Movin' On to Ardmore, OK

The Titanic rests at a scenic turnout on I-35 in the Arbuckle Mountains near Ardmore, OK
Thursday, November 19, we packed up without incidence after a hearty breakfast and a pre-move stretch. As I backed the truck into the 5th wheel hitch, Sandy came by to say goodbye and give me the brochure for Twin Fountains RV Park in Oklahoma City that they like so much. I gave her a postcard and told her to travel safely. We may see them in their hometown of Marietta, OK, sometime.

We left at 10:28 a.m. The sun was out so it warmed up quickly from the low of 37 degrees this morning. Bob unhooked the water as they predicted 32. We left both heaters on medium last night since the guy in the office told Bob we were under the minimum of 70 kw and didn't owe them anything for the month's electric.

The day gets windier as we head south. But our new rig is not nearly so hard to control in the wind. The way the front cap is designed makes it very aerodynamic. Parts of 75 south and most of I-40 east on this route are very rough and need resurfacing. We remembered from last year how the truck and trailer were porpoising. The road surface is still bad most of the way but this rig takes the dips and valleys much better.

We tried to stop for gas as we turned south off of I-40 onto 377. We did a drive-by of all three gas stations on the south side of the highway but could not get to the diesel pump at any of them. So we continued south and pulled in a new casino parking lot near Seminole. But their gas station is not open for business yet. We took a restroom break in our own facilities and stretched our legs for a bit.

At Ada, OK, we got on the turnpike for 17 miles. Just before we entered the turnpike there was an unmanned gas station, credit cards only. So we pulled in and filled up. We started a trend as several people pulled in after us. No one was there when we pulled up and it almost looked like it was abandoned. Diesel was on $2.58/gal, about 13 cents cheaper than we've been seeing it.

At last we made it east to I-35 and headed south. We stopped for another break at a scenic turnout where I snapped this picture of The Titanic in the Arbuckle Mountains. Our exit is just 20 miles south of here. We quickly find Elephant Rock Campground in Lake Murray State Park where we stayed last year. In fact we are one campsite over from our spot last year. It's weird to see a whole new truck and RV in our spot this year!

On the way in the back road through the trees I hear a noise and look up. A branch is scraping along the side of the RV and looks like it may have gotten our roof too. What a bummer. We'll have to check it out when we get set up. We traveled 196 miles in two hours and are set up by 3:15. We were just heading out to lunch when the camp hosts come by to collect $23.00/day for 5 days (last year they gave us the senior discount without even asking but this year they asked if we were 62.) Bob said he didn't know if he should be glad or not. They are actually the hosts over at the next campground, Cedar Hill?, but are filling in for the folks who are usually here. They have been full-time RVers since Dec. 2004, just a few months after we started.

We go to Interurban Grill, one of our favorite places here. I have the Grilled Tuna Salad with lemon caper vinaigrette. Bob has the Barking Fish Sandwich. We'll be back. We get a paper at the convenience store at the entrance to the park after failing to get one in town.

Back home Bob gets on the roof and says he can see where a branch scraped through the dirt on the top along the edge but there is not damage thankfully. Bryan, the 'CAT man' (he works for CAT and drives a truck with their logo) next door in our old spot says hi and asks if the tree got us. Apparently there is a lot of that here. Some guy in the campground by the lake hit a huge log and didn't even know it. Scraped the entire side of his RV. The camp host was running after him to catch him. Wow. We were lucky.

We took a walk down to the lake. It is way up this year. And we're happy to see the laundry is operational now. We leave the bikes in the living room for the evening. Bob has quite a few channels on the TVs but we might miss Flash Forward tonight.

It's 6:49 p.m. and 64 degrees with 62% humidity after a high of 75 and a low of 37!