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!!!!!