Showing posts with label Ft. El Reno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ft. El Reno. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2016

CENTRAL CAMPGROUND, LAKE ARCADIA, EDMOND OK-CAMP 8

Once again as we left Boiling Springs State Park we discovered the fuse had blown again on that right turn signal. We had checked it in route from Amarillo to Woodward and it was fine, but apparently some time after we checked it the fuse had blown again. 

We were beginning to suspect a short that only happened when we hit rough road and of course there are no rough roads in Texas or Oklahoma right? Yeah right.

The day we left Woodward we met the nice couple next door who were also loading up to leave.  As fate would have it we ran across them twice more that day as we traveled toward Edmond and them toward Arkansas.

Although they left before us and we stopped to take a few photos on our way out we ended up at the same Wendy’s for lunch.  They finished their lunch before we did, but we noticed them fighting with the awning on their cab over pickup camper.  They did manage to get it fixed, or so all of us thought, and depart the restaurant before we did.
 
Gary and I got a little behind them because once again the fuse was blown and we were determined to have right signal lights on the camper.  After we got the lights running AGAIN. We headed on toward Edmond.

Not far down the road we saw the same older couple on the side of the road under an underpass, once again fighting with their awning. Gary stopped immediately to see if we could help.

Luckily we could, we had the step stool needed and Gary had the strength to help the gentleman to get the awning secured into its spot with a tie down cord until they could get home and fix it properly. 

When we stopped the woman told us that once again our signal was not working.  Great!  This was getting annoying, not only was it not safe, we were blowing through packages of fuses like crazy and it was starting to get a little expensive.

Our thought at this point was we had an appointment with the dealership in just a few days so we would park it until the day it was to go in and then let them figure it out.  We were out of things to check and were beginning to wonder if it had anything to do with the scuff they put on the right side when it was in their shop the previous month.
Once we got to Edmond we did just that.  We parked it!

The campground at Edmond is another Oklahoma State Park with easy access.  While our site was less than level it did have full hook ups and a wee bit of shade, so we were happy. 

Our rate was $23 per night less $2 for our senior discount and we had full hook-ups including sewer.  Of course there was no wi-fi, but our Sprint phones did work well there.

The bathrooms were clean, albeit a little older they were decently maintained. 

Since we have simply been not even trying to get tv I don’t know what the reception was like, but several campers had their antennas up.  Since Edmond is not that far from Oklahoma City chances are good the reception was good.

The scenery around the lake was pretty and we found out very well prepared for storm warnings.

The next morning we were blasted out of bed by weather warnings coming over the loud speaker system that we had not previously even noticed.  We took all the normal precautions and hunkered down waiting for the “high winds” to hit.  They never materialized thank goodness.  For us it was “just a drill” but others in the state did not fair as well. 

We even had a few more trees come down back at the farm, this we didn’t know until we went there the next week.

We asj die and were denied permission to aerial film the campground.  Sorry no video of this comfy campground from the air.

Edmond was a fun visit for us, while we have several friends in the area we only got to visit briefly with one of them.  A delightful young lady we had known since she was just a young thing and now she has nearly grown kids of her own.

The birds in the area were your normal fare, but still enjoyable.  This was the first campsite we had come across that had birds known as Kites in the area.  This handsome one was perched on a tree top next to our camper one afternoon.

We also came across something we had never seen before at a campground.

We never saw anyone there, but the day we left the motor home was gone and instead there was a uhaul trailer behind the limo and part of the boating equipment was off the trailers.  Strange to say the least, but it did make for interesting conversation.

While staying at the campground we ventured around the area to go to another fort, this time it was Fort El Reno, travel a little on Route 66, and to eat at Pops, which I reviewed a few years back.  It has not changed and the burger was good.

During our stay there my son called to give me news I had thought I’d never hear.  My beloved cat that had disappeared when we were home in June after being terrified by various things had shown up.  I couldn’t believe it.  My baby was home.  Ollie wouldn’t let Sean near him, and he’d lost a lot of weight and fur, but he was home and eating everything Sean set out for him.  I couldn’t wait to get home and coax him back into the house.

Since we weren’t that far from Camping World in OKC we went over there to get a new USA map decal.  We had purchased the suction cup version one when we first got the trailer a year ago thinking we wouldn’t want to put the decal type of the camper.

Here’s a quick review of the suction cup one.  It stinks!  It won’t stay on a window, it can’t be seen through the tinted windows (after all the whole idea is to use it as a conversation starter right?), it wrinkles horribly in the sun and was a total waste of the $30 I had spent on it last year.  

Being the tight wad I am I won’t throw it out, which is what it deserves, I’ll put it in the front of my travel scrapbook instead so it won’t be a total loss.  It only had 19 states on it so far anyway.

Camping world had the regular decal one on sale for far less than we could get it anywhere else and there were a few other things Gary wanted to check out, but didn’t buy because he knew his prices on the items and knew he could get it cheaper elsewhere.

We did get a bit of a surprise while there.  Just as we were getting in line to pay for the decal the clerk rushed from behind the counter and after a man running out the door.  What drew my attention to it was the clerk going “Sir, Sir, Sir stop please” then the man peeling out in his car.

I turned to Gary and said “I wonder what is going on.”

He said “the guy just shoplifted a compressor, I saw him take it.”

So we got to hang around a bit so Gary could give the police an eye witness report.
Between that, the clerk getting the tag number, the fact the clerk had just inventoried that compressor and had the serial number of it, and Camping World’s security system chances are good the guy was going to be caught and prosecuted. We haven’t heard any more on it and we left for home not long after that.

The day we left there we went straight back to our home base dropping our fifth wheel at the dealership for the repairs they had promised to do for free and to have them see if they could figure out the mysterious on again off again tail light. 

At least we got there safely and of course the light was working when we hit the lot. Isn’t that always the way with auto/rv repairs?  But when my husband went to move the trailer to where they wanted him to drop it the thing blew the fuse thankfully.
Now it was back to the sticks and bricks until we got the trailer back.

Jan who wishes she didn’t have to come back to the farm so often in OK


FORT EL RENO, OKLAHOMA

There was a huge difference in touring Ft. El Reno over touring Ft. Supply.  First of all my friend, Wendy Ogden is the curator of the Calvary section so it was great fun to see how cute little Wendy had grown up to be such a beautiful woman and to see her children.

Maybe I am partial, but I love the way Wendy has handled putting the building together. Each painting is not only labeled with who painted it and the name of the painting, but exactly what had lead up to the event that the painting was about and also, sometimes, what happened after that.  

I really appreciate little extras like that. While my husband and I are both history buffs there is no way we can know all things about all segments of US history.  So having that bit of historical information added next to each painting made studying the works of art even more understandable and enjoyable.

If it had to do with the Calvary there was something to represent it in the museum. From horses in  saddles to furnished living quarters, to uniforms, to weapons. From the beginning through the air raid sirens of our modern wars.



Oh and let’s not forget the camel saddles, yes camels.  Many people are not aware that our calvary used camels here in the US at one time.  We knew about it, because we had actually already been to the grave site of the main camel herder for the cavalry near Quartzite, AZ and learned about his history by reading up on him after viewing his unusual grave monument.


The entire building was comfortable even in the extreme heat outdoors.
After visiting the Calvary Museum we wandered the grounds snapping photos of

The adjuncts office


Calvary barracks


Commisary

Guard house


And, at Wendy’s suggestion we took a drive up to the cemetery on the hill.  In the cemetery there were definite sections, including the section that had seemed to be for the Germans only.

As with any adventure in this part of the US I came across a family name. Charles Howard, he was a civilian employee of the quarter master, but I am not certain this is our Charles Howard, but the date is close to the time he disappeared from the public records I have researched so far. 

On our trip back to Edmond we traveled old Route 66, many of the once famous sites are now gone, of course but the drive in theater is still there.  It’s out of business, but it is an eye catcher for certain.

As time goes on we hope to travel more and more of Route 66 in and away from OK