I have mentioned doing a "three state day" before... that's what today was. Prior to that, getting out of Texas, it is a "three day state"... it takes a while to get out of Texas when you are starting at the southern tip.
It wasn't far to the state border this morning...
What look like "tar snakes" are lumpy.. and by "lumpy," I mean: it damn near rattles everything out of the drawers! When the road surface changes from blacktop to concrete, it is even worse. Apparently the road engineers in this state require every single section of concrete to be at a different height. And just when you think you can't take it anymore, there will be a section of smooth road... enough to convince you that all is good... this usually last 90 to 120 seconds, then it is back to the pounding.
The southern part of the state is pretty enough, with hills and woods...
... and then the shit roads remind you just how much you detest driving through this state. It is frustrating enough that I became this guy...
Yeah, the guy who drives in the left lane. Not doing the speed limit. Fortunately, traffic was light. And, for the record, I was not the only one doing this. Apparently, many of us think Oklahoma roads suck. Too bad - instead of spending time in the state, all we wanted was: out.
There are a series of lakes in east central Oklahoma...
It is surprising how brown the water is. No doubt this will leave a nasty stain on the hull of your boat if you leave it in the water for more than a two-hour excursion. Might be tannic acid run-off, or maybe just the effect of the dark red soil here. We didn't see many boats out, but I have no doubt that is because of the strong southerly wind, not the brown water. The wind was gusting above 30 mph; from the south, and we were going generally north. Actually helpful for us.
One nice thing in Oklahoma: reasonable gas prices...
With our Good Sam rewards card, we get another 5¢ per gallon off - making this the least expensive gas we've found this year.
Joan is a great navigator - she is always checking road conditions ahead, searching out the best gas prices, checking routing to find us the most efficient way to go. She was looking for road alternatives that might be a better ride. "Let's try this one..."
Narrow, with no shoulders... but mostly smooth. The pounding was wearing me out. This is better!
After what seemed like never-ending crap roads, we rolled into Kansas. Kansas is known for not hiring road engineers from Oklahoma, a policy I whole-heartedly support. The roads were decent, but we found something else...
Apparently, no one goes outside on Saturdays in Kansas. We drove through three towns and saw almost no one out and about. Eerie feeling.
An hour or so before our plan to stop for the day, we found ourselves being attacked! Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a bird coming right at us... he was moving north on that strong south wind, and was not able to turn in time. Splat! The bird was no match for the Aspect, and he exploded on impact, spreading blood splats across our windshield...
No damage to us, but I will be scrubbing blood and bird meat off our coach when I get a chance.
Our routing was taking us near Chanute, Kansas (where we bought our NuWa Hitchhiker 5th wheel) - we have good memories of Chanute, and decided to stop there for the night. They have a city park that has RV sites - no charge for the first 48 hours. Water and electricity at each site, and a dump site you can use on your way out. We like this park.
I was hoping we wouldn't run into a full park on a Saturday in June. Last time we stopped here, we were lucky to get a site, and there were baseball games (and lots of cheering) going on nearby. This time...
We had our pick of sites. The park was less than 1/3 occupied. We picked a site that is adjacent to the golf course, with a nice pastoral view. Looking around the park...
No baseball games. In fact, no people to be seen. Looking to the other side of the RV part of the park...
Yep, more empty than not. NuWa is no longer making 5th wheels, and has morphed into an RV sales lot. They still do service, but with them not making new 5th wheels, I am sure there is less demand. The free RV sites have been a nice perk for NuWa customers. It is good that the city still continues this.
We settled in and made a short trip into town with the CR-V. We need to find a car wash (after the rain of the past two days, the CR-V is filthy), hit up a grocery store, and...
The best Mexican food north of Texas. Authentic (not that Tex-Mex spicy stuff), tasty, and good service. It was mid-afternoon, and only a couple cars in the parking lot. We were relieved to find it open... but more of that: where is everyone?
Should be a quiet night.
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