Month: May 2024

RV Repair and Unexpected Surprises on Waurika Lake

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

It was Mother’s Day, moving day, and a rainy, stormy day. On our way to Chisholm Trail Ridge campground on Waurika Lake, we stopped for our weekly grocery shopping. It wasn’t raining when we went in, and luckily held off until we had unloaded our groceries into the camper. As soon as the grocery bags were inside, the skies opened. Aaron and I put the groceries away, and then Aaron returned the cart. I had Murphy on his leash as we went to get into the truck. Aaron didn’t unlock the truck, and wasn’t right behind me, so I used my key to unlock and get the dog settled in, and got myself out of the rain.

He could not find his keys. We looked all over the camper, the truck, and the ground outside. As I was going back to the trailer for a second round, an employee of the grocery store came out and asked if we had lost our keys. Someone had found them on the grounds and turned them into the store. Whew! They had fallen out of his pocket when he was returning the buggy.

The rain was really coming down when we arrived at the campground. The lady who checked us in was super friendly, and she was excited to tell us that our site had just gotten water added to it. We were happy to hear that! We backed into our site, and the skies decided to pour as much rain as possible. No big deal; we weren’t unhooking the camper anyway since we had to take it to Dallas for repairs. We decided that the electric and water hookups could wait until the rain subsided. We turned on the TV, and Aaron fell asleep. It finally stopped raining, so I decided to go ahead and connect the electric and water. Well, the water installation must have been REALLY new. I stepped up to the faucet and sunk mid-calf into red mud/clay. I pulled my leg out, but my shoe stayed buried. I started digging to get my shoe out, and probably had to dig a good foot and a half to fish out my shoe. Yup, this day just kept getting better and better. Barefoot and cautious, I got the water and electric connected. Then I got out of my red mud soaked clothes and rinsed everything out. We had planned on grilling ribeye steaks and potatoes to celebrate Mother’s Day, but at that point, neither of us wanted to deal with it all.

Monday, the sun came out, and we enjoyed our great lake view site.

Tuesday rolled around, and it was time to drive to Dallas-Ft. Worth to get our AC replaced. We also needed to do laundry, so we figured that while the camper was getting fixed, we would do that. The laundromat we found was the cleanest and best decorated we had been to yet. They had sports murals on the walls and free dryers. We also went ahead and got the oil changed since we had the time. Things were looking up!

The Airstream dealership was great! Within three hours, they had a new AC unit on the roof, tested it, and did a few other courtesy checks that we did not request but were greatly appreciated by both of us. They could not figure out why the soft start on the AC caught fire. They were very kind and accommodating, and we were grateful to have air conditioning again!

The rest of the week was quiet and uneventful. We eventually enjoyed the Mother’s Day ribeyes and baked potatoes. We also enjoyed an almost empty campground, the lake, and the pretty wildflowers.

It was time for us to move on; we had another reservation for a two-week stay at another campground on the same lake, just on the other side at Kiowa Park. Memorial Day weekend was coming up, and we knew the quiet, uncrowded campground life we had was coming to an end—at least for a short while.

Longmire Lake, Iowa, and Camper on Fire

~ Wandering Cindi ~ 2 Comments

The city of Pauls Valley in Oklahoma runs a campground at Longmire Lake. It is the cheapest full hookup site we have been to yet. For $20 a night we had electric, water and sewer. Wow! We have paid $20 a night for no hookups what so ever. The fee also included fishing and boating permits. What a deal! We decided two weeks here was a good idea. The actual campsite we had wasn’t the prettiest we have ever stayed at, but it also wasn’t the worst. The lake itself was really pretty. Murphy and I spent a lot of time at the lake during the first week of our stay. There were catfish galore, and bass jumping out of the water every morning. Too bad Aaron and I do not have fishing pole with us. We decided it would get very expensive to get a fishing license for each of us in every state we visit.

The campground was never full, for most of the week it was just us and the camp manager. That was really nice. Murphy got wet and dirty every day and loved it.

The second week, Aaron and Murphy brought me to the airport so that I could spend a week in Iowa with my mom, brother, and his family, visit my dad, and take him to his doctor’s appointment. My flight was so delayed in Chicago, that my brother decided driving the 2 hours from where the flight was going and then the 3 hour drive back to Iowa was going to be faster and easier than waiting for hours upon end for my flight to finally take off. So he and I had some bonus brother-sister time in the car.

Things went well at my dad’s appointment. Mom and I went on a few adventures. The highlight of this trip (besides seeing my family) was our trip to Pella, Iowa. Pella is a Dutch settlement and has a tulip festival every year. We went on the tail end of the tulip bloom and festival, so we missed some of the flowers, but there were still plenty of beauties for us to enjoy. We also took a nice break in a local soda shop/restaurant and a a real cherry Coke. They got my name spelled completely wrong, but the drink was delicious!

We also went to a Mennonite owned nursery to buy some flowers for Mom’s beautiful gardens. It was the week before Mother’s Day, and although I wasn’t going to be there on Mother’s Day, we decided to celebrate a little early together. I honestly do not remember the last time she and I were able to celebrate Mother’s Day together. I took her out for a wonderful steak dinner with a beautiful view of the Mississippi River and decedent chocolate cake for desert. It was very, very special for us to celebrate being mothers together. We also really enjoyed watching a mam bird take care of her hatchlings in a nest that she built on the side of Mom’s house.

While I was in Iowa having a great time, Aaron was not having such a great time. Week two at Longmire Lake was not as fun as week one. There is a component on our AC unit called a soft start. It helps keep the energy consumption down when the AC initially kicks on. Well, Aaron and Murphy were sitting on the couch when Aaron heard a loud pop, and the camper started to fill with smoke. The fire alarm was screeching, the dog was freaked out. Aaron kept his head, hit the battery disconnect button, grabbed the fire extinguisher, ran outside and unplugged the trailer. The soft start had caught on fire. The fire also melted the AC cover enough to misshape it. I am so grateful that he kept a cool head and was able to put the fire out before ut damaged anything besides the AC unit.

Airstream was great about resolving the issue. They rush shipped a new unit to the closest Airstream dealership to us, which happened to be the one in Dallas-Fort Worth. They set up an appointment for us to get it replaced, and it was all covered under warranty. Poor Aaron and Murphy did have to go without AC for almost a week. I got back two days before the repair, so I didn’t have to deal with it as long as they did. Luckily, in a way, it was rainy and overcast, so the heat was not too bad. I got home that Saturday, and Sunday was Mother’s Day and moving day. Luckily, our next spot was about an hour and a half from the Airstream dealership, so we wouldn’t have to drive far to get a new AC put on.

On Mother’s Day, we arrived at Chisholm Trail Ridge in a downpour of rain. It was OK, we weren’t going to unhook the trailer anyway since we ere going to have to hook it again in a day to head to Dallas for the repair. Aaron and I had very different experiences this time around. I am grateful for mine, and grateful for Aaron being safe, and our home on wheels not burning to the ground.

Lake Thunderbird Brought the Thunder

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Traveling in spring is beautiful. There are wildflowers on the side of the road, everything is fresh, and the earth is vibrant. Also, there are rains, thunderstorms, and tornados. These types of weather are very prominent, especially, in northern Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Of course, our next home for the week was just outside of Oklahoma City at Lake Thunderbird State Park. Also, my Uncle lives about two hours north of the campground, so we got some bonus Uncle Steve time!

The park had nice hiking trails, cool trees, and wildlife. Murphy had a great time running through the woods exploring all the new scents.

As beautiful as everything was, we found out that it was tick season! Aaron and I followed Murphy off the trail to see what he had found; it was a turtle! Little did we know that ticks, big and small, were as excited to climb on us as we were to see the turtle. Between Aaron, myself, and the dog, we picked over 15 ticks off of us. Luckily, they had not latched on to either of us, and we found out that the dog’s flea, tick, and heartworm medicine really worked at killing those dang things.

We had originally planned on meeting up with Uncle Steve on the upcoming Saturday, but he decided to make the drive down to see us during the week as well. It was great to hear about his life on the ranch, my cousins’ families, and just spending time together. The sun was shining, the temp was perfect, and we had a great visit. We also made plans to se Uncle Steve and my cousin Seth and his family for Saturday.

We enjoyed the weather the rest of the week and were looking forward to Saturday. We did not wander down the trails any more, but took Murphy on lots of walks on the paved roads and enjoyed the views of the lake.

As Saturday rolled around, the weather decided to turn ominous. The forecast was for severe weather with a high chance of tornadic activity. Seth and his wife, April, decided it was better to stay home with the kids in case the weather turned bad earlier than expected. It is always better to be cautious and safe and reckless and sorry. Uncle Steve and Aaron and I decided to go ahead with our plans, with an eye on the weather. We met up at a fantastic BBQ place and had a wonderful lunch. We hadn’t planned on bringing Murphy, but we also did not want to leave him in his kennel with the weather threat. Luckily, it was just windy while we REALLY enjoyed the BBQ and the company. I tried to take a cool picture of Uncle Steve’s ribs and the antique truck, but the wind had other ideas, and blew the paper towels right in the way.

After another heartwarming and belly-filling visit with my uncle, it was time for all of us to head home and get ready for the incoming storms.

Aaron and I had a plan of where to run for shelter, we watched the news all night and monitored the radar on our phones. We were ready to run if need be. Two tornado sirens sounded for us that night, and one tornado was less than 12 miles away. There were towns destroyed, lives lost, and so much damage due to this one system. Our hearts ache for the people and businesses of Oklahoma. Everyone we have met in OK is kind and giving people. They will have a long and difficult recovery. Please remember, the news moves on after a few days. The places that were devastated by a disaster are still struggling and fighting to survive and rebuild their lives. And this fight will last months and years.

After a short night of little sleep, it was time to load up and get ready for our next home. This time, we planned a two-week stay at Longmire Lake, a bit further west but still close to Dallas, TX, and Oklahoma City.

An Oasis Outside of Dallas, Texas

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

We left Fontainebleau, jumped onto Interstate 10, and kept moving west. We spent one night back at Chicot State Park and then drove on into Texas.

Our destination was a campground northwest of Dallas on Lewisville Lake called Hickory Creek. It was a great oasis in the midst of a highly urbanized area. The lake is big, with lots of homes, boating, swimming, and fishing. Our little corner of the lake was quiet and peaceful. There were multiple areas for camping on or off of the lake. We chose to camp of of the lake because waterfront sites usually fill up, they tend to be closer together, and there is a lot more noise and action. We prefer peace and quiet and less crowding.

We really enjoyed the paved walking trails that wound through the woods, around the lake, and connected the campgrounds together.

Spring was just getting started, and the wildflowers were beginning to appear.

Aaron had to spend a couple of days driving back and forth to Dallas for work, and while he was gone, Murphy and I kept busy in a little cove of the lake. It was like we had our own private nook. The geese kept an eye on us and were not super happy that the dog was swimming in their water. Murphy, on the other hand thought they wanted to play and swim with him.

We were fortunate that we had lovely weather for the week. This was a wonderful, peaceful campground and a great place to call home for the week. Once the week came to an end, it was time to pack and head north a bit into Oklahoma. We had a reservation at Lake Thunderbird outside of Oklahoma City and it was time to wander that direction.