Beth decided she needed to spend a couple of days on the beach before returning home and managed to get weekend reservations at Camp Gulf RV Park for the weekend. This is a very large RV Park that’s located right on the beach in Miramar Beach, FL. The sites are a little tight but that is to be expected at a beach campground. The campground is very clean and well run. We really enjoyed being able to see the water from our site (although we didn’t have a beachfront site) and be on the beach within just a few steps of our site.
We moved from Vicksburg to an Army Core of Engineers campground along the Alabama River. Our site (#40) is on the shore of the Alabama River. The view is excellent and you can see the dam and lock from our picnic table. Beth managed to guide us into a position where our satellite could access the Dish Network satellites between a gap in the trees so we could watch World Series Game 3 (along with the Miami vs Boston College football game) once it was too cold to enjoy sitting outside.
This is a great campground with at least 10 great sites along the river, but due to its location (middle of nowhere), the roads coming in from the north were very “tight”. We will have to see what the roads from the south are like (on our departure tomorrow) to determine whether or not we would want to visit here again.
Just like last year, we migrated from the Hot Springs, AR area to Vicksburg, MS taking the same route. It was interesting to see the amount of cotton left in the ditches along US-65 from the cotton harvest. I assume it blew out in transport.
We arrived at mid-afternoon on Wednesday and once we were parked we made a trip to the local Kroger grocery store to stock up on supplies. Thursday was a complete washout (it rained all day long) so we took the shuttle from the campground to the casino and spent the afternoon there. Fortunately for us, we didn’t contribute much to the local economy (one of us might even have come out slightly ahead).
I know that just a few posts back I stated that Twin Fountains RV Resort in Oklahoma City was the nicest campground we had ever stayed in, but I think Catherine’s Landing has surpassed it. The sites here are very large and and each one has a a huge cement pad, picnic table, charcoal grill, fire ring, full hookups, and cable TV (analog). The campground is a former 400 acre dairy farm which has one mile of waterfront along the Lake Catherine waterway. The office and pool area are at the top of the hill (at the entrance) and overlook the park. The pool is heated through November and includes a “splash pad” for the kids where there are all kinds of sprinklers and fountains and they can blast each other with all kinds of water canons. Due to all these features there are a lot of high end rigs here (Entegras, etc on Prevost bus chassis, Newells, Allegro buses, etc). Seeing all these high end rigs works out quite conveniently since we are going to win the $1.6 Billion Mega Millions lottery tonight.
Catherine’s Landing – Site #51 – Passenger Side
Catherine’s Landing – Site #51 – Driver’s Side
The weather was so nice that we decided to setup our outdoor TV so that we could watch football outside all weekend. In attempt to offset our slovenliness and debauchery we went for walks each day. On Friday we walked the outer perimeter roads of the camping area and one additional internal road to knock out 2.1 miles (it’s a big facility). On Saturday we walked their hiking trail (which goes around their 9 hole Frisbee golf course and most of the property at the entrance). This hike was easy, but nearly 2.5 miles. We stuck to the campground roads again Sunday.
On Monday we went into Hot Springs to tour bath house row. It was quite interesting. When we were done we drove up to the top of Hot Springs Mountain where they have built a 216 foot observation tower. The views from there are pretty incredible.
Buckstaff Bathhouse
Ozark Bathhouse
Quapaw Bathhouse
Fordyce Bathhouse
Hot Springs
View from Mountain Tower
We had planned to rent a pontoon boat on Tuesday and tour Lake Catherine, but unfortunately while we were touring on Monday the campground pulled all of their rental boats out of the water for the winter. Instead we decided to walk the campground hiking trail again, but were interrupted at 1.3 miles when Beth’s shoe blew out. The weather was perfect, so we spent time outdoors packing for our move the next day to Vicksburg and doing a little maintenance. When we were done we showered and had a late lunch at the Red Oak Fillin’ Station where I learned that I had completely wasted the first 55 years of my life having never thought to put 12 hour smoked brisket on my sourdough grilled cheese sandwich. Live and learn…
After two nights in Oklahoma City, we departed for Lake Catherine State Park at around 8:30 AM. I think I got spoiled on back roads in New Mexico and Texas (two lane highways so straight they have 75 MPH speed limits) and decided to take US-71 out of Fort Smith to US-270 on into Hot Springs which resulted in a lot of two lane driving through the hills with plenty of twists and turns. I pulled over a couple of times to let the poor folks stuck behind me pass. In the future, we’d rather stay on I-40 all the way to Little Rock and then take I-30 back to Hot Springs.
Lake Catherine State Park – Site #52 – Driver Side
Lake Catherine State Park – Site #52 – Passenger Side
We had reservations for two nights at Lake Catherine State Park and since our time was limited we decided not to leave the park (although Beth did sneak into town the first morning, while I slept in, for groceries). When Beth got back from the grocery store, we hiked one of the trails. We chose the Falls Branch Trail (marked “intermediate”) which was close to 2.5 miles (starting from our campsite). We must be getting old, because “intermediate” seemed a bit difficult (just shy of requiring rappelling gear), but it was worth it. There was a lot of great scenery that eventually lead to a creek and waterfall. Along the way, Beth found an excellent walking stick which she had named “Wally”.
Lake Catherine Hike
Falls Branch Trail – Suspension Bridge
Falls Branch Trail – Creek to Lake
Falls Branch Trail – Waterfall
That night we thawed some vacuum sealed Sams Club filets and cooked them over the fire. They were served with Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes and a hint of Cabernet wine. All was delicious.
Phoebe Helping with Dinner and Enjoying Her Freedom
We left Pampa, TX around 8:20AM continuing east on TX-152 until we hit I-40 near Sayre, TX. We dealt with considerable wind, but it didn’t seem as bad as the previous day until we hopped on I-40 at which point the crosswinds were severe and seemed to change directions regularly causing the kayak to start flopping around again on top of the Tahoe. We had to stop at the first I-40 exit and go through the re-securing process again. This time I loosened the front kayak supports and ensured they were completely under the kayak and then pulled the straps down perpendicularly as tight as humanly possible. This apparently worked because the kayak never moved another inch.
We decided to stay at Twin Fountains RV Resort in Oklahoma City so that we’d be close to town so we could celebrate our retirement with a nice steak at one of the local restaurants. Assuming that the resort would be a bit more high end than your standard campground we made our first stop ever at a Blue Beacon Truck Wash to spruce up the Winnebago. I was surprised how clean they got the RV by only using pressure washers (about 8 hand held wands) and hot water with soap. The RV looked great and we didn’t feel like the Beverly Hillbillies checking in at what was the nicest place we had ever camped up to that point. The cats did NOT enjoy the RV wash at all…but that is a story for another day.
Upon arrival I was unable to open the door to our power and water bay. I had to crawl underneath the door and manipulate the latch with a screwdriver to get it open. It turned out that the plastic latch had broken and needed to be replaced. I managed to re-secure the door once we got the power and water hooked up and we quickly showered and prepared for our big meal out on the town (we wore our “going to town pants” and everything).
Beth chose to eat at the Mahogany Prime Steakhouse in downtown Oklahoma City. We were able to park on the street with our kayak and bicycle in tow. Beth chose wisely! Dinner was incredible. I had a Bone-in Filet Mignon and the waiters convinced Beth to try the special which was a Bone-in Cowboy Ribeye (and may now be her favorite steak). We split a side of Au Gratin potatoes covered in smoked cheddar cheese. While we were at the bar waiting for our table we shared an appetizer of Tenderloin on Toast Points (roasted pepper and red wine sauce, served with béarnaise) which could have been a meal in itself. We each had one and brought remaining home to enjoy for multiple future breakfasts (with eggs).
Tenderloin on Toast Points
Filet Mignon
Bone-in Ribeye
The following day I did some research and determined that the local Camping World had a replacement compartment door latch in stock, so once we got around we went there and procured two latches (one spare). On the way back we stopped at a Crest grocery store for supplies and Beth discovered that they stocked Eckrich bologna (it’s like I won the lottery). Forget fancy meals at the Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, I had the most incredible bologna sandwich for lunch the very next day.
Eckrich Bologna
Unfortunately, the compartment door latch was riveted in from the factory and I didn’t have a rivet tool in my toolbox. You know you’re in a high end RV Resort when you can call an onsite mobile RV repairmen and he shows up in less than an hour with rivet tool (and rivets) in hand. By the time he arrived, I had drilled out the old rivets, replaced the latch and all I needed him to do was install two rivets. He was done in 5 minutes and didn’t want any money. I made him take a $20 and we were both happy.
On Sunday, we had a tough drive in heavy crosswinds (25-35 MPH). We have hauled our kayak on top of the Tahoe for well over 10K miles and never had a problem, but the crosswinds were just too much and we had to stop 3 times to re-secure it in cold temperatures (35 degrees is cold in 35MPH winds).
We migrated to TX-152 in Dumas, TX and stopped at a city RV park in Pampa, TX where you pay your $15 nightly fee on the honor system (envelope in a box). The campground had 30 Amp electrical service and water. We stopped in time to fire up the satellite dish and watch NFL football. We had the entire park to ourselves and never left the camper due to the wind and cold.
We departed from Denver two days early due to a weather forecast of snow and temperatures in the teens. It turned out to be the right decision because Aaron called us on Sunday to confirm that they had over 6″ of snow on the ground and it was still snowing.
We took the southern route down I-25 over Raton Pass into New Mexico and then across the high plains on US-87 toward the Texas panhandle. It was a sunny fall day and the scenery was beautiful.
We spent the night at the Clayton RV Park in Clayton, NM. The park was good for an overnight stop and had good Verizon cell phone and data access.
We had a great time in Denver visiting the kids and more importantly the granddaughters. On Monday, after setting up camp at Cherry Creek State Park we showered and headed over to visit the kids. The girls were a little shy at first, but we arrived with gifts (we hit the lottery at the Toys-R-Us going out of business sale). We brought the Disney Princess Magical Wand Palace that first night and it broke the ice.
Disney Princess Magical Wand Palace
We also delivered a Princess Chair/Recliner from Alysa’s parents which was also a hit.
Princess Recliner
On Tuesday, both Aaron and Alysa had to work, so we got to babysit from the time Aaron left for his 16 hour shift and Alysa arrived home from her early morning shift.
On Wednesday, we all went to lunch at Homegrown Tap & Dough between Alysa’s early morning shift and Aaron’s afternoon/evening shift (starting at 2PM). The girls got free ice cream for being so good.
Penelope Guarding Her Ice Cream
On Thursday, the kids came out to the campground to visit. Cherry Creek State Park has a shooting range and Alysa had never shot, so Aaron and I took her to the range while Beth watched the girls. Apparently, Alysa is related to Annie Oakley because she tore it up at the range and really seemed to enjoy herself.
Alysa at the Range
After a cold day at the range, we went to a nearby Hooters for nationwide wing quality assurance testing.
Dinner at Hooters
On Friday, the kids came out to the campground again. It was the first day there with nice weather so we started a campfire prior to their arrival so that we could make Pudgy Pies and S’mores.
Pudgy Pie Manufacturing Process
S’more Comsumption
The girls spent Friday night with us so that Aaron and Alysa could attend a concert. We had a great time. Beth fired up the convection oven and baked the girls Tyson Dinosaur Nuggets and Ore Ida Crinkle Cut Fries (and Grandpa was jealous). We decided to depart Saturday after Alysa picked up the girls because it was forecast to snow on Sunday along with a Sunday night/Monday morning low in the teens, so Penelope helped me pack up the Kayak and bicycle. She was a big help and quite proud of her efforts helping Grandpa. After that we all hunkered down in the camper and had a slumber party/movie night (watching Beauty and the Beast) with popcorn.
It poured hard all night last night. The pitter patter of rain on the roof all night was more like the thunder of Irish Step Dancers but it made for good sleeping. When we got up, I was certain that I would be unhooking the utilities while standing in 6″ of water, but the campground had good drainage and the only moisture was from the never ending rain.
We left by just after 7:00 AM CDT and immediately jumped on the interstate and later stopped for fuel in Wakeeney, KS (where we stayed last year in the Wakeeney KOA on the return trip from Colorado). We tried to be “thrifty” and used Gas Buddy to find the lowest diesel fuel price at that exit. It guided us a couple of miles off the interstate to a tiny station next to what appeared to be a Co-Op grain storage facility. We had to do a bit of off-roading to come in from the rear of the facility to get to the diesel fuel pumps where we were presented with more diesel fuel choices than I could handle without a serious research project regarding the different options in diesel fuel. The signs had references to tax free fuel (which I was sure I deserved) and “dyed diesel fuel”, etc. I became overwhelmed with the choices and the minimal savings and elected that we should return to the proximity of the exit where they had a 24/7 Travel Store where we could get well deserved (for our efforts) McDonald’s Sausage McMuffins.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, with Beth taking over driving for a couple of hours so that I could demonstrate my napping prowess (I really don’t need these naps, but take them in order to keep Beth brushed up on her RV piloting skills). We arrived at Cherry Creek State Park just after 1 PM MDT. This park is roughly 30 miles from Arvada, CO (where the kids live), but worth it due to the quality of the park (huge sites withe full hookups that allow campfires, etc).
