Week in Review: October 28 through November 3

Sunday October 28 dawned sunny and bright, with a temperature of only 36 degrees. Somehow, with the sun shining so brightly and the skies so clear, it didn't feel quite that chilly. It did warm up to the high 60s later on. Most of the trees still had their leaves, and some were still in the height of their color. The oak trees ranged from summer green to Fall brown, and were dropping their leaves in a way that resembled a snow storm with HUGE snowflakes drifting to the ground. Wish I would've taken a photo of them falling; really quite cool. Of course, then there was the crunch of them underfoot--truly Fall.

Near our site was the Eagles Nest Clubhouse, fire pit and gazebo, just a few of the amenities and all for our use. The clubhouse had a game room (also used for worship services on Sundays), library, TV room, showers and restroom, and access to the outdoor pool (closed for the season). Really quite a nice facility.

Eagles Nest Clubhouse

Gazebo

Fire pit

Our site

Boat ramp to Grand Lake; notice how low the water is.
It's down about 10' from normal.

Fog on the lake -- pretty cool!

We decided it was the perfect day for a motorcycle ride, so we hopped on and spent about an hour cruising the area. I have to say that my seat on this Suzuki is nothing compared to the cushy one I had on the Kawasaki! Thought I had more padding around my butt bones, but guess not--was tender for a few days... We're going to have to do some investigating to find me something a bit more comfortable if Dick wants me to accompany him on these long rides!

There was farm after farm, and field after field of horses, beef cattle, goats, and sheep; also saw some alpacas in the distance. I never gave it too much thought before, as to what Oklahoma offered. Now, we know. As we were returning to the park, we saw several deer in the fields, and more as we entered the park itself. Across the road from our site were a couple more. Attempted to get photos, but they were too anxious to not make our acquaintance.

Near the entrance to the RV park on our walks, we met this fine fellow. He followed us along the fence line as we walked by, obviously not skittish at all. (Must be--or was--someone's pet/4H project...?)

Monday, Dick washed the black beast while I knitted. The weather all week was in the 70s, with low humidity, slight breeze .So perfect to sit outside, enjoying the sunshine.

Tuesday brought more sunshine and warmth. Good day for me to give Dick his 3rd haircut! Still won't let him touch my hair--ha! We acquired some new neighbors from Oregon, who are making their way back home. Vern and Kathy travel about 9 months out of the year, and spend the remainder of the time at home in Bend. I completed a baby sweater, and started another Christmas gift. No procrastination here!

Wednesday, October 31 -- no trick or treaters! Guess us ol' RVers don't go in for that sort of thing...  Dick made his 3rd trip in 3 days into Grove (nearby town) to get a few groceries, as well as hardware to install mud flaps on the truck, items to repair the minor damage to the truck tailgate, mail some stuff, etc. I stayed home to knit, as he rode the motorcycle (I've already mentioned the seat issue...:-D). We also sprayed some non-slip coating on the motorcycle hitch ramp, so it's easier to load the cycle. (Works like a charm!) Made chocolate chip cookies, which always puts a smile on Dick's face...

Thursday was a day for preliminary packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow. (I must really be retired now, as I thought it was Wednesday, and we still had one more day at Pine Island...) Another beautiful day here. Temps reached the mid-80s, but with the low humidity it didn't feel like it.

Friday, another beautiful day, was the day for final packing and loading, as we prepared for our trek to Checotah, OK, about 2-1/2 hours away. Terra Starr RV Park is the 5th stop on our way to the Gulf. (So far we've been in Welcome, MN; Kellogg, IA; Lone Jack, MO; and Jay, OK.) For you Country Western music fans, Checotah is the hometown of Carrie Underwood. Here's a map of our travels to date, including Grand Portage (July and August), Cloquet (Mom's home), and since mid-October.

Located near here in Muskogee, OK is the 5 Civilized Tribes Museum, which honors "...the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good relations with their neighbors." (Wikepedia.org) We may make the trek back to Muskogee to see it (and no, we're not Okies from Muskogee...ha!)

We arrived at Terra Starr RV Park a little after noon, and proceeded to set up in the 92 degree heat. Ugh! We turned on the AC for the first time since we were in Grand Portage. Last night cooled down to the upper 50s, so it was quite comfortable for sleeping. This park is very quiet, little traffic, and few travelers.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we took a walk around the park. We followed a trail along Lake Eufaula, which is adjacent to the park, that takes one at least half-way around the portion of the lake we can see. Saw lots of deer and other small animal tracks in the sand, and saw tons of ducks and seagulls.

We can see that we're in tornado territory. Here's a photo of the storm shelter within 100 yards of our site.

There's an outdoor pool (closed now for the season), tennis courts, shuffleboard, horseshoes, basketball, miniature golf, etc., to take advantage of. There're also over 100 jigsaw puzzles in the clubhouse if one felt so inclined. Here are a photos of our site, to give you an idea of this park.

Our site at Terra Starr

Lake Eufaula

Pool, clubhouse, laundry/rest room facilities

Hope this finds you all well. We're enjoying our tour of America's heartland, and do wish we could bring you along with us in person.
Love and blessings,
Dick and Gail