Sunday 3-22-26 New State, New Campground & Choctaw Casino

 

Oklahoma Welcome sign from the web

We had a super day. 

The morning temperature at Sanders Cove Recreational Area near Paris, TX was 70 degrees. The high was 91 degrees at Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma. We had wind and sometimes it  was very strong.

We had two outstanding days at Sanders Cove Recreational Area on Pat Mayes Lake in Texas. It was time to move on. I got up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then we had bagels for breakfast. Afterwards we put things away and securely down. Larry unplugged us. We were on the road by 8:30 am.

On the way out we stopped by the dumpster to get rid of our garbage. Our next destination was 114 miles down the road. We were in Texas for about 5 miles before we entered into Oklahoma. Larry surprised me by stopping at Choctaw Casino & Resort. He knows how much I like to gamble. I don't gamble a lot but I have fun. I thought it might be too warm for Larry sitting in the Minnie but it was early and there was a nice breeze. 

As we were pulling into the parking lot and backing the Minnie into a spot the casino's shuttle was waiting for me. He was a very nice man. He said he was 80 years old and still very active. I gambled for an hour and a half on four different slot machines. I started with $20.00 and got back to Larry with $25.00, that's pretty good for a couple of hours of entertainment. 

While I gambled Larry read. By the time I got back it was time for lunch. We shared a sandwich and chips.

The casino was small but very well maintained, it had workers constantly cleaning the beverages area and the slots. It didn't have a non-smoking area but it didn't smell of smoke. I've been here before so I knew what to expect.

   Choctaw Casino & Resort

After lunch we continued our adventure. The drove was mainly a four lane highway. While we were driving we saw a few turkeys on the side of the highway. The scenery was farmland and ranches with cattle and horses. I dozed on and off during the drive.

Robbers Cave State Park welcome sign

Our destination was Robbers Cave State Park. We have been here a couple of other times so we knew where we wanted to be. Larry made reservation for four nights on the same site we stayed on last year about the same time, which was #17 in Whispering Pines Campground. 

Whispering Pines Campground sign

Camping at site #17

We got there about 2:00 pm. Larry backed in and I helped direct him into the site. We made sure we could get the motorcycle off the carrier. Then Larry plugged us in. We spent the afternoon relaxing under the air conditioner. It was too hot to walk around. 

When it was time for dinner I heated up the leftover pork loin we had a few nights ago. 

After dinner I walked to the day area to find the trailhead. We hadn't hiked the trail at the day area before. It's a beautiful day area with a lot of things to do. It had an old mining building, beach area to swim, a swimming pool not open yet, Alpine Ice and Espresso (snack bar), mini golf, an old CCC water fountain, playground with a rock cave, area to rent canoes, nature center, restaurant, amphitheater, outdoor classroom and Lake Carlton. The trail is located by the outdoor classroom. You take a nice bridge across the lake cove to a gazebo. The amphitheater is cool because it looks over the lake. This park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Nature Center and walkway were built by the CCC. While walking to and back from the day area I passed by a couple of other campgrounds, which were Bobcat Crossing and Horseshoe Bend both are tent campgrounds. By the time I got back to Larry I had walked 2 miles.

Bobcat Campground mascot

Sasquatch

Sign at the day area

Mining building and the history of mining in Oklahoma

Canoes for rent on Lake Carlton

CCC water fountain

Amphitheater

Bridge to the hiking trail

When I got back I rested for a little bit. Then Larry and I went for a walk. We walked around the Old Circle Campground (upper loop). Larry walked with me for 20 minutes. I continued walking around. I walked to the lodge and cabins area. By the time I got back I had walked 1.77 miles.

Sunset at Robbers Cave State Park (Whispering Pines)

Entrance to Robbers Cave Lodge

Robbers Cave Lodge

One of the cabins

By the end of the day I had done 13,000 steps.

Larry finished reading Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher. He said it was a terrific book.

Saturday 3-21-26 Camping at Sanders Cove & Hiking Trails

 

Pat Mayes Lake

We had another hot day but it was gorgeous with blue skies. The morning temperature was 62 degrees and the high was 89 degrees.

Last night we slept with the fan going, which made it comfortable. I woke up at 7:15 am, this is mighty early for me. Larry was surprised. I wanted to get an early start on our hike because it's suppose to get to 90 degrees. We had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese spread on it and we shared a meal replacement shake. After breakfast we got ready to go on our hike. It was warm enough, that we didn't need a jacket and we wore short sleeve shirts.

The hiking trailhead was close by, we had to walk .15 mile. We hiked for an hour and  45 minutes for 2.50 miles. We hiked on a few trails, Deer Run ( .6 mile) and Dogwood (1.4 mile). It was very hard to tell which trail you were on because they weren't marked. We started at the trailhead sign, which took us to a staging area. The area had picnic tables, bike repair station and the trails. The trails had a sign with arrows showing you where they begin. There were arrows throughout the hike but they weren't labeled with the trail name. The trails intertwined with each other. The hike took us through the trees, up and down hills, over rocks, along a ridge and by Pat Mayes Lake. One part was very challenging, it went down a steep hill to get to a creek. The creek didn't have much water flowing so we could cross it with no problem. On the other side we had to climb back up the hill, it wasn't as steep or as high. We saw a couple of fishermen on the lake and the Dogwoods have some beautiful blooms. There was a bench that looked over the lake close to the campground, we rested there for a bit. A short distance later we could have just walked to our site but we decided to continue following the trail back to the trailhead. We saw a few people hiking the trails and a couple of bikers. The trails were marked with two different color arrows, black and red. The black arrows indicate you're hiking the trail forward direction. The red arrows indicate you're hiking the trail in the reverse direction. By the end of the hike it was starting to get warm and we were sweaty. At the trailhead sign Larry took my pouch and pole and went back to the Minnie and I walked to the shower house to go to the restroom. It was another .50 mile roundtrip. When I got back to the Minnie I had done 9,000 steps and 3 miles. We had a great hike. The trails allow hikers, bikers and class 1 e-bikes.  

  

Hiking trails sign

The trail going through the trees, down a hill and across the creek via bridge

Stationing area where trails begin

Bicycle repair station

Forest

After lunch Larry went outside to enjoy the campground and continue reading his book in his chair. Larry finished the book and started a new one. I joined him after I did my games. I started a book called Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Larry relaxing in his chair

I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Klondike and 3 Spider). It took me 18 minutes and 44 seconds, which put me in 19th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

In the evening I walked around the campground a couple of times for 48 minutes and got 2 miles. By the end of the evening I had done 16,000 steps. After resting after my walk I put our chairs away.

Friday 3-20-26 Spring Trip Begins & Spring Begins

 

First Day of Spring

Today was the first day spring. We had a hot day to welcome in spring. We woke up to the temperature of 55 degrees with wind in Belton, Texas. By the end of the day we were in Paris, Texas with the high temperature of 87 degrees. 

I woke up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then I said good morning to Larry. He was already putting the rest of the stuff in the Minnie. I joined him on finishing loading the Minnie. Before leaving the house Larry turned off the water to the house, turned off the Bidets in the bathrooms and turned off the ice maker in the freezer. We were on the road by 8:15 am. 

Larry drove 250 miles to Sanders Cove Recreational Area on Pat Mayse Lake. The drive was on I35 North and East and a couple of Texas highways, 34 and 24. We drove I35 North until we got to Italy,  where we got on Texas 34. Texas 34 is a two lane highway through farmland and ranches. We drove Texas 34 until we got to Greenville, where we got on I30 East to bypass going through Greenville. Then we got on Texas 24, which is a four lane highway. This highway took us through Paris to our destination. 

How about that, we travelled through both Italy and Paris. You would have thought we were on a international trip.

As we drove we saw wildflowers, which were bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush's. The farther north we went the flowers disappeared because it was too early for them. Texas 34 and Texas 24 took us through a lot of small towns. When we got to Terrell we stopped at The Home Depot, which was 102 miles away from the campground to have lunch.  For lunch we had sandwiches. It was a nice drive through the small towns. I napped on and off during the drive.

Entrance sign

We arrived at Sanders Cove Recreation Area at 2:30 pm. We stopped at the gate but no one was there. There was a sign, it said you had to make reservations online. Before we left the house Larry printed out the sites that were available in the C Loop. We found a site we like, which was #7. I helped Larry back the Minnie in the site. Then Larry went online and made reservations for two nights. It cost $10 per night because of the Senior card we had. If you don't have the card it cost $20 per night. After registering for the site Larry plugged us in. We turned on the air conditioner. It's a surprise, that we're running the air conditioner in March.

Sanders Cove Recreation Area is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation system. It is a year-round camping area on the banks of Pat Mayse Lake. It has 85 sites with electric hookups, picnic tables, lantern hook and grill. There is a boat ramp in the camping area but it's very steep. Some of the activities, that are available are boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and hunting. 

Our site is very nice with trees to provide a little shade. 

We relaxed under the air conditioner until it cooled off a little. Larry setup our chairs. Then he read until it was time for dinner I made some of the bake.

After dinner we went for a 30 minute walk to get familiar with the campground and to locate the hiking trailheads. The trails are on both sides of the road. They had a beautiful trail map. When we got back Larry relaxed in his chair and started reading a book. I went on an hour and 15 minute walk for a total of 3.15 miles. While walking around I took pictures. 

Sunset on Pat Mayse Lake

Sanders Cove Campground

Pat Mayse Lake

Camping at Sanders Cove

While cooling off I started playing my games. When I got back from my walk I finished my games. 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong before going to bed last night. The event was Event: Medium Mayhem of 27 games. It took me 1 hour, 26 minutes and 59 seconds to complete, which put me in 14th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends. I didn't play Angry Birds 2 because I was tired. I went to bed at 11:00 pm and my challenge on Angry Birds 2 doesn't started until 12:00 am. 

 By the end of the day I had done 12,500 steps. I made my daily goal of 12,000 steps.

Thursday 3-19-26 Final Preparation for Trip & Mowing Begins

 

Awesome Day

We had a busy day doing the final preparation for our spring trip. 

The weather was very nice. We had a lot of sunshine. The morning temperature was 50 degrees and the high was 85 degrees. We had a breeze which kept it comfortable.

We started the day out by going to town to do a few errands. First stop was The UPS Store to get our mail. Next we went next door to Walmart to pick up a few things I forgot to order or they didn't have the other day when we got our home delivery. Next we swung by Jack 'n' Jill Donuts to get breakfast. The final stop was at PenFed Credit Union to deposit our coin. 

Running Errands

The other day we went to PenFed Credit Union and got some money to take with us on our trip. We wanted to deposit some coins that we have had hanging around for years. but they didn't have a coin machine. They did give us some coin rollers. We were very surprised because the last time we tried to deposit coin via coin rollers we had to unroll all the rollers. When we got home Larry rolled the coins, we had about $100, today we deposited it. 

When we got home I continued putting items in the Minnie. 

In the afternoon we loaded the motorcycle onto the carrier and strapped it down.

Motorcycle all washed

The Minnie ready to go

When we finished doing this I did my housework, which took me about an hour. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house, vacuumed the house and mopped the floors. I also did laundry.

 

Doing housework

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour. I did one Aerobics exercise, which was Rhythm Boxing for 8 minutes. I did three Strength Training exercises for 8 minutes, which were Balance Bridge for 3 minutes, Torso Twist for 3 minutes and Lungs for 2 minutes. I did three Yoga exercises for 6 minutes, which were Chair for 2 minutes, Triangle for 2 minutes and Downward-Facing Dog for 2 minutes. I did two Training Plus exercises, which were Snowball Fight for 4 minutes and Tilt City for 4 minutes. Tilt City is where I used the hand controller to get the ball into the right color bucket. I had a fun workout.

Rhythm Boxing

Balance Bridge

Torso Twist

Lungs

Chair

Triangle

Downward-Facing Dog

Snowball Fight

Tilt City

While we were loading the motorcycle onto the carrier the mowers showed help to mow our yards. This is the first time this year, they're going to mow the yards every other Thursday. They were only here for 20 minutes and they did a great job. Two guys worked the edge trimmers and leaf blowers. Another guy did the mowing. 

Mowing the backyard

I barbecued some apple wood smoked bacon pork loin for dinner. The leftover we'll take with us. At the same time I made a bake to take with us. 

Apple wood smoked bacon pork loin

Baked Pasta

I played five pinball games. I played two games on the mini cabinet, which were Junk Yard and Medieval Madness. I played three games on the big cabinet, which were Big Bang Bar, Big Buck Hunter Pro and Star Trek the Next Generation. I didn't get on the board on either cabinet but had fun. This will be the last time playing pinball for the next six weeks because of being on our trip.

Junk Yard (Mini)

Medieval Madness (Mini)

Big Bang Bar (Big)

Big Buck Hunter Pro (Big)

Star Trek the Next Generation (Big)

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 21 minutes and 37 seconds, which put me in 4th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

In the evening we watched a movie on Hoopla called Across The River Into The Trees. It was a slow moving movie about a war-weary American Officer confronting terminal illness Colonel Richard Cantwell. He embarks on a final journey to Venice. It wasn't, that good of a movie. Then I watched The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I ended up doing 7,500 steps.