I'm posting several days at a time today as we are in Flagstaff, AZ at a KOA which has the first decent wifi we've had so far. Tomorrow we head to Zion NP in Utah and I already know we will not have wifi there. So postings from Saturday on will be done in bulk, like Days 1-6 have been. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
It seems 8-ish is a good “go time” for us, today at 8:07 AM. We continued our trek across Oklahoma on I-40, noting that most of it is one or another Indian Nation’s hiway. And of course each tribe has its big casino along the interstate with large billboards announcing the exit to take to gamble away/win your fortune. I noted the roads, all be it they are concrete, seemed better in the Seminole Nation’s stretch. I know the Seminoles are supposed to be Floridians, but the sign said “Seminole”. We wondered if any of their winnings go towards road maintenance. We still are not favorably impressed with concrete vs asphalt. We saw our first working oil wells and sagebrush for this trip and more dead armadillos.
David and I had a disagreement about the campground I had planned for tonight because it is 25 miles off I-40, which would have meant a 50-mile round trip. I had researched campground availability quite thoroughly for this area (about 35 miles east of Amarillo) based upon how far we wanted to drive today. It did not help in my argument that our GPS and Google Maps routed us on US 60 and Texas 152, off I-40, for about 90 miles to get here. I had faith in the Texas roads and fortunately I was validated. Traffic on Texas 152, then US 60, was much lighter than I-40 with good asphalt roadbed with wide shoulders and rumple-stripped center lines. In Oklahoma the speed was 65, but the moment we entered Texas, the limit went to 75!! We did NOT travel that speed, but it was a very enjoyable route. There are dozens and dozens of wind farms along the horizon. I’d say hillside, but this terrain is actually fairly flat, (it's called the high plains) so the turbines are likely mounted on what we Tennesseans would call hills. Around Wheeler, TX we saw several feed lots which had to have had thousands of cattle. At times as we drove, the wind was from the wrong direction and rather odoriferous.
We arrived at the Pampa City Recreation Park about 3:30. This Park has some young trees but not much shade. There’s a strong wind out of the SSE and temps are in the low 80’s, really quite comfortable with the lower humidity. We have the windows and doors open and fans running, but so far no A/C. The bath house is decent, so it gets a 4* rating from us. ‘Twould get 5 if it had shade. And it’s only $15/night!!
David and I had a disagreement about the campground I had planned for tonight because it is 25 miles off I-40, which would have meant a 50-mile round trip. I had researched campground availability quite thoroughly for this area (about 35 miles east of Amarillo) based upon how far we wanted to drive today. It did not help in my argument that our GPS and Google Maps routed us on US 60 and Texas 152, off I-40, for about 90 miles to get here. I had faith in the Texas roads and fortunately I was validated. Traffic on Texas 152, then US 60, was much lighter than I-40 with good asphalt roadbed with wide shoulders and rumple-stripped center lines. In Oklahoma the speed was 65, but the moment we entered Texas, the limit went to 75!! We did NOT travel that speed, but it was a very enjoyable route. There are dozens and dozens of wind farms along the horizon. I’d say hillside, but this terrain is actually fairly flat, (it's called the high plains) so the turbines are likely mounted on what we Tennesseans would call hills. Around Wheeler, TX we saw several feed lots which had to have had thousands of cattle. At times as we drove, the wind was from the wrong direction and rather odoriferous.
We arrived at the Pampa City Recreation Park about 3:30. This Park has some young trees but not much shade. There’s a strong wind out of the SSE and temps are in the low 80’s, really quite comfortable with the lower humidity. We have the windows and doors open and fans running, but so far no A/C. The bath house is decent, so it gets a 4* rating from us. ‘Twould get 5 if it had shade. And it’s only $15/night!!
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