DAY 16 – MARCH 18 – HISTORIC ROUTE 66:
On our way out of Texas we stopped and took pictures at three interesting sites along Route 66.
The largest cross in the Western hemisphere.
Towns along Route 66 often build oddities hoping travelers would stop and investigate and stay long enough to spend a few dollars. Outside Britten, this leaning water tower brought in more laughs than money.
In Donley county we came across this rest stop that was like a museum. We’ve never seen a rest stop as fancy as this place. There was a fancy playground for kids and covered areas with picnic tables. Inside this huge building were the cleanest bathrooms you ever saw and a lobby full of Route 66 artifacts and a storm shelter with an area that explained tornados and how they are created.
After 6 hours and 275 miles we arrived at Twin Fountains RV Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City facts: Born on April 22, 1889. Became the state capital in 1910. Oil became a major economic force in 1928. Aviation contributed to the economic force at the start of WWII and remains a major industry today. Elevation is at 1,201 feet with a population of 506,132.
TWIN FOUNTAINS RV PARK Twin Fountains RV Park is a very nice park. It is a sister’ park to the last place we stayed at. It has around 150 sites with paved interior roads and paved sites. The sites are long and large with lots of space around them. Very private! The layout is hilly so the sites are layered. There are lots of trees and grass between all the sites. However, right now the trees are bare and the grass looks dead. In the summer this place is probably very lush.
The clubhouse is very nice, large and feels like a resort. But the laundry room and comfort station are small and old. The bathroom has only 2 shower stalls with one being for the handicaped and not too functional for an ‘able’ person. The map shows two other buildings (on both end of the park) that is a Meeting room, laundry, and bathroom; but there are no buildings??
There is a small lake at the entrance with two wimpy fountains, thus the name. There is a playground, a pavilion, but no pool. This park is located just outside of town in a woodsy area. The property is a triangle between two highways and a country road. There is a lot of traffic noise but not enough to wear ear plugs. We had full hook ups, but no cable TV. We could get about 10 channels with the antenna. There is free WiFi, with easy logon and a strong signal, but we kept getting disconnected which made it a slow process staying online.
We had a very nice site #W-13. We were on the end of a row so we had a lot of space and privacy around us. The trailer across from us was flying the Confederate flag, so we knew we were really in the South. The one bad thing about this place was that at night the grounds were lit up like a stadium. Despite the insulated curtains we still had light coming into the trailer. We rated this place a 3.5 (1-Yuck, 2-Poor, 3-Fair, 4-Good, 5-Excellent).
After we settled into our site we met a guy walking his dog.....and his cat. He said the cat always stays near him and always follows him. Such a sight!
DAY 17 – MARCH 19 – Oklahoma City Zoo:
This morning before we went to the Zoo, Dave went to Camping World and bought a new TV antenna because the one we had just stopped working. When Dave went to throw out the old one in the dumpster, he found some awning rods that someone threw out. They were damaged, but the parts that we needed to repair our awning were intact. Remember the wind had torn out our awning rods in Holbrook, AZ, and damaged the ends where it connected to the trailer. This is the kind of luck we sometimes have when traveling. The Trailer Gods are with us this day! Actually, we have found some interesting stuff in RV park dumpsters. People buy new stuff and don’t want to travel with the old stuff so they toss them and they are perfectly good. We have found little tables, chairs, even kitchen supplies. So be sure to check out RV park dumpsters. Sometimes you will find some treasures.
We visited Oklahoma City Zoo on our first cross country trip in 2005. Five years later there were enough changes that we didn’t recognize a lot of the areas. So it was like visiting it for the first time. Oklahoma City Zoo is home to more than 2,300 animals, including 50 endangered or threatened species. The 8 acre Oklahoma Trail exhibits more than 800 animals. This is an excellent zoo and a ‘must see’ if you like zoos and you visit Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful spring day with temps in the low 70’s.
When we returned to the RV park, we were told that a snow storm was going to come in during the night with about 4” of snow. We looked at them like they were nuts. It was such a beautiful warm, spring day. We did see some black clouds forming when we came out of the zoo. So maybe we will get a little rain, but snow. How little did we know.
DAY 18 – MARCH 20 – Snowed In:
Well it did start snowing around midnight. And it kept snowing for the next 24 hours. We woke up to a blizzard with lots of wind and everything was totally covered with a white blanket. Unbelievable! Having never lived in the snow, this was a whole new experience for us. We wanted adventure on this trip and we got it. We were actually enjoying it until we realized how cold it was and damn it was cold. But it was actually only in the low 30’s and that is not cold for someone who is used to living in snow country. But it was cold for us. And not being experienced in driving in it, we stayed put. We kept ourselves busy with TV and our laptops. Our little table top heaters kept us warm and cozy. Fortunately we didn’t lose power or our internet connection. The following pictures show our RV site before, during and after the ‘Spring Snow Storm’.
It had stopped snowing by the next morning, but it was still cloudy and everything was icy. We were scheduled to depart for Arkansas this morning, but decided to stay an extra day. The storm had moved on, but we were unsure of the cold and icy conditions, so we changed our reservations. By the afternoon, the sun was out and a lot of the snow had melted. We drove downtown to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum; the site of the Murrah Federal Building bombing on April 19, 1995. We visited this Memorial in 2005. But 5 years later there were changes and new exhibits. Like the first visit, it was a solemn experience and brought back fresh memories of that event and the horrible event of 9/11.
Our next destination is Arkansas.
Arkansas facts: Arkansas entered the Union as a slave holding state in 1836. Sam Walton opens the first Wal-Mart store in 1962. Arkansas covers 51,945 square miles and has a population of 2,673,400.
State Motto: The Volunteer State - At the first part of the Civil War, the state asked for volunteers to fight the war. They were asking for 2 or 3 thousand, and over 100,000 showed up to sign up. After that Arkansas was knows as the “Volunteer State”.
State Flower: Apple Blossom
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Animal: White-tailed Deer
State Tree: Pine Tree
State Gem: Diamond
State Song: Arkansas, The Arkansas Traveler, You Run Deep in Me, and Oh, Arkansas
No comments:
Post a Comment