Day 104 Lawton, OK--Mt Park, OK

Day 104 Lawton, OK--Mt Park, OK 11.12.16
Today explored the Wichita Mountains. Drove to the top of Mount Scott for a 360 degree view.  Then took a side trip to Meers.  Kevin remembers eating at Meers' restaurant as a kid so he wanted us to experience it too. The building probably hasn't changed much since Kevin was last there-complete with severely slanted floors.  We ordered a peach cobbler a la mode that turned out to be HUGE with easily 2 pints of homemade ice cream.  We managed to eat most of it!  Roadside America said to check out the Holy City of the Wichitas so we did a quick drive through. I guess it is suppose to resemble biblical Israel and is the venue for the Easter passion play.   Next stop, Jed Johnson lake and tower.  Interesting tidbits about this lake-as a teenager, Kevin painted this scene and Bob, Kevin's dad, was bit by a copperhead snake when he was just a lad.  Watched a short film at the Wichita Mts visitor center about the bison, elk and longhorn that run free in the area.  Over hunting of these animals severely reduced their numbers in the past but the park has helped to bring them back.  Last stop was Mt Park Cemetery where Kevin's grandma is buried.  Didn't really know where the grave was located in the cemetery so we spent the next hour looking and we found it along with other family members' grave sites.  Camping tonight at Great Plains State Park on the Tom Steed Reservoir. We got a great spot with a view of the lake. Actually we are in a handicap spot that the park ranger told us to use so who are we to argue.   And another beautiful sunset over the water.

Day 103 Sulpher OK-Lawton, OK 11.11.16

Day 103 Sulpher OK-Lawton, OK 11.11.16
Campground at Chickasaw Recreation area was great except for one thing, the showers are solar heated.  Jo and I found out that meant we were taking a cold shower.  Kevin opted to skip the shower.  Clean but a little bit cold we headed out to see the rest of the Chickasaw national recreation area. We visited the Travertine Nature Center with its live screech owl, turtles, bees and a rattlesnake skin as tall as Kevin. Then, we took a short hike to see Little Niagara Falls (no resemblance at all to the real falls), Antelope Springs, and Buffalo Springs (looked like a giant soaking tub).  The water in the springs and creek was crystal clear.  Did someone say chocolate?  Why yes just down the road in Davis is Bedre' chocolates. We sampled and of course made a purchase.  We discovered Duncan, OK was the crapemyrtle capital or at least that is what the giant mural said. (?) Just around the corner, we found another mural with Hoyt Axton, folk singer-songwriter/actor and Elvis. Hoyt was born in Duncan. One of his hit songs was sung by Three Dog Night-Well I've never been to Spain. And why was Elvis on the mural, well Hoyt's mother co wrote the song Heartbreak Hotel which as we all know was a big hit for Elvis.  Google other notable people of Duncan, there are quite a few.  Duncan's Memorial Park had several interesting monuments to the Chisholm Trail, Indian Base Line, Halliburton and more.  Our last stop for the day was Lawton where Kevin's dad (Bob) grew up.  Lawton is the fifth-largest city in the state and was named for Major General Henry W Lawton, a quartermaster at Fort Sill, who had taken part in the pursuit and capture of Geronimo.  It is a big old city!  We drove around looking for Bob's childhood home and finally found it - a little white house on the corner.  Campgrounds were all full tonight so guess what that means...

Day 102 Fort Towson, OK-Sulpher, OK

Day 102 Fort Towson, OK-Sulpher, OK 11.10.16
On highway US 70 between Hugo and Durant, drove through the towns of "B"s - Boswell, Bennington, Bokchito and Blue. Wonder if they planned it that way?  The Mobile Service Station in Boswell was filmed for scenes in the Route 66 cult classic Two-Lane Blacktop (1971).  It starred singer-songwriter James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, and Dennis Wilson.
Thanks Wikipedia.  In the town of Blue, named after the nearby Blue River, many of the buildings were painted blue (surprise). The terrain changed from rolling hills and thick forest of trees to pastures and lots of cattle - Longhorns, Herefords, brahmas.  Met Durant local Don Krumme, Durant's biggest booster. He gave us all the low down on the sites to see in and around Durant. Crossed over Lake Texoma, one of the largest reservoirs in the US and the 12th largest lake built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. From there, we headed down back roads to Lake Murray Nature Center and the Tucker Tower where Julie and Bonnie, the park rangers, greeted us. The lake, tower, and surrounding roads were built by the CCC and WPA.  We climbed the 80 steps of the Tucker Tower for a bird's eye view of Lake Murray.  Sadly, our viewing was cut short by the giant wasps flying around the tower.  Back at the nature center, we collected our sticker for climbing the tower (LOL), checked out the 250lb meteorite on display, and caressed the California King Snake.  By now it was 2:30pm and we were really hungry so we stopped at the 1st place in Ardmore we saw -Sirloin Stockade. It had a giant bull in front and Kevin said "I remember eating here as a kid."  Well, we can now say "been there, done that and never again."  Camping at the Lake of the Arbuckles-Buckhorn on the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.  Enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

Day 101 Talimena, Ok-Fort Towson, OK

Day 101 Talimena, Ok-Fort Towson, OK 11.09.16
Today, we explored the towns of Hugo and Fort Towson.  We visited the Frisco Depot museum and learned the history of Hugo.  Hugo is known as the Circus City as three traveling circuses over winter here.  We learned the story of the escaping elephants and how they were recaptured.  Many of the circus performers are buried in the cemetery here.  Kevin's mom was born in Fort Towson and she grew up in Hugo.  We found an empty lot at the place that used to be her childhood home.  A neighbor happen to be out doing yard work so we asked him what happened to the house. He said it had been torn down as it was falling apart.  Lynell Webster, the neighbor, had lived in Hugo when he was a kid but then his family moved to Ohio. He worked in California as a cement mason and moved back to Hugo in 2001. As we talked with Lynell, we learned he laid the cement in many of the prisons in California including the cement in Charles Manson's cell.  He is a proud fisherman and gave us pictures of the fish he had caught. Lynell is retired, 80 years old and he loves telling stories. He was very entertaining.  We visited MT Olivet cemetery where Kevin's grandparents are buried. Their markers had moss and dirt on them so we gave it a little cleaning. They happen to be buried right next to the Showman's rest where many circus performers are laid to rest. The circus performers have many unusual monuments on their graves. Also buried in this cemetery are world champion cowboys and bull riders such as Lane Frost and Freckles Brown.  We even found Ed Ansley, buster brown's grave. We enjoyed walking around Mt Olivet.  We are camped at Raymond Gary State Park which is located on a lake that as a kid Kevin fished with his grandfather.

Day 100 Kissee Mills, MO-Talimena, OK

Day 100 Kissee Mills, MO-Talimena, OK 11.08.16
Wow, it is hard to believe that we have been on this trip for 100 days. Woke up to a beautiful campsite next to Beaver Creek.  When we got there yesterday, it was dusk so we couldn't see much.  Traveled through three states today - Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The landscape changed from oak trees and rolling hills to open grassy fields with lots of cows to trees again as we drove.  Along the way, we passed several polling places and the parking lots were full so people were out voting. We voted by mail a week ago.  Tonight we stopped at Talimena State Park where we almost have the place to ourselves. And they have nice hot showers so we are all clean again!

Day 99 Joplin,MO-Kissee Mills Public Use Area, MO

Day 99 Joplin,MO-Kissee Mills Public Use Area, MO
11.07.16
Spent nite at Joplin Walmart on Rangeline Rd which was essentially across the street from Discount Tire where we had an 8am appointment to get the rear leaking tire fixed.  It seem to be losing air faster now and when we woke up this morning it was flat. Kevin was able to inflate the tire with the 12 volt compressor which came with the Sprinter.  Finally one of those accessories that they throw in when you buy a car that was useful!  Discount tire discovered the rim was cracked near the valve stem.  So they swapped out the spare tire rim. And since it had been 10,000 miles since the tires had been rotated we decided to have that done too. Note we did have the tires rotated just before we left so that means that since July 21, we have driven 10,000 miles! WOW!  FYI I drove 6,500 of those miles while Kevin was riding his bike.  He says he rode 4,500 miles so that means that Jo and I managed to drive 2,000 more miles while they were riding. I guess we did go all over the place.  Discount Tires didn't charge us. The guy said you guys have bought a lot of tires from us over the years.  Yes, we have for all three of our cars.  So we will start looking for a replacement rim but at least we can get back on the road.  Before hitting the road a guy wanted to check out our sprinter. We enjoyed talking with Jed about the Sprinter and as it turns out he was a whitewater kayaker.  First attraction for the day is tri state marker.  Yes, you can be in three states at once - Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.   Back on the road to Longrun, MO which actually takes us east and south. Now you can understand how we rack up so many miles. On the way, we stopped at Mansfield, MO which is the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House of the Prairie) and where Carl Mays lived as a child.  And who is Carl Mays? Well he is best remembered for throwing the pitch that led to the death of Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman in August of 1920. But he also had a career record of 207-126 and a 2.92 ERA over fifteen seasons.  The things you learn when traveling. Continuing on through rolling hills to Longrun. What's in Longrun?  Kevin's grandmother Gladys was born there.  There is not much left in Longrun, but we did find some houses, a couple of churches and a graveyard. So of course, we set out searching the graveyard for Kevin's relatives and we found the graves of his great great grandparents -Elliot & Francis Stockton.  Pretty cool!  It was getting late so we starting looking for a place to camp.  We found one after about 30 miles of the windiest, up & down road we have ever been on. It was like riding a roller coaster. Jo was a little green after the ride-sweat beads on her forehead and dry mouth but she managed to keep it all in.  We have the Kissee Mills Public use area all to ourselves located along some creek with a view of the bridge.

Days 97-98 Lebanon, MO-Carthage, MO-Joplin, MO 11.05.16-11.06.16

Days 97-98 Lebanon, MO-Carthage, MO-Joplin, MO
11.05.16-11.06.16
Enjoyed a quiet campsite at Bennett Springs State Park. Park was next to a clear cold creek with lots of fish.  Maybe that was because of the hatchery that was just upstream.  We hit more highlights of Route 66 before meeting up with friends in Carthage.  They live in a beautiful Victorian house. They gave us a tour of Carthage and Red Oaks ll. We spent the remainder of the evening reminiscing and catching up. Next morning, we noticed the tire that was fixed two days ago was low.  Denny had a compressor so we filled it up again.  Got to Joplin and toured the sites there. Tire still seems to be losing air so we decided to hang out in Joplin until the Discount tire opens on Monday (they were closed on Sunday).  We've got an appointment at 8am so hopefully they can fix it and we don't have to buy a new tire.