Almost there ... Thurs-Sat, 9/21-9/23

A couple of long driving days netted us nearer our Baton Rouge goal.  Tomorrow should be the magic day.  We haven't stopped to hike or play much because of the heat.  So ... we drove!  When we left Foss St Pk, OK, Thursday morning, we hoped to travel a short distance to overnight at Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford, OK, a Harvest Host location. Unfortunately, no electric hookup was available at this site, and it was too blamed hot for us to spend the night without Tergel's air conditioning.  Call us wussies, but it was hot.  We did, however, tour the museum.  Tom Stafford was born and grew up in Weatherford and the town has done him proud with this collection. 

One last pretty shot before we left Foss St Pk.

The museum has worked closely with the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and the US Air Force Museum to assemble one of the finest collections of aerospace artifacts in the central United States.

Lost in space.

This museum is chock full of interesting exhibits:  Aviation and space, rockets and shuttles. space suits, and quite a bit of Tom Stafford's personal stuff.  Much of it was "over my head," but I enjoyed the museum nevertheless.  Jimmy, of course, was fascinated.  The spot lighting was such that picture taking was tough, but here are a few.  If you get a chance to stop, please do.  The fee is minimal.  If we return via Oklahoma and have cooler weather, we'll overnight via Harvest Hosts.  If you haven't checked out Harvest Hosts, click on the link here.

Jimmy reads up on the Apollo Command and service module.

This Titan rocket was immense.

Stafford was a famed test pilot and astronaut.

Tom Stafford was born in 1930.  Here is parents' wedding announcement -- they don't write 'em like this anymore.  I like the personal touches in an overwhelmingly technical museum such as this.  I hope you can enlarge it and read it.  Click your back arrow to return to this post.

We didn't spend too long inside the air-conditioned museum and hit the road traveling east on I-40.  A few extra stops for groceries and gas, through OK City and then we returned to back roads.  We spent a quiet night at McGee Creek St Pk in southeastern OK, and continued on those back roads till lunchtime on Saturday.  In the process, we clipped Texas (again!) and Arkansas, the ArkLaTex.  Then it was I-49 to Shreveport and an overnight at the Elks Lodge there.  The photos below are from McGee Creek, the lake and environs.

Hundreds of Black Vultures (Buzzy Buzzard) were sitting on or near the dam,
or circling over it.

But my favorite is the Gulf Fritillary butterfly on brilliant Marigolds.

The past two-and-a-half weeks have been very enjoyable for me and Jimmy.  We've seen a lot of new special places and hoofed it over some of the best areas in the country.  We'll spend time with my sister and BiL in Baton Rouge and then go camp out in Mobile AL for a while. It'll be good to see family and friends again.

Adios 2009 and Welcome to our new Lazy Daze RV!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US!!! 

This is our new-to-us (2005) motor home - a 27' Lazy Daze, made in Montclair, CA. It features a "living room" with two couches and large windows all around the rear of the unit, a nice big (comparatively speaking) full kitchen, full bath, dinette, and a queen-sized bed over the driver's cab. We flew to Arkansas to pick up this beauty! And then drove it to our condo in Daphne, AL.

HAPPY CAMPING IN 2010!!!

Thurs, 8/14/08

On our way to Glacier Nat'l Pk, we accidentally stumbled up on Mammoth Springs St Pk, located in the Ozark Mtns of north central Arkansas - a nice place for travelers to stop for a look-see. This springs flows at an average rate of 9.78 million gallons per hour with a constant water temp of 58 degrees! The dam was first built in 1822 for a wheat mill. We liked seeing the little fella fishing below the dam.