Category Archives: Oklahoma

Westward Bound – Moochdocking at Casa de Baumgartner (Broken Arrow, OK)

Okay… it’s “catch-up time” again on the blog posts;  I’ve let the blog get waaay behind because of computer issues coupled with photo download problems.  I’m still working through some of the issues and might end up having to get a new laptop soon.  My circa. 6 yr. old MacBook Pro laptop has crashed several times, and once even required an extensive and time-consuming rebuild of our iPhoto Library (aka Pictures Folder).  In the meantime, as a temporary stop-gap measure, I’ve upgraded my iCloud space limitation so I can let the iPhone automatically upload pictures to iCloud since they won’t transfer directly to my laptop anymore.  However, this means every time I upload or download pics for the blog, I’m using mega-data on our already limited data plans transferring pics from my iPhone to the iCloud and then back down again to the laptop for resizing and posting.  We have (I think) ~20GB AT&T service with rollover data on our iPhones and 20GB of data on our Verizon JetPack hotspot.  And oh, by-the-way… don’t go over on the Verizon data because they’ll hit you with a $15 fee for every GB you go over!*!  And don’t get me started on how lame Verizon’s usage data is… for instance, our jetpack data usage menu will show 18GB of data used out of our 20 GB at the end of the month (our data renews on the 2nd of each month) and naturally, I think I have 2 GB left so I’ll download a few more pics from iCloud and BAM! the next thing ya know, you’re 3GB over and looking at an extra $45 – $60 in fees!!  Aaargh*!%#

So bear with me as I try to get the blog posts caught up to the present…

We left Memphis on the 23rd of September (hope you liked the Graceland Tour from my previous post), we took many more photos but only a select few made it into the last blog post, for the reasons explained earlier.

img_0450
Crossing the Mississippi River.

img_0451

img_0454

We drove 295 miles from the Agricenter RV Park in Memphis and ended up at the Fort Smith – Alma RV Park in Arkansas for $35 per night.  We found this park by using our AllStays iPhone app (←link).

img_0455
The Urban Escape Vehicle at Fort Smith – Alma RV Park, AK.

 

img_0458
Our evening view at Fort Smith – Alma RV Park, AK.  Nice pond in the background with ducks that follow you around.
img_0459
View of our closest neighbors at Fort Smith – Alma RV Park, AK.

The next day, we headed on to Broken Arrow, OK to visit with good friends Jerry & Marilyn Baumgartner.  Total travel distance for the day was 120 miles.

img_0461

The Muskogee Turnpike toll caught us by surprise between I-40 and Broken Arrow.  Fortunately, it was only $2.50.  Here we are taking a break at a rest area (below) just south of Broken Arrow.

img_0463

With a little help from Marilyn over the phone with directions on the last mile or so, we pulled into the Baumgartner ranch and hooked up to power from the garage.  And you can’t beat the moochdocking rate 🙂

img_0473
Moochdocking at the Baumgartner homestead.
img_0475
Stilla and Marilyn catching up with things on the patio.

Jerry & Marilyn showed us around the ranch…

img_0465

where we made friends with some of the livestock…

img_0480

img_0479

and even fed the fish in the well stocked pond.

img_0481

Jerry & Marilyn showed us around town and we checked out a couple of local hangouts.  Good times!

img_0482
(L to R) Jerry, Marilyn, and Stilla.

The next day we took a drive around the area to check out some nice rivers and lakes.  We scoped out a few nice campgrounds for future reference.  Thanks for the personalized tour Jerry & Marilyn!

img_0505

Here we are enjoying lunch at a cool hangout near one of the local lakes.

img_0506
(L to R) David, Jerry, Stilla, and Marilyn.

On our last night before heading on west, we drove into Tulsa and spent a fun evening at the Hard Rock Casino.

img_0512
(L to R) David, Stilla, Marily, and Jerry at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, OK.

Luckily we didn’t leave too much money behind at the casino.  It’s all about supporting the local economy, right? 😉

img_0513
Stilla and Marilyn playing the slots at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, OK.

We said our ‘see-ya-laters’ to Jerry & Marilyn on Monday the 26th of September and headed back towards I-40 to continue our westward trek.  It was really great getting to stop by the Baumgartner Ranch… just wish we could have stayed longer but we had a deadline to be at the Alpine SoCal Rally in Pahrump by the 29th.  Thanks for the hospitality Jerry & Marilyn! See you down the road again soon 🙂

After another long day traveling west on I-40 and after getting past Oklahoma City, we stopped to take a break at the Route 66 Museum (←link) located in Clinton, OK.

img_0525

img_0527

img_0529

The entrance fee was $10 and in my opinion, well worth the money.  I always enjoy anything Route 66 and car related.  Follow along on the tour with the following pictures:

img_0530

img_0532

img_0533

img_0534

img_0535

We finally made Amarillo after a 375 mile travel day.  We usually like to average around 150 miles per day when we’re traveling, but unfortunately (for us), we hung around the daughters house in Bowling Green KY a little too long and got a late start.  We have to push it hard in order to meet our rally commitment in Pahrump NV by the 29th.

img_0539

We used our iPhone apps and the Elks.org website to locate an Elks Lodge in Amarillo.  We paid $15 and pulled around back to hook up to 50 amp power.  After a couple adult beverages inside the lodge, we settled in for some presidential debates on TV 🙁

img_0541

img_0542
The Urban Escape Vehicle at the Amarillo Elks Lodge.

Check back soon for my next post that will (hopefully) bring the blog a little closer to being up to date 🙂