Two Days of Traveling and A Weather Stop

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

As I write this we are sitting in a heavy rain storm and we can here thunder in the distance at a rest area near Lebanon, MO.  Watching the weather (radar) ahead it mentions sever storms and it includes damaging winds, hail, and severe thunderstorms. The word tornado was also on the list. So sitting still we felt was our best bet. 

We arrived here last evening in the wind. We had left the Walmart in Bristow, MO at 9:00am in 16mph winds. As we continued on our trek the winds reached as high as 30mph. Luckily, and I cannot believe I am saying this, the wind was only around 23mph. This is the type of weather in the past we would have not traveled in but this year because it is the weather no matter were we are we have just kept going. Which makes for long days for Tom.  

Conway Eastbound on I-44

Monday, April 11, 2022

A last picture of the little flowers around us at our site at the Sayre City RV Park and we are off at around 11 o'clock to continue our trek east.

The first thing we came to was construction and amazingly the
lanes were wide. I had to take a picture because usually it feels
like there is only "inches" on either side of us not "feet"...lol

I only got one cow in the picture but look at their nice pond.

The thing I am really starting to notice as we ride along
is how green everything is.

I just really liked the look this tree 
sitting there in the middle of the green.

I have not idea what the name of this river is but it 
looked lovely with its sand bars.

I did not catch a picture
but the cattle had a tunnel under I-40 to cross through.

Lots of semis going both east and west.

A couple of pictures as we went through Oklahoma City.

We are now on the I-44 tollway.
Noticing more of the Redbuds and buds on the trees.
This all says spring to us and it is beautiful to see.

I could see that tower way off in the distance and thought
I wonder if that is Bristow, our stop for tonight and it was.

Not long after the above picture, about 20 miles, and we were parked at the Walmart in Bristow, OK. We picked up a few groceries and spent a quiet evening in their parking lot.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

We pulled out of the parking lot this morning at 9 o'clock under cloudy skies. Paid the toll to get back on I-44 and we were on our way. 

(Side note: We originally paid $12.25, then received a $3.50 refund when we pulled off at Bristow which was nice. Leaving we had to pay $4.00 to get back on and then eventually paid our last toll of $12.25 a little ways down the road. We really do not complain that much about paying tolls...😊but seriously you would think if the refund for coming off was $3.50 that would be what the toll to get back on. Just saying...lol)

The small hill we were parked next to for the night 
were filled with these splashes of sunshine and wishes.

It looked quite hazy ahead this morning.

Another tree I liked the look of.

Still hazy in the distance but our flag was fluttering 
brightly in the wind.

We are going around Tulsa and there is construction.

Another river I missed the name of but thought was lovely.

Still somewhere near Tulsa.

This is described on line as:  25 feet tall, gargantuan replica of the purple nostrum sold by the company  whose headquarters is behind it. 

The name of the company is, TRC Nutritional Laboratories, Inc.

This was the only description I could find as to what the product is: The principals of TRC have been in the nutritional business in Tulsa, Oklahoma since 1978. The company operates in a 76,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility and is a GMP certified manufacturer. TRC's primary product is Liquid Life, a superb nutritional product containing 165 ingredients, of which 144 are very healthful nutrients.

On one of the overpasses.

Missing the desert but loving all the green.

There were a lot of sheep in this field.

Now this is 

 a nice location for the cattle and humans.

Downstream Casino

This building caught my eye as we were going by and I was curious as to what it was. I snapped a picture of the exit it was at and did some research. When I found the site I looked at the pictures of this casino and I would say they accomplished what they set out to do. 

Downstream Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma. The Quapaw Leaderships decision to build a truly upscale state of the art Casino Resort in 2008 has proven to be the gem of the four states to this date. “Everything was done with the purpose of making a visit to Downstream a superb experience.” Said Tribal Chairman, John Berrey. The look and feel of the casino is influenced by the rich history of the Quapaw culture.

We have crossed into Missouri and stopped at the Welcome center.
These beautiful dandelions were all around the parking area. 

Another project for Tom when we are back in the UP.  Tom could see our awning was loose on the top so we stopped so he could put a wire around so it does not open all the way. We are hoping nothing else comes loose this trip. Just part of the fun of living in a home on wheels going down a road that is very seldom smooth. Not to mention the wind hitting the passenger side has not helped.

The flags at the Welcome Center nicely blowing in the wind.

The traffic and semis keep coming. 

The trees are budding.

Lots of Redbuds along the highway today. I did see a couple 
of Dogwoods but never got a picture of one.

This semi keeps passing us. We are guessing there is more than
one...lol I also spotted two more semis like the one we saw 
parked at the Gas Station in Tularosa on April 6th,decorated with
the word peace and both the US and Canadian Flags on the trailer. 

Only caught this much of it as another semi was passing it.
The first one I saw I did not focus fast enough.

We are going by Springfield, MO and talking about the year
the refrigerator died just before here going west. 
Fond memories of my short breakdown in the Walmart parking lot.

We had checked the night before and they had said we could not overnight in there parking lot but could park for an hour to shop, how generous. We had ended up stopping at a Love's Truck Stop for the night before we got there. As luck would have that Walmart was at the next exit when we started smelling the ammonia. Tom went in to purchase a cooler and explain why we were in the parking lot. He explained we could be there awhile as we figured out what to do but would not spend the night. They kindly said we could park there for an hour. We saved what we could and then walked across to an IHOP across the way and had breakfast.
Patsy,  this is were we started cooking and eating our meat as it unthawed. Believe me you got this.

The road ahead.

Some of today's clouds.

The wind was still blowing when we went to bed last night but when we got up around 6 this morning it had died down but the rain had started. The rain stopped for awhile but it has now been raining again for a few hours. Going to recheck the weather ahead and make some decisions. We still know we love living this our Retirement Dream.

National Autism Awareness Month 2022 in the United States
is April 1st through April 30th

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.