Through Texas, stop in Oklahoma City, OK

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We passed through Amarillo. It's sunny and 83 degrees.

We passed a huge white cross; I got a picture of it. We stopped for lunch on the east side of Amarillo at a rest stop. The rest stop was beautiful. I guess it's true that Texas does everything bigger. There were covered shelter areas with picnic tables, grills shaped like the state of Texas with a food prep area. I went in the RV and made a sandwich for us: turkey breast, swiss, fresh tomatoes, mustard, chipotle mayo on dilly rye. We also had chips and watermelon. We sat at one of those fine tables in the shade and enjoyed our lunch.

We called all three sons to say hello and say we missed them. We crossed the Oklahoma border. My first time here! Appropriatedly a song by Carrie Underwood began playing on the Ipod: "Blown Away". It's about a tornado coming through Oklahoma and hopefully blowing the sinful house away:

Dry lightning cracks across the skies
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes
Her daddy was a mean old mister
Mama was an angel in the ground
The weather man called for a twister
She prayed blow it down

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past





As we were driving along, Ken got a return call from a campground in Bryson City, NC. He had called them this morning when we were looking for something for this weekend with the girls. The caller was ‘Miss Betty’ from the Timberland Campground. She unfortunately doesn’t have a spot for us. Miss Betty said if she makes it to October she will be 90. She wanted to talk. She told Ken the whole history of the campground. Her and her husband bought it 46 years ago with no experience. Her husband is no longer alive. She made Ken promise that we will stop by to say hello when we are in Bryson City.

As we approached Oklahoma City I started looking for a campground. I found a State Park: Red Rock Canyon. I called them and they have available spots for RVs. She said to just go in, find your spot and she will come by this evening to collect. She had a real dialect, very southern sounding. The Park is in the little town of Hinton, Oklahoma. It is a very small town. Just like something in a movie. We drove past the High School, which is the biggest thing here. Ken was looking for a store so he could pick of some beer. Nothing is open because it is Sunday; but actually I did not see a grocery. We found the park and pulled in. As we passed the entrance, we noticed the road was a very steep hill. Behind us was a couple on a motorcycle. Just as we were wondering if it was going to be too steep for us, they pulled up to our window. They introduced themselves: Buck and Barbara. Buck asked us if we had ever been down there. We of course said no and he said suggested, ‘why don’t you hop on and take a drive down there to see if you want to risk it. So, Barbara got in the truck with me and Ken hopped on the back of the Super Glide Harley. Barbara was kind of big and had trouble squeezing behind the steering wheel. As I watched her struggle, I told her that the lever on the side will move the seat back and then I felt embarrassed that I had said it. She said, that’s OK and therefore looked extremely uncomfortable the 10 or so minutes we talked. She was just as nice as you can imagine. I definitely can tell I am not in California anymore. We talked the whole time. She and Buck have 3 kids, 3 grandsons, 1 new granddaughter coming in December. They all live in the same neighborhood along with Bucks’ parents, sister and her family. Barbara doesn’t work, she watches the grandsons. They bought the motorcycle because all 3 kids had one and they would ride together. As the kids got older and started having babies, they all sold them. So now Buck and Barbara ride alone. It’s been an extra hot summer (it’s 93) in Hinton; last winter was mild so they are expecting a really cold winter. I let her do most of the talking. Now that I think about it, I was asking all the questions. By that time, we saw the guys coming back up the hill. We said goodbye to Buck and Barbara. Ken said there was no way he was going to take the RV down there. Ken said as they drove down the road, it was very steep and winding with sections where the red mud has washed over the road. Buck said they were expecting storms with a lot of rain. Ken thought not only would it be a challenge because of the steepness, but we could get stuck there if the rain caused more mud on the road. So I found another campground: Rockwell RV Park in Oklahoma City, OK. I called them to make sure they could accommodate us and they can. She said if she wasn’t there, pick a spot and we can pay in the morning.

We arrived. It's not a real nice place but it will do for the night. Ken goes and puts in 2 loads of laundry while I make dinner: left over pork tenderloin and green beans. It was very good. It is hot and humid so we are staying in. I made Ken suffer through a couple of episodes of "Bridezilla".

We want to get an early start tomorrow, so we are going to bed early.

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Photos

Rest stop in Texas
Texas state shaped grill