Friends and Family
It was October 19, 2017, and we had spent the last five days near my childhood home with our base camp by Neosho, MO. Fresh off our stay in the Independence, MO area, for two months for medical appointments, this was a transition to prepare us for our next journey. We were killing time, actually, waiting for a family reunion, in Parsons, KS, which included playing pitch and eating a lot, and laughing a lot.
Our friends and family were excited for us and having this opportunity to travel in our moveable home. We were to head west using the famous Route 66, US Highway 66.
Moving to Oswego, KS
That day, we moved our fifth-wheel home to the Hillside RV Park, in Oswego, KS. Todd Riles is taking over the park from his uncle, who has an RV and has gone on the road!
The sites are flat and there are only three RVs in this Park of twenty-four sites. The weather was sunny and mild. Todd had a portable swing moved to our site. That was nice!
The grocery store was only a block away. We bought supplies for the dessert that Connie wanted to make for the party. Then, we drove around to find a place to eat dinner. Only fast food places. We decided to go to Parsons, just a few miles away. We found a family restaurant and Connie got the steak she wanted and I got Mahi-Mahi!
We bought a pizza stone while we were out. We had not used our oven and YouTube videos said to use the stone to spread the heat. It worked nicely. Calls to my brother and Cousin Dean let us know to meet for lunch at noon, tomorrow, and start the games!
Every Big Event Needs A Big Event!
The plan was to meet and party at my Cousin Dean’s house on Saturday, October 21, rest on Sunday, since we party past midnight, and, then, leave camp on Monday morning, October 23, 2017.
The Party
The card games, eating, and visiting lasted till nearly 1 a.m. Lots to eat! I knew there would be, so I wore my “fat man” shorts with suspenders!
Connie’s dessert and cream cheese with Jalapeno jelly and the peanut and candy corn mix went over well. Peggy had veggie trays, fruit, dips, and brownies! For lunch, we had cold cut sandwiches. For supper, we had chili and hot dogs and potato soup. For after dinner dessert, we had peach cobbler! (See, I told you, lots to eat!)
My brother, Bill, got there shortly after we did. Lots of stories, lots of laughs! My deceased Cousin Joy’s husband, Roy, made it over for about two hours. He is in a lot of pain. We appreciated the effort and the visit.
Connie picked up a new nickname, “Coattail Connie”, for being a supportive Pitch partner and being consistently near the top in scoring!
Sunday—Rest and Reflections
We made our short drive back to the RV about 1 a.m. However, we were up and back to Dean and Peggy’s by 10 a.m. for breakfast! She had a breakfast casserole, fruit, and bacon. There was no excuse to go away hungry!
We visited a while, until Bill had to leave to pick up Kathy, who was flying back from a trip to Seatle, WA.
Before we went back to the RV, we headed north, to Elsmore, KS, to view the headstone Bill bought to put on our mom’s grave. Mom, Reba, is buried next to her twin sister, Reta. Dad’s ashes were buried with Mom. He had died in 1984. Aunt Reta was Dean’s mom. Uncle Obed had died in 1973. The twins each had two boys and a girl. The girls both died in 2011 about a month apart, Lois and Joy. Dean’s brother John died almost six months after Mom died in 2014. Aunt Reta had died in 2000. Death is a part of living. So, we reflected on the lives of family that was not able to join us with this reunion.
By mid-afternoon, we were back to the RV to rest and make preparations to move out the next morning. Dinner at Pizza Hut and dessert at Sonic and we were ready for a good night’s sleep!
Travel “Almost to Texas” Day!
In our haste to get going west, we did not plan our initial route very well. I had meant to take us by The Pop Shop, near Bartlesville, OK, on US 75, which is a fun stop with hundreds of brands and types of pop. Instead, I followed the GPS, which took us the shortest way to US 59 south to Vinita, OK, ignoring Roy’s warning about road construction. By the time we got to Vinita, side trips were out of the question in order to reach our destination, which was the Double D RV Park, at Texola, OK, at mile marker number one, near the Texas border.
Our route was I-40, which included the Turnpike, and followed the approximate path of Route 66. We went through Tulsa, the north side of Oklahoma City, and Yukon (which is the home of Garth Brooks!).
Meals On The Way
We stopped at a highway rest area, which had a McDonald’s, for lunch. Later, we stopped for fuel and pie at the Cherokee Trading Post, at Exit 108, on I-40. We got to the RV Park before sundown, after moving our home 360 miles!
A Mix of Old and New
There were only 16 sites, two of which were occupied, and ours was marked “Reserved”. We needed ice and change to pay for our stay in cash, as there was no one in the office. This must be an absentee owner or maybe a rancher. I went into nearby Texola. It was actually on the old Route 66 and had been a busy little town. I saw evidence of novelty shops, places to eat, and gas stations. However, I-40 had moved traffic away and the town had died. So, I had to go west about 14 miles, to Shamrock, TX, which was right on I-40 and US 83.
More Fun On Our Rest Day
That was Monday. Tuesday was a scheduled rest day. We would have to back track to Elk City, OK. Our RV park was on the edge of nowhere. No wifi, no TV, no good phone reception. We would have to go to a library for wifi. The other reason was that there was a Route 66 Museum in Elk City.
I will have more about that in my next post. Until then, safe travels!