Joplin, Mo - Ardmore, Ok

Wanda was up at 4:00 o'clock again this morning to face 8 degree weather.



Before we went to bed last night, Smokey, the cat, and J.W. heard water running just outside the bedroom (where the water pump is). He went out to check, and sure enough, water was running everywhere. So he turned the water off . When he got up this morning he found all the water was frozen. What a delight! We got to practice our real camping skills. (NOTE: there is a small pressure tank in line with the water that apparently froze and split, so no onboard water utill repairs have been made) BUMMER!



At 10:50 we left the campsite but not before learning that the leveling jacks were frozen to the ground, which delayed our departure. Oh! The joys of winter weather. After attempting, for 45 minutes. to get them raised, J.W. took a hammer out and broke the ice where the jacks were frozen to the ground. Needless to say we did not use jack pads when we set up last night. Whew, we got out of there just in time. Checkout was 11:00 a.m.



J.W. stopped to get cappucino and picked up a map showing the route from Joplin to Oklahoma City. At Big Cabin we had to pay a toll of $9.75. On down the road a ways he wanted to know where the next Toll Plaza was. When I looked at the map it didn't show any Toll Plazas. In fact, it didn't show Joplin, Tulsa or Oklahoma City. I told him that apparently the towns dropped off the map once you through them, because Joplin was no longer on the map. Low and behold, there were two sides to that map -- a Missouri side and an Oklahoma side. I was in Missouri, J.W. was in Oklahoma.


I love this restaurant (near Big Cabin, OK.) The turnpike goes right under the restaurant. Only one of its kind that I know of. ----->




We stopped in Tulsa for gas. On the first leg of the trip we got a very low mpg rate (3.3, remember, we're pulling the PT Cruiser). This was due to the hills and strong winds. In Tulsa we saw a big steer sculpture near the Cowboy Hall of Fame and three sculptured cows at the Hiland Plant. Sad to say we did not get pictures. In fact, we missed several "Kodak Moments".



At 3:55 we turned off Highway I44 onto I35. We missed the Rush Hour traffic through Oklahoma City. Way to go J.W.!

As the sun quickly began setting in the west, we arrived at Hidden Lake R.V Park, Ardmore, OK at 5:40 p.m. What a lovely park. The sites are positioned all around the lake. What a beautiful sight. Not only is it a wonderful park, but the cost was quite pleasing. We thought it was going to cost about $48 but with our Good Sam discount we stayed for $24.

That's it for this post. Check back for more updates tomorrow as we continue our journey to Sunny Southern California.