Nothing like an electrical problem to end a windy day

Sometimes I wonder what I’ll write about each day as we travel. Especially on a travel day like this one, there is sometimes little to write about, but not today.

Just so there's a photo with this blog entry

We got off to a timely start, but I made a decision (turned out to be a good one) to avoid what is called the Indian Nation Turnpike in Oklahoma and take the back roads for most of the day to I-40 east of Oklahoma City.

Part of the reason was that the turnpikes charge by the axle and we have four of those. From what I read online it would have cost us more than $25 to go the 100-miles on the turnpike. The alternate route, which would through Oklahoma along some US highways was actually 19 miles shorter although a project 15 minutes longer in travel time.

The highways passed through gentle rolling Oklahoma countryside and we were able to maintain our usual 60 mph average speeds. The fall colors are at peak down here so it was a very picturesque and enjoyable ride.

Unfortunately, those infamous Oklahoma winds started kicking up about noon and we spent the rest of our travel day battling first a stiff cross wind and later a pretty fierce head wind. Early in the day I was averaging more than 10 miles per gallon, by the end of the day I was barely making 7 miles per gallon as we headed along I-40.

In a small town – Antlers, Oklahoma – I was at a stop light and a kid in a Camaro started racing his engine like we used to when we were kids when we wanted to race (not that I ever did that, which is a disclaimer I need to put here because my Dad reads this every day and I used to drive his car). I looked at Joan like “really, dude you think I’m going to race you with a 33-foot trailer dragging behind me.” Or maybe he just wanted me to notice his car. I’m assuming the latter although he pulled away at a high rate of speed.

We also passed a number of Tyson Chicken plants and saw one large truck filled with live chickens on the way to one of the plants. May they rest in pieces.

Once again we passed a large barn, mostly full of hay that had a sign on it that said “4C Cowboy Church.” We have seen a number of these “cowboy churches” in our travels and after doing a little research found out that they are, in fact, churches for cowboys. How’s that for research?

No, actually they are Christian churches that hold rodeo and other events along with Gospel singing and worship. I’m guessing that jeans are probably OK to wear there.

We passed a lot of road work signs, but only a little road work going on so that is always a good thing.

It was refreshing to see a lot of those new large windmills out here on the plains of Oklahoma. With the wind whipping along today I would think you could power a lot of houses with those.

When we started out this morning it was 38 degrees. At one point along the Interstate the temperature in Oklahoma had climbed to 82.

We also saw a first, an RV park that advertised among the usual amenities (cable TV, Internet, sewer, water, electricity) that they had an onsite storm shelter. We’ve had a couple stops over the years where we would have appreciated that perk.

But our biggest adventure of the day was awaiting us when we pulled into the Elk City/Clinton KOA Campground. Our reservation was intact and we headed to our space. After leveling the trailer I pulled in our power cord and Joan had to let me know that we had no electricity.

So I tried all the tricks I have learned about flipping the switch on the power pole, reset buttons, etc. but still no power.

I walked to the office hoping that it might be their problem, but we quickly determined that the problem belonged to me.

A man who is either the owner of the park or the manager responded to a call from the clerk and we found that the problem was in the recently repaired power cord from my trailer. The wire splices and pulled apart and we were not getting any power.

Trust me, I am usually extremely patient (OK, that was a complete lie) and after a long day’s drive was not really happy about having to deal with this problem.

The man retreated to his trailer brought his tool kit and between us (OK, mostly him) we got the cord fixed temporarily and the trailer powered up. He refused my offer to buy him a beer or pay him for his trouble.

By the time we finished I forgot to take pictures of our campsite so I will have to do that in the morning and load them on the blog later.  We have stayed at this park previously on trips west and we will not hesitate to stop here and recommend this campground to friends in the future.

But the power was restored and Joan was happy because her favorite TV show – Grey’s Anatomy – is on tonight and she was really looking forward to watching it.

To reduce the amount of waste to throw out we pretty much cleaned out the refrigerator for dinner eating bits and pieces of our last couple night’s meals.

We’ll be up and at ‘em early again tomorrow with just about 2 ½-hours to Amarillo to drop the trailer at the storage lot. Then it will be back to Oklahoma City for the night in a motel.

Talk to you then.

Mileage out: 30434

Time out: 8:20 a.m.

Mileage in: 30826

Time in: 3:44 p.m.