Friday 4-4-25 Rainy Day & Walking

 

Rainy Day

 

I was woken by a down pour of rain at 7:00 this morning. It was steady for an hour or so. Then it sprinkled on and off until mid-afternoon. The rain is suppose to be back by 5:00 in the morning. The low was 50 degrees and the high was 54 degrees. 

I crawled out of bed made french toast bits for breakfast. Larry had been up since 6:00 and had the heater running. When the oven got up to temperature it helped warm up the Minnie. 

We spent the day hanging around the Minnie to keep dry. 

 

Camping at Hawthorn Bluff

Larry finished reading a book. I continued reading Briar Club by Kate Quinn. It's a book about a boardinghouse for women in the early 1950s during the Korean war. It takes place between 1950 and 1954. So far I'm enjoying it.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event today was Event: Microsoft 50th Anniversary with 15 medium level games. It took me 37 minutes and 36 seconds, which put me in 3rd place in my group. Then I moved onto playing Angry Birds.

After dinner Larry checked the weather forecast and it said the rain was gone until 5 in the morning. So we walked around our loop for a half hour. Then Larry went inside and I walked our loop and the tent loop for an hour and a half. When I got back to the Minnie I finished doing my 18,000 steps. This put me in 5th place in my group.

 

Walking around the campground

Then I sank it to the Garmin and it sunk only 17,600. I was moaning about my band acting weird so Larry took it apart and sanded down the connections for the batteries. Then he reinstalled the batteries. Then I did the other 400 steps to get my 18,000 steps.  Thank you honey. Hopefully this will fix my problem.

Before Larry went to bed he did some research on fitness bands to see what is available in case I have to replace my band. I love my band because it's compatible with My Fitness Pal program. My Fitness Pal is a program I use to keep track of how much calories I intake and how many calories I burn.       

Thursday 4/3/25 Rainy Day

 

Rainy Days

 

The rain came in this morning about 6:00 and stayed around all day. The rain stopped for a little while around 3:00 but everything was still very wet. I didn't even get out and walk around because there were puddles all over the roads. Then it started back up around 5:00 and sprinkled on and off for the rest of the night.

When Larry woke up at 6:00 it was 60 degrees. Then it dropped to 52 degrees and stayed there through out the day.

In the evening I baked sugar cookies to get the chill out of Minnie.

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 2 hours, 34 minutes and 43 seconds to complete, which put me in 17th place in my group. I played Angry Birds. 

While I played games Larry read. He finished a book about dinner time and started another one after dinner. 

I finished reading Guncle by Steven Rowley. I would recommend the book, it was very well written with humor and at times made you cry. Larry chose a new book for me to read, The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.

I ended up doing 17,500 steps in the Minnie. I let my batteries in my band go completely dead a couple of days ago. Larry changed the batteries and the band has been acting up. My band reset after I did 2,000 steps and I did another 5,500 steps. In my group I got credit of 5,500 steps, which put me in 5th place.

Wednesday 4-2-25 Rainy Day & Walking

 

Playing in the rain

 

We had a rainy day. The rain came in early and stayed around until 1:00. In the beginning there was lots of wind, thunder and a tornado watch was issued. The rain came down pretty steady at times. The low was 61 degrees and the high was 78. It didn't feel like it because we had a little breeze out of the north. It was mostly cloudy until around 5:00 when the sun came out. According to the National Weather Report, the rain is suppose to hang around through Saturday. It's suppose to be cooler with highs in the 50's. This isn't a surprise, it's the reason we decided to stay at Hawthorn Bluff Campground, where we have paved roads and power. 

We spent the day indoors trying to keep dry. When the rain stopped we went over to the restroom and took a shower. The showers were separate from the restrooms. The water pressure was excellent. The water got hot I had to adjust it down about half way. They were all clean. The restrooms at this campground are very clean and well maintained. The shower was very refreshing.

 

Enjoying taking a shower

Larry finished another book. 

I played my games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Klondike Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 26 minutes and 44 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends. 

After playing games I continued reading Guncle. I'm really enjoying reading the book because the author used a lot of humor to deal with situations. 

Before dinner I walked around our loop for an hour, which was 6 loops and got 3 miles in. 

For dinner we had blueberry pancakes. After dinner Larry walked with me to the tent loop. By the time we got back we had walked a half hour and 1.5 miles. I dropped Larry off at the Minnie and continued my walk for another 45 minutes. By the end of the day I got 18,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. Because I only did 12,000 steps Monday I'm in another group. But I'm the same challenge of 125K for the week. 

I swept out the Minnie because we have been on the road for 11 days and it needed to be done. Last night I cleaned the bathroom.

 

Doing a little housework

 

The walks were very pleasant because of the breeze. It was very nice when Larry walked with me.    

 

Tuesday 4-1-25 April Fools' Day, Casino & Hawthorn Bluff Campground

 

April Fools' Day

 

Happy April Fools' Day. Did you play any jokes on anyone to celebrate? I think the weather played a joke on us. It was very windy all day. We're suppose to get rain late tonight and into the morning. Then it's suppose to go away and come back for the weekend. The low was 50 degrees and the high was 72 degrees. The wind kept it chilly.

 

Hold on Piglet

We had an outstanding day. 

We started out by having raisin cinnamon bagels with cream cheese for breakfast. Then we got ready to move on to another campground, which was Hawthorn Bluff. It was located 30 miles down the road from Bluff Landing Campground.

Once everything was put away and secured we said good-bye to Bluff Landing. On the way to Hawthorn Bluff Campground we made a couple of stops. Larry wanted to see the wild mustangs that Oklahoma had in an area. We drove about 10 miles down narrow two lane roads to where the herd of wild mustangs were. Along the way we saw a few horse ranches with lots of horses. When we got to where the wild mustangs were located the road was being worked on and it was closed to traffic. We didn't get up close but we did see them on the hill. 

Second stop was at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa. Larry knows I like to play the slot machines. He thought about going there yesterday and spend the night in the parking lot but there was no power and it was going to be a little cold. Today he parked the Minnie in the designated parking area for RV's. There were a couple of RVs there. The lot wasn't that level but Larry found a spot where it was ok. We were only going to be there a couple of hours. Once the Minnie was parked I went over to the casino to gamble. When I stepped out of the Minnie the shuttle was there so I took the shuttle to the casino. The driver was very nice, he asked if Larry was going to join us. I told him that Larry doesn't gamble. I was dropped off at the main entrance of the casino. As I walked in there was a sanitation station which had sanitizer and masks for you to have if you want one. This was very nice. I walked around for a bit looking for a non-smoking area. I was unsuccessful so I asked a lady at the service desk. She said they sure, just walk through the casino and in the middle there will be a section. There was a hugh sign that said "No smoking in this area absolutely no question no smoking". It was a very nice area. I played five different machines and broke even. I started with $20.00 and ended up leaving with $20.00. I didn't take the shuttle back I decided to walk because it wasn't that far. Larry read while I gambled. When I got back I made a sandwich for lunch. After lunch we were back on the road. I had a super time.  

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino grounds were very pretty. They had guitars all over the grounds. 

 

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

The ride to Hawthorn Bluff Campground was about 20 miles from the casino. It was tough for Larry to drive the Minnie because the wind was so strong. The wind was moving the Minnie around. 

When we got to the campground we stopped at the check-in booth. The lady gave us a map and we drove around the campground to find a site. It took us a little bit because most of the sites weren't level. We found one that was. Larry went online and reserved site #4 for five nights. We usually don't stay put for five nights the weather is suppose to turn stormy and rainy. After reserving the site we drove to back to the booth to check in. The lady had the paperwork ready for us. There were a couple of people before us so it took a little while.

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 5 games. It took me 39 minutes and 20 seconds, which put me 40th in my group. Then i played Angry Birds.

Larry spent the rest of the day reading. He finished another book. I read after my walks.

 

 

Relaxing with a book

 

Before dinner I walked around for a half hour to get some steps. After dinner I walked around for an hour 15 minutes. I walked our loop and then the tent loop. By the end of the day I did 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

Hawthorn Bluff is a beautiful park with a lot of trees. It has two bathrooms, one is an open-hole and the other has running water and showers. It has two loops (A loop has power and B loop is for tents). Each loop has a playground. The park has a disc-golf course, a beach, a couple of nature trails. The park is very well maintained. The facility is located on Oologah Lake with a private marina and a fishing dock in each loop.

 

Skull Hollow Nature Trail (1.33 mile loop)

 

 

 

 

Fishing dock

 

 

 

The Corps. of Engineer Marina

 

 

 

 

Oologah Lake dam

 

 

 

 

Camping on Oologah Lake

 

  

 

      

 

Monday 3-31-25 Playing Pinball and New Campground

 

Awesome Day!!!

 

We had an awesome day!!!

It was chilly all day. We woke up to a temperature of 42 degrees and it only got to 55. There was a breeze all day which kept it chilly.

We started the day by having pancakes for breakfast. Then we got ready to leave City of Okmulgee Park. There was just one other camper at the park when we woke up. It's a very nice park. Before departing we made sure everything was down and secured. Larry unplugged us from power.

On the way out we stopped at the dump station to dump our tanks. They really didn't need dumped but the dump was available to us. It also was on the way out of the park. 

Our next destination was 49 miles down the road at Magoo's Sports Bar & Billards in Tulsa. On the way we made a couple of stops in Okmulgee.

As we were driving the two lane highway we was a few wild turkeys. I didn't get a picture because they were too far away. Okmulgee was nine miles from the park. The first stop was Walmart. We were getting low on a few things so we decided to stock up. Second stop was at Phillips 66 to fill the Minnie with gas.

After the stops we were back on the road. We drove mainly the interstate to get to Magoo's. We were here last year about the same time. We arrived at Magoo's a few minutes before they opened at 11:00. We parked the Minnie and relaxed. The lady, who took care of us last year helped us this year. She gave us four fives for a twenty so we could get quarters to play pinball. The machine gave us quarters for the first five but while it took the second five it did not give out any quarters so I had to go and get the lady. This was the first time she ever opened the coin machine. She was very excited when she was successful in fixing the problem. She had to take the box out and put it back in. We played 10 out of the 32 machines they had. The games we played were Aerosmith, Black Knight, Metallica, Dungeons & Dragons (new game), Foo Fighters, Toy Story 4, Batman, Spider-Man, Elvira House of Horrors and Godzilla. Some of the games were set up if you put $2.00 in you can play three games and some you get one play for a dollar. The pinball cabinets were in very good shape. Some had a little wear in the flippers. There was a couple there, who owned the pinball cabinets and maintain them. The lady said that it was a full-time job just keeping the 32 games going because they are used a lot for tournaments. She also said, that the cabinets have more of an angel because of the tournaments. We had a super time playing pinball. We were there for almost two hours.

 

Magoo's

 

 

 

 

Aerosmith

 

 

 

 

The Batman

 

 

 

 

The Black Knight

 

 

 

 

Dungeons & Dragons

 

 

 

 

Godzilla

 

 

 

Playing pinball

 

 

 

 

Spider-Man

 

 

Larry playing Dungeons & Dragons

 

After playing pinball we went back to the Minnie and shared a sandwich. We had a big breakfast and we weren't too hungry so we didn't eat at Magoo's. 

After lunch we were back on the interstate to go to our campground for the night. The campground was Bluff Landing on the Arkansas River. It was about 20 miles from Magoo's. Once we got through Tulsa we went on a two lane country road. At places the road was rough. 

We arrived at Bluff Landing at 2:45. We drove around and found a site, #25. Larry parked the Minnie and went online to register for the night. We have the senior pass so it cost us $10 dollars instead of $20.00. Once we paid for the site Larry plugged us in to the power.

The sites backup to the Arkansas River and are very nice. Each site has a covered picnic table, fire pit, grill, electric and water. The bathrooms have running water and showers. 

Camping at Bluff Landing Campground

 

Arkansas River

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. For the month I had solved all the Solitaire games but the Mahjong games I got all but 1 game. Each day I play five different Solitaire games and five different Mahjong games. I also play the daily event in Solitaire. Today's event was Event: Solitaire World Tour of 30 games. I only did 28 of the games because I ran out of time. I worked on the games for 2 hours, 43 minutes and 12 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. I didn't play any Angry Birds.

While I played games Larry read. 

I took an hour break from playing games so I could get some steps in. I walked around the campground for 45 minutes. By the ended of the day I had done 12,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group. 

LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

 

 

Sunday 3-30-25 Bye to Robbers Cave & Hi to CIty of Okmulgee

 

Whispering Pines Campground

 

We had five marvelous days at Robbers Cave State Park now it was time to move on. Our next destination was 100 miles away. It had rained earlier in the morning and it was misting a bit so we took our time getting ready to leave.

The front came in last night so the morning temperature was cooler than it has been. It was 44 degrees. It was windy and overcast all morning. About mid-afternoon the wind died down and the sun tried to come through the clouds. It got up to 57 degrees in Okmulgee, OK.

We were on the road by 9:00 am. Larry drove two lane highways most of the drive. We drove through a few small towns. The traffic was lite. We saw a lot of cattle and ranches. It was a nice drive. We stopped 30 miles from Okmulgee to stretch our legs and go to the bathroom. 

We arrived at the City of Okmulgee Park around 11:30. We stopped at the host (Terry) site to check in. We didn't have a reservation so he told us to find a site. A little later he would come around and collect the camping fee, $20 because were seniors otherwise it was $22. He said they take checks or cash. We paid in cash.

This park use to be a state park but now it's run by the City of Okmulgee. Dripping Springs Park is adjacent to this park. Both parks have a lake (Lake Okmulgee and Dripping Springs Lake). Okmulgee Park is open year-round for recreation such as fishing, hiking and camping. The facilities of Okmulgee and Dripping Springs were constructed by the Works Process Administrations (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression. They replaced the dam on Okmulgee Lake and built a spillway and other structures in the parks. They are still being used today. They both were Oklahoma State Parks until 1963 when the parks were transferred to the City of Okmulgee.

Okmulgee Park is a beautiful park with a 668 acre lake. It has a lot of trees on each site. The sites have a barbecue grill, fire pit grill, picnic table and hooks to hold your garbage bags. The bathrooms are old and need maintenance but they are heated, have running water and showers. The newer bathrooms have the showers separate and cost $1.00 for 8 minutes. The showers are free in the old bathrooms. They have a small beach. There are a couple of CCC pavilions available to lease for special events.

We had no problem finding a site. The site was level enough we didn't have to get the blocks out. Once we were in the site Larry plugged us in to the power. 

 

Welcome to Okmulgee Park (host site)

Camping at Okmulgee Park

When the wind went down and the sun came out I walked around for a half hour and took pictures. While walking around I saw a couple of fishing boats on the lake. I said hi to a gentleman who had been fishing on the banks. He didn't catch anything but had fun. I also talked to the host. There was a group of locals using one of the pavilions. They were playing at the playground. It's always nice to see the locals using the local parks. Terry is very nice and friendly.After dinner Larry walked around with me for a half hour. After he went inside I walked another hour.

 

 

 CCC Pavilion

 

 

 Lake Okmulgee

 

 

Playground

 

By the end of the day I had done 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

When I wasn't walking I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Free Cell and 5 Pyramid). It took me 49 minutes and 52 seconds to complete, which put me in 20th place in my group. Then I moved onto playing Angry Birds.

Larry finished his book. I read some more of Guncle. It is a very funny book.              

Saturday 3-29-25 Ice Cream, Hiking, Camping & More

 

Hiking with friends

 

We had a great day. The day started out overcast and very humid. By the afternoon the clouds went away and the sun was shining bright. The low was 60 degrees and the high was 73 degrees.

I crawled out of bed around 7:00 and got dressed. Then I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I used the Great Value Complete Mix, you just have to add water. That way I don't have to worry about buying eggs and milk. It's not often I make blueberry pancakes because it's not always available. 

After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. The trailhead wasn't too far away, it was located at the entrance of our loop. We started the hike on Coon Creek Trail until it Yd off (1 mile). Then we got on horse trail #5 (Bulldozer). The trail weaved through the trees and wasn't marked really well. We followed the Outlaw 100 signs on the trees and the yellow circle markers. We crossed through a creek a few times, no water so didn't have to worry about getting wet. We had hiked 2.5 miles and Larry looked at his GPS to see where we were. We had hiked part of this trail in 2022 and Larry thought we were close where it would intersect another trail and head back. We rested and then continued on to where horse trail #4 and #5 intersected. Then we got on #4 and headed back to Coon Creek trail. Once on Coon Creek trail we were about a mile from the campground. We saw just one other couple on Coon Creek trail. They told us there was a huge black snake on the trail but we didn't see it. By the end of the hike we had hiked 5.33 miles for three hours. The trail didn't have a lot of elevation but it was challenging because of all the rocks. At places the rocks were covered with leaves and you couldn't see them. We had a great hike.

 

Hiking through the trees

The sign for the trail (bulldozer)

 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry did research on where to go next. He has no problem finding campgrounds but most of them don't have hiking trails. We love to hike. We prefer to hike from the campground but if the trailhead is close by we will hike to the trailhead. Once in awhile we'll ride the motorcycle to get to a trailhead.

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 14 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 40th place in my group of 50. Not too good today!!!!. Then I played Angry Birds.

 

Angry Birds Characters

 

While we were relaxing Larry heard music. He said it sounded like an ice cream truck. When it got closer he was right. A lady was driving around the park selling ice cream. When she got back to where we were I was waiting for her. I bought a couple of ice creams (a Blue Bunny Big Dipper and a Big Humor Giant King Cone). Together they cost $9.00, a little pricey but it was the novelty of the experience. It's not too often you see an ice cream truck. We were surprised that Good Humor is still in business.

 

Thurman Ray Ice Cream

 

Walking back to the Minnie

 

Enjoying my Blue Bunny Big Dipper

 

In the evening I walked around about 30 minutes to get my steps. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 7th place in my group. Larry and I started new books.