Still waiting to move on

When I took Emma out first thing this morning, I noticed that there was no rain, but, oh my gosh, the wind was a howling!  I really wanted to be on my way to get out of Oklahoma into Texas, so I prepped everything inside.  I turned on the TV to the local news station, and most of the news was all about the weather!  Lots of warnings and watches, so I checked my online weather source, and the radar for where I was going to travel was not good.  Once again, I debated with myself, but finally made the decision to stay put for another night.  :(

 

When I went to the office this afternoon to pay up for one more night, the gal at the desk told me that she had a call from a camper that was coming in from Texas.  They had called to say they didn’t know when they’d get here because they were just getting hammered with high winds and severe storms.  Whew!  I guess I made the right decision.  In the afternoon, the winds were so bad that I pulled in the slides because I was worried about the slide topper awnings.  We had some rain, but mostly winds.

Things calmed down a bit in the late afternoon, and I was able to put the slides back out.

After dinner, Emma and I were able to take a good walk about, and I looked for some photo opportunities.

Here’s some more old John Deere equipment.  It was a bit of a struggle to find anything interesting after three days.  :)

 

The forecast calls for sunny skies tomorrow, but increasingly high winds by afternoon.  So, my latest plan is to get out of here early tomorrow morning.  I’m even going to set my alarm!  Egad!  What a sorry state things have resulted in.  :)  I leave you with tonight’s hopeful sunset…

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto

But we almost were thanks to another challenge this morning.  I had everything unhooked and packed up.  All that was left to do was pull in the slides and bring the levelers up.  After turning the engine on, the big slide in front went in like a charm and I locked it down.  Next was the smaller bedroom slide.  I pushed the retract button, and only one side of the slide began to move in, and I stopped it before things got all out of whack.  I hit the extend button and it went back out.  I tried it a few more times, but with the same results.  Ugh!  What next?  Okay, I took a deep breath and marched off to the office hoping someone would be there.  When I talked to the owner by phone late yesterday afternoon, he was on the road and returning from a funeral in Missouri.

After pounding on the office door, the owner opened it and I asked if he knew of any mobile RV repair people in the area.  He was very helpful and called a guy that had done some work in the park in the past.  After explaining the problem to him, the guy said he was busy today and couldn’t come out.  :(  After thinking for a moment, the owner suggested an RV place on the other side of Wichita, but said they would be more expensive…like I had any choice if I wanted to get out of here.  The RV place, whose name I can’t remember, sent out a technician, but let me know that it would be $100 to send him out, and then another $100 minimum to look at the   problem. 

While I was waiting, I called my extended warranty company for the third time in just over three weeks!  I’m thinking pretty soon they’ll recognize my voice.  :)  The repair tech got there within an hour and began looking at things.  In not too long of a time, he thought he had found the problem and began working with some wrenches underneath and inside the slide mechanism.  After a few more minutes, we tried it again, and viola! it worked!  The tech then  checked the seal around the slide both inside and out to see that it was seating properly.  He said it was perfect, and I would be fine.  I asked what caused it and he showed me where a bolt and washer had come loose and fallen off.  Luckily, they fell into one of the storage compartments.  That missing bolt meant only one side of the slide mechanism would turn to close the slide.  Thank goodness the fix was that easy.  I’m guessing that horrible washboard like dirt road I was on yesterday was the final culprit in jogging that bolt loose.  :(

To make an already long story just a little bit longer, the insurance would not cover any of the charges, and after putting out $250, I was on my way about two and a half hours later than I wanted to be.  At least I was on my way.  The owner of the RV park reassured me earlier that if I had to stay beyond the normal check out time, he would only charge me an additional $6 as long as I left by the early afternoon!  What?  It wasn’t like there were rigs just waiting to get into this place, and I wasn’t even plugged in to the electric!  So, do you think I stopped at the office as I left 30 minutes after check out time to pay up?  NOT!
After 150 miles on the road, I decided I’d had enough for today, and pulled into the Pioneer RV Park in Guthrie, OK.  I think I’m about 25 miles north of Oklahoma City which is not as far into OK as I’d originally planned, but I’m happy with at least making some progress.  :)
This appears to be an older RV park, but all the electric hook-ups are new.  How’s this for a mail box?  There are lots of old farming implements scattered around the park.
I guess this is where they got their name from.
They do have good wifi here, which is good, because I barely get a cell signal.
There’s a pleasant area with benches for relaxing, but as you can see…NO DOGS!  So Emma and I kept walking.  :)
I’m guessing this is some kind of old cultivator.  Don’t know if this was pulled by a mule or what…not having ever lived on a farm.
One of the amenities listed for this park is the panoramic view.  I’m not sure it’s exactly panoramic, but it is a view if you walk to the end of the RV rows.  :)

The forecast for the next few days is not too good, and there’s the possibility of severe storms after midnight and tomorrow morning.  I’ll have to see whether or not I’ll be moving on tomorrow morning. 

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Fort Gibson, Oklahoma

In 1824, Fort Gibson was established to help resolve the conflict between the Osages and Western Cherokees in the area, and to protect white settlers.  Then the Indian Removal Act of 1830 marked the beginning of the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes to the then Oklahoma Indian Territory.  Fort Gibson had a central role in carrying out this policy.  Thousands of Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole stopped at Fort Gibson on the last leg of the journey to their new lands.  This was the terminal end of the Cherokee's "Trail of Tears."

The fort was in use by the army from 1824 until 1890.

This is part of the officer's area.

The stockade was two stories tall in some areas.

After 1890, the fort was abandoned and literally disappeared.  In the 1930's, the WPA reconstructed the present fort.  Just a couple of years ago, archeologists did some digs in the area, and found that the reconstructed fort is almost exactly where the original Fort Gibson was located.  This fort was a very important part of the history of our nation and of Oklahoma.

I had hoped to also visit what I thought was a nearby Civil War battlefield, but after talking to the gentleman in the visitor's center, I found out that it was at least 30 miles away.  I needed to get back to the rig and take Emma out, so I'll have to do that on a future trip to the area.  It was a Civil War battle that blacks, whites, and Indians took part in.  Too bad.

As I was returning to my car, I noticed hundreds of birds circling overhead.

After circling for several minutes, they all landed alongside a large puddle of water.  But they weren't there for a drink.  These cliff swallows were gathering small balls of mud in their beaks.  They use it to construct an enclosed jug shaped mud nest on rocks or buildings.  They never closed their wings.  They'd all land with their wings held high, grab some mud...

and all take flight together.  Cliff swallows nest in colonies, so this puddle with the wet mud next to it was a great find for them.

Tomorrow, I'll be continuing my journey north and plan to end up just south of Kansas City.  It has been a very enjoyable stay for me at Blue Bill Point COE campground.  I wish I could stay longer.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

Revamping the itinerary, again

My plans for today were to visit the historic Fort Gibson, and the Honey Springs Battlefield.  I'm sure glad I checked the Internet this morning to get directions.  Guess what?  Neither place is open on Mondays.  Rats!  Oh well, guess I'll have to stay at this beautiful campground another day.  :)  I can manage that.  It will put me a day behind in my travels to Minnesota though.  Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but my daughter and one granddaughter are flying up from Chicago on Saturday to visit Andy, his family, and me on Saturday, and I'm supposed to pick them up at the Rochester airport.  I don't know what time they're scheduled to arrive, but I may not be pulling in to Andy's house until Saturday.  I'm sure we'll work something out. Perhaps Andy or their father could pick them up.

One of the strange things about this campground is that I get very good air card reception, but little to no cell phone reception.  Both devices are from Sprint, so I don't quite understand that.  I wonder if it has something to do with my new laptop?  Since I got it, my air card seems to work much better, but I have a new phone as well.  Hmmm, any ideas out there?  Tonight's post won't be as late as they have been lately because I'm actually typing away outside and am not tied to the Wilson antenna and amplifier.  The new laptop has a four hour battery life, so this is an experiment for me.  Since I like to stay outside with Emma until dusk, wouldn't it be great if I could just post outside?  We'll see what happens.

Only a couple of pictures tonight, as I spent most of the day taking Emma on walks and reading a new book.  It's a rough life out here!  :-)

Many little birds were fluttering about over my head this afternoon.  Among them was a male yellow warbler.  They glean insects off of the leaves and bark of the trees.  Several blue-gray gnatcatchers were about also, but getting a picture of them is like getting a picture of the wind.  They don't hold still for a moment.

This is not a spectacular photo, but it sure depicts how these little warblers bend and twist and keep their wings going in order to pluck a little lunch out of the trees.  :)

I hope the fine weather continues tomorrow so I can show you some of the historic sites in this area.  Oh, a flock of cedar waxwings just flew into the tree above my head.  Spring migration is certainly exciting for a bird watcher.  I'm really liking this posting outside!

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

Blue Bill Point

It was an interesting journey today to get to the Army Corps of Engineers' Blue Bill Point campground on Fort Gibson Lake in  Northeast Oklahoma.  I traveled on US 69 the whole way.  It's a four lane highway that goes through quite a few towns along the way which is certainly more interesting than driving an Interstate.  But, I have one thing to say about Oklahoma roads....when they're good, they're good, but when they're bad, they're horrible!  After today's drive, I fully expected to find just about every screw loose in the rig.  Dang!  About 30% of the time I was tightly gripping the steering wheel trying to avoid all those lumps and bumps. 

Anyway, I eventually bounced my way into the Blue Bill Point campground, and was thrilled with what I found.  Compared to last night, this is heaven.

It's a big long site with electric and water.  You can see how far away the nearest campers are.  I could also stay here three nights for less than what I paid for last night.  :)

This is the view of the lake that I have from the picnic table.  I really do like the Army Corps of Engineer parks.

Although it was overcast for my drive (which I don't dislike), the afternoon was just gorgeous.  I especially enjoyed the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon, and most people left.  I've gotten used to the quiet and peacefulness of  National Wildlife Refuges. 

Lest you think that I have forgotten the birds, I've included a few pics that I took while I sat out on my patio this afternoon.  :)

A pair of scissor-tailed flycatchers made good use of the electrical wires to scan the skies for flying insects.

I had a good time watching two male orchard orioles battling for the attention of one female in the big trees on my site. 

There were also numerous Baltimore orioles singing their hearts out all over the campground.  There were also warblers and vireos flitting about, but they were too fast for me to catch them with the camera.

and of course, there was a pair of Canada geese that made their way through the grounds after most of the campers had left.  I'll be staying here two nights.  I may snoop around  Wagoner, OK, tomorrow to see if there's anything interesting.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, by default

Well, the grass isn't as high as an elephants eye, yet, but tonight I find myself in the state of Oklahoma.  That wasn't what the plan was, but that's how it turned out.  :)  Just before I pulled out of Balcones this morning, Adrian asked me to come and see something in the trees about 100 yards behind out sites.  He showed me several dead trees with a whole bunch of birds in them.  It turned out that there were about 50  Mississippi Kites roosting together.  What a thrill it was to see them!  Within moments, they all took off together and headed on with their journey.  Just like me, they were migrating to old stomping grounds.  :)

This morning was the first test of my new trucker's GPS.  I plugged in the address for the campground that I planned to stop at outside of Denison, TX.  I had the GPS set up to recognize the height and width and weight of my rig, so as soon as I pulled out onto FM 1431 a warning panel came on that indicated that this was not a recommended truck route, and there was not enough information available to recommend it.  Of course, I already knew what the twisty, hilly road was like since that's how I got here in the first place.  It's slow going with the rig, and there are no areas for the many cars behind me to pass until I got to Lago Vista.  It is what it is.  There is no other way to get out of there.

As I approached Cedar Park, the GPS routed me off of 1431 and onto US 183.  When I left here last year, I just stayed on 1431 until I reached I-35N.  The GPS indicated that there were truck restrictions if I didn't turn.  I took the new route, and it had much less dense traffic, and I did indeed end up on I-35N.  So far, so good.  When I went through Dallas, I was very thankful to have it telling me about upcoming turns and lane changes.  Without a second person in the rig watching signs, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to change lanes quickly enough to make some of the maneuvers that were required.  I'm sure glad I did this on a weekend rather than a week day. 

After about 270 miles, I arrived at the entrance to the Granddaddy RV park.  Since there were no signs along the road, I'm sure I would never have found this place without the GPS.  The directions in the Passport America book were not very good.  Anyway, after driving around the campground, I decided I would not stay there tonight.  The place just wasn't to my liking.  I've stayed in some campgrounds that were not the best, but this place had very small back in sites (with no place to put the toad), and was really run down.  The electrical posts were all rusty and none of them stood up straight.  They all looked like someone had backed into them.  There has been only one other time in the last four years when I have left without staying in a campground that I've chosen ahead of time.  That other time was in a state park outside of Yakima, WA.

So, I got back on US 75 and headed into Oklahoma.  I wasn't sure where I'd end up for the night.  That was a little outside of my comfort range.  ;(  I was tired of driving, so that's how I ended up at the RV Station campground.  I'm sure this place used to be a KOA.  You can tell by the shape of the office building.  It's just about as pricey as a KOA as well.  :(  At least the hookups are vertical!  Nice, big, old trees shade the sites, and it will do for a one night stop over.  290 miles is more than I like to do in a day, but I need to get used to it since I'll be traveling with my sister before too long.  :)

I really appreciate the comments that you readers leave on the blog, and I'd like to respond to a couple of them this evening:

Katie:  Emma is safely ensconced in her crate in front of the kitchen sink when we travel.  I now brace the crate between the sofa and the dinette bench.  The first time she traveled with me, I didn't brace it, and on a quick turn the crate turned upside down and went down the exit stairs with her in it!  There wasn't anywhere for me to pull off the road for about thirty miles to check on her.  :(  When I could safely stop, I did, and she was no worse for wear.  She doesn't sleep in the crate, but remains casually aware during the entire drive. (perhaps preparing for another flight through the air??)

Sam & Donna:  Read the above to Riggs from Emma, and he may not be so jealous.  :)

Kathy:  You may envy me having the painted buntings, but I envy you for seeing whoopers!  Thanks for following my blog.  :)

Tomorrow, I plan to move on to a Corps of Engineers Campground on a lake and stay for two nights.  That's the plan, but.....

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy