forgot to bring my shovel so I just walked around a little bit then went back to the state park to pick out my site.

 

Oklahoma has 50 state parks.  The state parks in this state are fantastic -- I’d love to visit them all!  You’re surrounded by nature, and you have a choice of a primitive site or one with electricity and water.  You can pick your own site – it’s all first-come-first-serve – and a ranger will come along to collect your fee.  The folks at the Roman Nose State Park the other day told me, because the hour was late, to just stop by and pay them the next morning.  That I did, of course.  A ranger came by late this afternoon to collect my $20.00 payment.  He pointed to a section in the brochure regarding discounts.  They offer a $6.00 discount to those who are “totally disabled.”  He meant well, and he was doing his duty, but when he asked me if I was totally disabled, I looked at him and then I gestured towards the camper, a silent inference that I was as able as they come, and told him I was Deaf, that’s all.  I told him I wanted to support the park, but I’d take the $1.00 discount for Good Sam [RV] members.

 

For only $19.00 I’ve got a fabulous view of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.  The Great Salt Plains Lake is nearby and there’s a dam that manages flood control.  This state park is encompassed within a federal wildlife refuge and the entire area attracts migratory birds.  Bald and Golden Eagles winter here, but I think many may have migrated north by now.  I have seen herons, some sleek black ducks, flying low to the water, and flocks of a beautiful white waterfowl that I’m sure are egrets. 

 

 

White egrets, and an heron in the background, Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, Great Salt Plains State Park, OK

 

 

There are things in the river, too.  Intrigued by the wind-fueled waves, and noticing two guys fishing on the opposite bank, I started to wonder what lurked around in the river.  As if to answer my question, I saw something come to the surface and then disappear.  Keeping my binoculars at the ready, I looked when I saw it again.  A turtle.  Not to be outdone, I then saw…fish!  I’d seen something flop in the water once or twice, but this time, I was actually looking at fish!  There was a cluster of about 10 relatively large fish and they were swimming right at the surface of the water.  I could see their eyes and their gaping mouths.  I’m guessing these fish were bass and I’m also guessing there’s good stuff to eat at the water’s surface. 

 

Waking up on Saturday morning (24^th) I discovered that the wind had died down but that the sun was competing with the clouds again.  The river was calm and it was easier to see the bass because of the trail of ripples that followed them.  And then I saw my favorite bird of all, a pelican.  The pelican, just the one at that moment, was white with a black ring around its backside. 

 

I walked over to the dam, passing a Boy Scout Troop and running headlong into a swarm of gnats!  I kept my mouth shut and did the feeble but effective get-outta-here-two-handed-wave.  Fortunately, the swarms were intermittent and they didn’t bother my walk too much.  Right above the dam, and off to the side, is a long stretch of grassy overlook.  On the one side of the overlook is the Great Salt Plains Lake (also much calmer this morning) and the other side is the dam, the river, and the campground.  The view up there is really good and I enjoyed the opportunity to take video and pictures.

 

 

A view of the Salt Plains Lake from the overlook, Great Salt Plains State Park, OK

 

 

That overlook, I want to reiterate, is dirt and grass.  It’s not concrete and there are no handrails.  Probably not a good idea to be up there in the dark of night, unless there’s a moon and you can see the edges.  Otherwise it’s a pretty good tumble down to the bottom, rocks on one side and vegetation on the other.  As I was walking down the length of the overlook towards the other end, I noticed what appeared to be a mound of dirt in the distance.  Being the curious sort, I kept going towards that mound.  Being the cautious sort as well, I peered at it through my binocs.  Unable to make it out, I kept going.  One more look through the binocs.  I daresay, did I just see something move?  After repeating the walk-stop-look progression a few more times, I realized that that dark mound was a roost.  There were easily 30, 40, 50 birds there and as I looked and watched some of them fly off, I decided they were Turkey Vultures.  They had the dark body, the long wingspan, the red face, and when they took to the sky, they glided around in circles, the way Turkey Vultures do.   The circling birds didn’t bother me, but I had this vision of Alfred Hitchcock, so I turned back the way I came.

 

 

Turkey Vultures at the end of the overlook, Great Salt Plains State Park, OK

 

 

Getting ready to move on, I took a brief 2-mile side tour through the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, a 32,030 acre habitat for about 300 species of birds and 30 species of mammals.  Except for some ducks and a bird or two, I didn’t see anything to get excited about.  But that’s OK.  I learned long ago not to expect anything during my travels.  To do so can only lead to disappointment.  It’s better to enjoy what’s before and around you, and to always be alert, aware, and attentive.  You never know, there’s a bunch of Turkey Vultures just ahead.    

 

As I exited the refuge, I took Rts. 11 W and 8 S to the Sod House Museum, near Aline.  At one time, the brochure said, “…thousands of sod houses dotted the plains of North America.”  Built in 1894 by Marshall McCully, who staked his claim during the 1893 Cherokee Outlet Land Run, this 2-room sod house is the only one still standing in Oklahoma that was built by a homesteader.  To preserve the sod house and protect it from the elements, the Oklahoma Historical Society constructed a museum to enclose the fragile house.  It was interesting to see the materials up close – thick buffalo grass sod and alkali clay for the inside walls – and to see the furniture and other artifacts from that time.  Here’s a website about the sod house -- http://www.okhistory.org/outreach/homes/sodhousemuseum.html

 

From there I connected to Rt. 412 W and reached the entrance of Gloss Mountains State Park.  The clouds had become dark and quite menacing by then and as soon as I stopped, we had a hard but brief downpour.  The entrance didn’t look quite right and it was then that I realized this was a “Day Use Only” state park.  Consulting my map, I decided to head a few more miles up to the Little Sahara State Park, just off of Rt. 281.  Boy, what a sight that greeted me when I got there!

 

Little Sahara is another of Oklahoma’s geological wonders – sand dunes!  The state park has over 1,500 acres of rideable sand dunes ranging in height from 25 to 75 feet.  This oasis of sand is an off-road enthusiast’s Mecca!  Driving through the campground, there were ATVs everywhere, to my left, to my right, in front and behind me!  And being that today is Saturday, the place was jam-packed full!  Practically every dirt and sand splattered RV was a toy hauler and I felt like such a city slicker driving my squeaky clean camper through the mass!

 

I had to laugh at the spectacle but since I didn’t even find an empty site, I moved on.  As luck would have it, just a couple of miles further north in Waynoka I spotted a sign for a place called “RV Park & Houses.”  What an unusual name, I thought, but I found the place and pulled into the very first spot near the entrance.  There were five or six other RVs along that row and each one seemed to have an ATV.  I looked around and noticed an ATV trail directly behind where I parked (an access to the dunes, I later learned) and also noticed more RVs up on a nearby incline.  Now where’s the office?

 

Wandering around, and keeping a wary eye on the sky (the clouds were doing weird things by then), I looked for the office, or for a sign with payment instructions.  I opened a door…oops, it’s a tool shed of some sort.  I walked over to another door, and glimpsing people through the window, I opened the door, stepped inside, and encountered five strapping young fellows all dressed in ATV garb and filling up a cooler.  With all 10 eyes on me, I asked “Where’s the office?”  Come to find that was private property and as I apologized profusely for barging in like that, one of the guys led me back outside and tried to help me find someone in charge.  I asked him how those other RVers paid and he shrugged.  I thanked him for helping me and decided to just deal with it in the morning.

 

A lot of ATVs used that trail behind me well into the night!  I could feel them coming before I’d see them and quite a few liked to show off, hitting the gears and kicking up sand.  It rained off and on but that didn’t deter these folks one bit.  And neither, apparently, did the swirling clouds.  Off to the north, the sky was dark and there were flashes of lightning, but directly above and around me, the clouds were doing a dance with the sun.  It was actually quite beautiful.

 

 

Clouds surrounding my camper, Waynoka, OK

 

 

The next morning [Sun. 25^th] I went up that incline where the other RVs were and bumped into the owner.  When I pointed out my camper, he said he didn’t own that section.  Some guy named Mike owned it and he “comes around when he feels like it to collect.”  He told me not to worry about it, but as I left, I looked at the sign I had followed and wrote down the contact information.  I’ll call or email this Mike fellow later. 

 

It was a perfect morning for an old-fashioned “Sunday drive in the country.”  It was a little bit windy but the sun was out and the sky was speckled with puffs of white clouds.  There were hardly any cars on the road, but lots of cars outside every church I passed.  Driving for about three hours on Rts. 281 N, 45 E, 132 S, 51 E, 77 N, and I-35 S, I arrived at the Pioneer RV Park in Guthrie, just north of Oklahoma City.  I’d gone a little bit out of my way to get here, but this facility advertised wireless internet and I want to post my blog today.  Turns out I can’t even get online!  The lady at the desk gave me the password, but she doesn’t know the Network Key, which my computer continues to insist that I provide, and she can’t call the owners to ask them, because they’ve gone off somewhere, and she doesn’t know a thing about computers, but she’s doing what the owners told her to do, so I guess I’m just out of luck today!   

 

As I write this, it’s Monday morning the 26^th and I’ve relocated to the Rockwell RV Park, just outside Oklahoma City.  I’ve got internet AND cable as well!  I was glad to leave the other RV Park.  The showerhead produced a lousy spray, the water was lukewarm, and then to top it all off, the newspaper dispenser outside the office wouldn’t open for me.  I plan to stay here tomorrow (time to dump the tanks) and then head out towards northeast Oklahoma on Wednesday.

The “Sooner State” – Oklahoma – that’s my destination for CAMPER ADVENTURES #7!  Except for a fabulous drive through a portion of Oklahoma on Route 66 in 2007, I’ve never visited this, the 20^th largest state in the USA.

 

As I write this [on Monday, April 12, 2010], I’m taking a driving break at the Santa Rosa Campground in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.   This RV Park is right on Route 66 and I remember driving through here during that 2007 trip.  I’m glad for the break because it’s been two days of driving 600 miles from Tucson, Arizona to reach this point.

 

After spending a few days at Lisa’s home in Tucson, I said my bye-byes to Lisa and the four kitties [on Saturday 10^th] and took I-10 E to Las Cruces, NM where I stayed the night at the Sunny Acres RV Park.  From there the next morning, I got on Rt. 70 E to Alamogordo and then Rt. 54 N/E to Santa Rosa.  The drive towards Alamogordo took me past White Sands National Monument and as I looked towards the white sand dunes I had pangs of nostalgic fondness.  I was here before, summer of 1970, with Nancy Becker, bless her soul.

 

I don’t remember Border Patrol checkpoints during that trip with Nancy, but there was one along this short stretch of Rt. 70.  Pulling into the checkpoint brought back additional fond memories, specifically of my two years (2003-05) with the Border Patrol Human Resources Office in Tucson.  Watching the agent check the car in front of me, peering through the windows and looking under the car, I thought to myself, “Darn, I should have worn my Border Patrol t-shirt, today!”  When it was my turn, I let the agent know I was Deaf, to which he immediately fingerspelled “U.S. citizen?”  I answered in the affirmative, he signed “thank you,” and gestured me through.  Maybe he was a little bit flustered, or maybe something radiated from my eyes, but I guess there was no need to peer into my big truck or look inside the camper.          

 

Sitting here at my dining table, watching CNN on my TV and observing some rather busy sparrows flitting around on some bushes outside, I decided to check out some facts about Oklahoma --

 

 * The U.S. acquired most of Oklahoma in 1803 in the Louisiana Purchase from France; the Western Panhandle region became U.S. territory with the annexation of Texas in 1845.  Set aside as Indian Territory in 1834, the region was divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory on May 2, 1890.  The two were combined to make a new state, Oklahoma, on Nov. 16, 1907.  On April 22, 1889, the first day homesteading was permitted, 50,000 people swarmed into the area.  Those who tried to beat the noon starting gun were called “Sooners,” hence the state's nickname.

 

* The name "Oklahoma" comes from the Choctaw words: "okla" meaning people and "humma" meaning red, so the state's name literally means "red people."  

 

* Oklahoma has the largest American Indian population of any state.  Many of the 252,420 American Indians living in Oklahoma today are descendants from the original 67 tribes inhabiting Indian Territory.   

 

* Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state, with over one million surface acres of water and 2,000 more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined.

 

* Oklahoma’s horizontal width is 467 miles and its vertical length is 232 miles (point-to-point, straight-line measurements from a Mercator map projection).  The land area is 68,679 sq miles and the water area is 1,224 sq miles, for a total of 69,903 sq miles.

 

* The State Animal is the American Buffalo, or Bison.    [Yeah, Gallaudet!]

 

* Oklahoma is part of “Tornado Alley,” which extends from central Texas northward to Illinois and Indiana. The heart of Tornado Alley includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and South Dakota.  Texas has more tornadoes than any other state in the USA, but Oklahoma has the most dangerous storms (F4 and F5 storms).    [Yikes!]

 

Oh, wow!  I just saw a hawk, or some such predatory bird, grab one of those sparrows in its talon, hold the struggling bird on the ground, and then fly off!  I’ve also noticed a black cat come around now and then, showing a great deal of interest in those birds.  That hawk was luckier this time!

 

I crossed into Oklahoma today [Thur. 15^th] at the panhandle.  It has taken me longer than planned to reach Oklahoma from Tucson -- it’s been 847 miles over six days.  I took that one driving break in Santa Rosa and then I had to take a weather break in Clayton, NM!

 

From Santa Rosa [last Tuesday] I took I-40 E to Rt. 54 E (at Tucumcari, also located on Rt. 66), and then connected to Rt. 402 N to the Clayton KOA in Clayton.  Since it had been quite windy during that drive, I asked the guy at the desk what he’s heard as far as the weather.  High winds and a thunderstorm warning, he said.  Fortunately, the KOA provided cable and I was able to stay informed throughout the evening.  It was windy, the camper rocked, and I’m sure it rained during the night.

 

The next morning, I delayed my departure because I wanted to spend some time on the internet.  It’s a good thing I did because we had quite the downpour and I was glad not to be on the road.  When it let up a little bit, I went back to the office to pay for a second night.  Around mid-afternoon the sun came out long enough to create a beautiful double rainbow.  About an hour later, I thought I “heard” something, literally, and when I looked out the window, the sky was dropping hail!  Hail is a rarity for me, that kind of deluge anyway, so I quickly put on my hearing aids as I wanted to hear what it sounded like.  It was incredible, the pelting of the hail against the camper’s metal exterior.  That stopped, and then it rained.  Looking out at the hail on the ground, I thought to myself, “Boy, us Deafies can really be oblivious to the frightening sounds weather can produce.”  Whether that is good or bad is debatable, but at least I can sleep through the night.     

 

Oklahoma’s panhandle, I discovered today, is flat.  Leaving Clayton this morning, under a cloudy sky, I took Rt. 406 N/E to Rt. 456 E which then became Rt. 325 E when I crossed the state line.  The terrain was mostly open plain with clusters of cows here and there.  I stopped at a historical marker and learned that I was looking at a portion of the Santa Fe Trail, which had been heavily traveled by covered wagons before a nearby railroad was built.  A day like today, cloudy, cool, slightly breezy, must have been pleasant for those travelers of long ago. 

 

 

Info about the Santa Fe Trail.

 

 

The Santa Fe Trail along the open plains of Oklahoma.

 

 

I got a site for the night at a dingy, but decent enough, place called the Southwind RV Park, in Guymon, OK.  There was nobody in the office, so I paid for my site via their honor system – “pick your site, fill out the form, insert form and cash in the envelope provided and drop in the mailbox to your left” – and made myself comfortable.  No internet or cable access here, just me and my little wet world outside.

 

Thinking about my drive that day, I recalled two road signs at an intersection, one pointing left to a town in Kansas and another pointing right to a town in Texas.  I also recalled another interesting Oklahoma fact so I got out my map and, yup, there it was.  Oklahoma is bordered by six states – Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas!  What a fun game this can be for kids on a rainy day!  Are there any other states that are bordered by six states?  Or maybe by five states?  Are there any states bordered by only one state?  Which states are not bordered by any other state? 

 

It was raining when I got ready to leave [on Friday 16^th].  The sites at this RV Park didn’t have gravel, so, of course, my sneakers sunk in the mud.  Abandoning my plans for that day, to visit a wildlife refuge and stop for the night at a state park, I decide to turn south to seek comfort at a full-service RV Park.  Fueling up the truck first, I then took Routes 3 E / 283 S / 6 E to Elk City, OK.  It was a four-hour drive through flat and then rolling terrain.  The roads were ribbon-like, which was good because I could see trucks approaching and brace myself for a splashed windshield.  Speaking of which, a piece of rubber seal from my truck’s hood near the windshield flapped loose, but I was able to pull over and retrieve it.  Should be an easy fix, methinks, soon as I find a Ford dealership.

 

As I paid for my site at the Elk Creek RV Park, I was struck by a sense of familiarity.  Yup, a check of my records revealed that I was here on 4/25/07, a stopover during my trip to Indiana along Route 66.  Setting up the camper at my site, I discovered that the overhead vent in the bathroom had popped open during the drive and rainwater filtered into the bathroom.  Not a problem…I closed the vent and wiped things down with a couple of paper towels.  There’s also a leak coming from the overhead window above the bed.  I’ve taken to putting a bowl and a towel under the leak and sleeping on one side of the bed rather than directly under the window.  Things will be fine once this rain passes.  What can I do but take it all in stride.  After all, there are a lot of people, children and babies even, who are living in leaky tents and tarps in Haiti.   

 

What does one do when one is cooped up in a camper during inclement weather?  When the one in question is me, what I do depends on my surroundings.  If I have cable and internet access, I’m happily occupied.  If all I have is electricity, I’ll read a book, a magazine, a newspaper, and write my blog.  I’ll also do a Su Doku puzzle (I recently flopped on an easy one, but, hey, I never said I was good with numbers!) and play Spider Solitaire and Scrabble on the computer.  I play the expert level with Scrabble’s “Master Maven” and I lose more often than I win.  And if I don’t have electricity, I stick with reading…and I go to bed early.       

 

It’s Sunday, April 18^th and I’m still here at the Elk Creek RV Park.  The rain has tapered off a bit but it’s still a dreary grey day.  I think the worst of this system is moving on and hopefully the sun will start coming out by tomorrow.  Whether it does or not, I’m going to move on tomorrow morning.  My agenda for today: post this blog, take a walk, try another easy Su Doku puzzle, read a book, watch TV, including “Cold Case” tonight.