Natural Falls State Park
We had a hot windy day. The morning temperature was 62 degrees at Robbers Cave State Park and the high temperature was 87 degrees at Natural Falls State Park in Colcord, Oklahoma. As the day went on the south wind continued to get stronger.
We had four outstanding days of camping at Robbers Cave State Park. While there we hiked three four mile hikes, which were on Belle Starr Trail and Coon Creek Ridge Trail, Mountain Trail and Loop and Rough Canyon Trail. I walked around the campground every evening between 2 and 3 miles. We read a bit. I played my games.
Hiking Belle Starr Trail
I woke up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then Larry and I shared a blueberry bagel with cream cheese spread on it and a meal replacement shake. After breakfast we got ready to leave. We put things away and secured. We were on the road by 8:15 am.
On the way out of the campground we stopped by the dump station and dumped the tanks. Yesterday, Larry topped off the water tank at our site. While Larry dumped the tanks I walked over to the dumpster and got rid of our garbage. Now we don't have to worry about dumping the tanks for awhile.
Our next destination was Natural Falls State Park, which was 132 miles from Robbers Cave State Park. The drive was down two and four lane highways. We drove by ranches and farms. We crossed over part of the Arkansas River and saw a beautiful reservoir. It was was a nice drive.
When we got to Sallisaw we pulled into a convenient store to fill the Minnie with gas. While fueling Larry discovered we had a fuel leak. I was across the road at Sallisaw Donuts getting donuts. I got six donuts. When I got back. Larry told me about the leak so he pulled into the parking lot of a casino to find a place to work on the Minnie. There really wasn't anywhere. Larry had noticed an automotive repair place right next door to the casino. We drove over and Larry asked James if he could look at the problem. He said he was backed up for a week and they usually work on engines. He looked at the problem and said no problem he could fix it. The large fuel line that connects the filler to the gas tank had gone bad. He said he probably could not get the correct hose but as a temporary fix he could use a radiator hose. He got the hose off and headed to the local parts place, sure enough they did not have a fuel hose that size but they found a suitable radiator hose. It took him a little over two hours to do the job. While they worked on the Minnie I stayed inside and read. There were two guys working in the shop and they were very nice. They had a 12 week old pup and I played with her while Larry paid for the job. It was very reasonable, $207 for a two hour job. Larry gave him some extra money to show his appreciation. The name of the shop was JMB Automotive LLC.
We have been very lucky when we're on the road and had problems with the Minnie. Somehow we have always had very good shops with friendly workers.
After the work was completed we went to Casey's and filled the Minnie with fuel. While there we bought a large pepperoni pizza. A number of folks have said how good Casey's pizzas are so we thought we would give it a try. They have a good pizza but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best. We ordered the pizza and it took about eight minutes to get it. The gentleman, who took care of us was very nice and delivered the pizza to me. I was in the store waiting. We had excellent service. They didn't have anywhere to sit so we ate the pizza in the Minnie. It was quite warm in the Minnie so Larry started the generator and we had AC.
After lunch we continued to Natural Falls State Park, which was another 63 miles. We drove down a two lane highway. We arrived at the park at 2:30 pm. We had reservations so we went directly to our site, which was #28. The site was very level, we didn't have to use any blocks. I helped Larry back the Minnie in the site and left enough room for us to get the motorcycle off the carrier if we want to. The site at Robbers Cave State Park was also very level.
Our site has a paved pad for the Minnie, picnic table, fire ring with grate and water and electric. The site has trees but not a lot of privacy. It's a nice park.
After we set up the Minnie for three nights we walked over to the restrooms to check them out. I walked over to the office and told them we were in our site and to get the hiking map. The lady in the office was very friendly and explained the map. There's not a lot of hiking but it's a nice place for the weekend.
When we got back to the Minnie Larry crawled up on the roof to fix the tape on the awning. The Minnie's awning is very old, over the years the sun has deteriorated the material where it attaches to the Minnie. We don't use it and years ago Larry used Gorilla tape to reinforce it. A couple of years ago he had to redo the tape. Today the high wind detached some of the tape at the front of the awning. Larry replaced that piece. When we get home he will redo all of it. When you own a RV you will have to do maintenance on it now and then.
Fixing the tape
We spent the rest of the day in the Minnie under the air conditioner keeping cool.
I played my games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 12 minutes and 21 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
When I wasn't playing games I continued reading Project Hail Mary. Larry finished reading his book and wrote a review on it.
After dinner I walked around for 40 minutes and did 1.75 miles on Pine Ridge Trail. I hiked it two times. I got a total of 7,000 steps.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear friendly comments on anything at all. Ruth