New Mexico to Oklahoma

Eastern New Mexico

16 October 2011 - Enjoyed our stay at Kirkland's Family Camp. We especially liked the off-leash area for the dogs to run free.  Our Pugs delighted in the play time last night and again this morning. The area was free of the nasty sticker know as Goat Heads.  We have dealt with this awful type of sticker in Eastern Oregon and all other desert states we have passed through.

We have discovered a couple rest areas on I-40 that have fenced areas for the pets. The first place is at Sky City, New Mexico and the second area is in Texas somewhere between Amarillo Texas and the Oklahoma state line. Our dogs have appreciated the off-leash play time.

Eastern New Mexico and the Texas panhandle are both pretty flat regions, not much in the way of mountains or rolling hills and of course everything  is pretty brown looking this time of year.  The sky's have been a wonderful blue since leaving Oregon/Washington.

I can see for miles and miles in Texas!

We spent the night at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park.  Just our luck it was Pot Luck night and guests were not expected to bring anything.  The menu was soup and chili - good chili too!  Desserts included a couple of chocolate cakes and I can't recall any others.  Since chocolate is my favorite there was no need for me to look any further. During dinner we met a couple that had been RVing for 16 years.  They live in Iowa and winter in Apache Jct. Arizona.  That is where my dad has been wintering for the past three plus decades.  Later in the evening we meet another couple from Pensacola Florida.  We had a delightful conversation as they too had served in and retired from the military.  We are collecting wonderful tidbits of information about this RV lifestyle.

 A local restaurant in Amarillo, The Big Texan Steak Ranch, offers free limo service to and from the restaurant from Motels and RV Parks along I-40.  Their big advertisement is a "Free 72 ounce steak meal." The meal is only free if you can finish it within 1 hour.  Their current champion finished the meal in 8 minutes and 52 seconds.  My stomach hurts just thinking about such a large meal - I would definitely have to pay for my meal and I would ask for a to-go box.

In the middle of no where - that's Texas for you.

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Near Oklahoma City

17 October 2011 - Up early again so we can get some miles out of the way.  We drove through the remainder of Texas and about three quarters of the way through Oklahoma.  Texas remained to be a fairly boring drive on I-40 and I was glad to move on to greener areas.  Although Texas and Oklahoma share a common border along I-40, the difference between the two states is like night and day.  Texas is flat and the towns are few and far between and vegetation is sparse.  Oklahoma, on the other hand, is green with lots of rolling hills and trees.  The soil in Oklahoma is a deep red and the rivers and lakes match the color of the soil.

 I did a bit of reminiscing as we drove through Oklahoma City and past Tinker Air Force Base.  It has been nearly three decades since I once lived in the area and I noticed a significant amount of growth.  Proof that nothing remains the same.  We decided to stay the night at Lake Eufaula State Park.  I am surprised to find full hookups (only 30 amp service) and drive through spaces large enough to accommodate our 40 foot coach plus tow behind vehicle.

This oil well is still pumping - many no longer operate

Today's cheapest price for diesel - $3.59
Regular gasoline - $3.15
Due to the relative flat countryside we achieved fuel economy of 9+ miles to the gallon.  Our rig is a diesel pusher.

The weather today has been clear, dry and very hot - 94 degrees.  Had to resurrect the summer attire.

I have included a link for the few pictures we took on this leg of our journey - just not an area that begs to be photographed (in my opinion).  https://picasaweb.google.com/Sandie.Hayes/NewMexicoToOklahoma