Monday - slept really well, it is very quiet here in the campground, other than the distant trains occasionally in the night. Had breakfast and then went for a long walk through the neighborhood. After we got home and cleaned up, we each received an email from Amazon telling us to report at 1:00 PM on Thursday and Friday for orientation sessions. Now we know when things will begin.
In the afternoon we went to the nearby dentist office and I made an appointment for the afternoon to have my tooth checked. Bummer. Then we went to the Walmart here in Coffeyville to get supplies and groceries. We stopped at Cox Communications, the local cable company to sign up for cable TV and Internet. We will use them and will drop our jet pack service for the next three months. Gary got the inside hookups done for us, we are good to go for internet and college football.
I went to the dentist late afternoon and am pleased with the results so far. He ground a little off my crown and then diagnosed that I may be clenching my teeth during the night, so gave me a temporary implement to wear in my mouth at night to see if things will improve, over a couple weeks trial. He wanted to try that before just going in and doing a root canal procedure. I think he may be right. After supper, I worked on caulking the bottom inside rail of the shower, we still are getting moisture on the outside rail after showering. Darn, hope it works this time.
Tuesday - we decided to drive to Lowell, Arkansas which has the closest Camping World store to us now. We had a couple things to return that we bought in Albuquerque and we needed a couple other supplies. Went through Joplin on the way down, which is about an hour away and then south to Lowell. About 2.25 hours total to get there. Then on the way back stopped in Bentonville, AR at the Sam's Club to pick up strawberries, etc. Bentonville is a very pretty town and then Bella Vista is just north, a popular retirement community. We drove on back roads through Oklahoma on the way home, it was a nice day to be out for a drive. Back home we put our groceries away and then went to El Pueblito, a local Mexican restaurant with good food!
Wednesday - another long walk before breakfast. We did 2 miles on the hospital sidewalk loop and another mile plus to and from the RV park. Today was a laundry and project day to get things done before we start work tomorrow. Our last free day, but we are ready to be on a schedule for awhile - AND start getting a paycheck again!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Sept. 21 & 22
Saturday - moving day to Coffeyville. Slept in and then up and packing for our final day of travel for the next 3 months! It was nice to have cooler temps for all the travel preparations.
On the road for just 45 miles to Coffeyville. Followed the directions to the Buckeye Mobile & RV Park. The office was closed since it was Saturday, but we called the posted number on the office door and Tim came right over to help us. He told us we could pick our site, so we looked around at the available options and ended up choosing #31. This site is just round the corner from the office on the north side of the park. We like it because it is not on the main traffic road and we face trees and lawn. This site also has a little more room between campers than the lakeside sites. We got backed in and set up for our 3 month stay.
After we were settled, we headed out to explore the town and find a place to finish watching the
Nebraska/SDSU game. (We found we could not get very many channels at the campground with our antenna for the TV.) Not very many options in Coffeyville as it turns out, but we found Jack's Place, which was advertised as a sports bar. There were no cars out front, but the neon sign said OPEN, so we went in. The music was blasting VERY loud, the waitress said she had to turn it down from the night before. She did and then was very helpful in turning the channel on a couple of the TVs to the game. We watched the remainder of that game (sorry SDSU) and then drove downtown. There are several historical buildings there, most of them dealing with the Dalton Gang robberies of the bank here. We found a place called "Tavern on the Plaza" that was open, so went in for supper. A nice place with unique vintage decor and they had live dinner music, a guitarist/soloist that was performing with just the right amount of volume to be heard, but not drown out conversation. We had a nice meal there. We stopped and picked up some groceries at the Country Mart, looks like that will be our grocery store. Home and a walk around the campground.
Sunday - I got up and took an early morning walk up the street. The Coffeyville hospital is 4 blocks south of us. Their campus has a sidewalk (one of the few in town) on its perimeter that is marked for walking, two laps = 1 mile. I think I will use that often, the streets are busy to walk on.
Back and cleaned up for 10:00 Mass. Our parish here is Holy Family Church, a good size church with a 5:30 Saturday and 8:00 and 10:00 AM masses. The church was about 3/4 full, with a lot of families. There was a visiting priest from Missouri, so we did not yet meet our Pastor. The organist/pianist was also the cantor, she did a good job. They have a Catholic school and a convent here, so a good sized community.
After church we drove out to find where the Amazon facility is located. It is a big building, over
1 million square feet. It will take us 15-20 minutes to get there from our campground. We also saw the Big Chief campground which is advertised as just across the road from Amazon, it actually is down the road a block or more. This campground is very bare looking, no trees, but there were many campers there already and many sites yet available. We also drove by the city park campground and the Heritage RV Campground on the way back in to town and think we made the right decision with the Buckeye RV Park. Home to do laundry and book work. We grilled burgers for supper and went out for an evening walk. The evenings have been cooling off here, we can sleep with the windows open and it is very quiet, except for hearing a train now and then.
On the road for just 45 miles to Coffeyville. Followed the directions to the Buckeye Mobile & RV Park. The office was closed since it was Saturday, but we called the posted number on the office door and Tim came right over to help us. He told us we could pick our site, so we looked around at the available options and ended up choosing #31. This site is just round the corner from the office on the north side of the park. We like it because it is not on the main traffic road and we face trees and lawn. This site also has a little more room between campers than the lakeside sites. We got backed in and set up for our 3 month stay.
After we were settled, we headed out to explore the town and find a place to finish watching the
Nebraska/SDSU game. (We found we could not get very many channels at the campground with our antenna for the TV.) Not very many options in Coffeyville as it turns out, but we found Jack's Place, which was advertised as a sports bar. There were no cars out front, but the neon sign said OPEN, so we went in. The music was blasting VERY loud, the waitress said she had to turn it down from the night before. She did and then was very helpful in turning the channel on a couple of the TVs to the game. We watched the remainder of that game (sorry SDSU) and then drove downtown. There are several historical buildings there, most of them dealing with the Dalton Gang robberies of the bank here. We found a place called "Tavern on the Plaza" that was open, so went in for supper. A nice place with unique vintage decor and they had live dinner music, a guitarist/soloist that was performing with just the right amount of volume to be heard, but not drown out conversation. We had a nice meal there. We stopped and picked up some groceries at the Country Mart, looks like that will be our grocery store. Home and a walk around the campground.
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| Saturday morning mist on the lake |
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| He wanted to ride along - can anyone tell us what he is? |
Sunday - I got up and took an early morning walk up the street. The Coffeyville hospital is 4 blocks south of us. Their campus has a sidewalk (one of the few in town) on its perimeter that is marked for walking, two laps = 1 mile. I think I will use that often, the streets are busy to walk on.
Back and cleaned up for 10:00 Mass. Our parish here is Holy Family Church, a good size church with a 5:30 Saturday and 8:00 and 10:00 AM masses. The church was about 3/4 full, with a lot of families. There was a visiting priest from Missouri, so we did not yet meet our Pastor. The organist/pianist was also the cantor, she did a good job. They have a Catholic school and a convent here, so a good sized community.
After church we drove out to find where the Amazon facility is located. It is a big building, over
1 million square feet. It will take us 15-20 minutes to get there from our campground. We also saw the Big Chief campground which is advertised as just across the road from Amazon, it actually is down the road a block or more. This campground is very bare looking, no trees, but there were many campers there already and many sites yet available. We also drove by the city park campground and the Heritage RV Campground on the way back in to town and think we made the right decision with the Buckeye RV Park. Home to do laundry and book work. We grilled burgers for supper and went out for an evening walk. The evenings have been cooling off here, we can sleep with the windows open and it is very quiet, except for hearing a train now and then.
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| Our view looking forward |
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| Our patio at the Buckeye RV Park |
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Sept. 19 & 20
Thursday - time for a hike! We are in a beautiful park and they have great nature trails, we had a great time hiking around part of the lake on the wooded trails. A good workout for us, especially with the humidity. Back to our rig, we put out the patio mat and sat outside. We are enjoying this campsite, the lake is behind us, trees all around us and the site next door is empty. Very quiet and relaxing.
After lunch we decided to take the boat out. We drove over to the boat ramp/swimming area and got the Sea Eagle ready for a voyage. We saw another kayak out on the water and other boats were putting in. We are not far from the dam, so we headed the other direction around the park point. It was beautiful. The wind was picking up and we were going with the wind, so the captain decided we better head back. Whoa! A lot harder paddling back into the wind and waves. The crew (me) worked hard to follow the captains's orders and soon had a blister. Ouch. As we headed back we could see storm clouds approaching, time to get back to land. The other kayak and boats were going in too.
We landed and carried the boat up to a grass boulevard to clean, deflate and put away before the storm. We just got it bagged and in the car when the rain started. We put the car under a tree and then we sat under the picnic shelter to watch the rain. Pretty soon it was coming in sheets and the wind was hard enough to get us wet. When it let up we went home and settled in for rest of the storm. (Did I tell you that our camp site was at the bottom of the hill?) It rained really hard again and soon we had a river of mud and water running across our patio mat on its way down toward the lake. Good thing we are on a hard pavement surface. It continued raining on and off the rest of the evening, we stayed inside and worked on the computers.
Friday - Overcast and still sprinkling. After breakfast, Gary went out to clean up the patio mat and mud. He ended up putting the mat over the picnic table and hosing it down, also hosed the mud off the rest of the patio/driveway area. There was plenty to wash away. I worked on projects inside and vacuumed the house, using our new Eureka handheld. A lot of power, it did a great job. The day gradually improved, two men brought in a camper trailer in the site next to us about noon and set it up - then left. They did not come back until about 9:00 that night. We cleaned up and went in to town in Oogolah for supper. Found the only non fast food place, Doug's Cafe. A small family run cafe, they had good food. We enjoyed watching the clientele, a big table full of high school kids eating before the football game, families and older couples. The family staff were really hustling to keep up - they did a great job. We drove around the town afterward. They had a statue of Will Rogers in the center of town, he is from this area. Home and started packing up for our travel tomorrow to Coffeyville.
After lunch we decided to take the boat out. We drove over to the boat ramp/swimming area and got the Sea Eagle ready for a voyage. We saw another kayak out on the water and other boats were putting in. We are not far from the dam, so we headed the other direction around the park point. It was beautiful. The wind was picking up and we were going with the wind, so the captain decided we better head back. Whoa! A lot harder paddling back into the wind and waves. The crew (me) worked hard to follow the captains's orders and soon had a blister. Ouch. As we headed back we could see storm clouds approaching, time to get back to land. The other kayak and boats were going in too.
We landed and carried the boat up to a grass boulevard to clean, deflate and put away before the storm. We just got it bagged and in the car when the rain started. We put the car under a tree and then we sat under the picnic shelter to watch the rain. Pretty soon it was coming in sheets and the wind was hard enough to get us wet. When it let up we went home and settled in for rest of the storm. (Did I tell you that our camp site was at the bottom of the hill?) It rained really hard again and soon we had a river of mud and water running across our patio mat on its way down toward the lake. Good thing we are on a hard pavement surface. It continued raining on and off the rest of the evening, we stayed inside and worked on the computers.
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| On the hike |
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| Our site from the hiking trail, we are on the far right |
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| The voyage |
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| View of the park from the water |
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| And the rain ran down! |
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| Our campsite - another view |
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| The picnic table area was below the back of the motorhome |
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Sept. 18 - Wednesday
Slept in and then visited more with Chris & Dorri. Packed up and left for our short drive today. We stopped for groceries at the local Walmart, then up to Pryor, to Claremore and north to the Hawthorn Bluff Corp of Engineers campground on Lake Oologah. Oh my, it was very hot and muggy by then! The park attendant directed us to a good site, we are backed up to a cove, out of the wind coming off the lake. Very wooded, she said to watch for armadillos, deer and raccoons. Gary rode his bike around to check out the boat dock and swimming beach possibilities and I took a walk around the campground. By now it is 95 degrees and even more humid, good thing we are in the shade this time. We went out after dark to see the beautiful harvest moon shining over the water. We could not stay out long, we are back in mosquito territory. Ended the day watching one of our favorite movies, "Under the Tuscan Sun".
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| Harvest moon over Lake Oogolah, OK |
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| Beautiful! |
Sept. 16 & 17
Monday - Happy Birthday Kelsey!
Today we go to Oklahoma. Headed west on # 20, then north on # 271 through Gilmer, Mt. Pleasant and Paris, TX. Crossed the Oklahoma border and instantly had rough roads! Not a priority here, I guess. Shortly after that we had our first armadillo sighting, on his back, feet up in air. We did not see a single one in Texas where they are lovingly called Texas speed bumps.
At Hugo, OK we started on the Indian Nation Turnpike. It was a little smoother and had very little traffic. We got off just south of McAlester, $7.50 paid out in tolls. There just aren't many straight highway options in that part of OK.
So now we are on Hwy 69, very rough and a lot of semi traffic. Drove up through the lakes area, Lake Eufaula being the largest. Arrived at Onapa RV Park - a small place just south of Checotah. Set up and then went in to Eufaula for groceries and to look at the nearby Oklahoma state park. We wanted to see how their state parks compared to other states. They look about the same, some sites have water hookup, the older sites were gravel pads and very small. There were larger sites with paved pads too. Home, supper and early to bed - it was a long travel day.
Tuesday - we went for a long walk on the rural roads by our campground. Watched a movie on TV while having breakfast, some western called "The Honkers". Drove north to Wagoner, then west to just outside of Coweta. Here we stopped to see our friends, Chris and Dorri Evans - we had met them at the Workkamper News Rally we went to last October and then Gary had seen them again in May at the RV Maintenance training. They had invited us to park and stay overnight in their driveway. It was great to visit with them and catch up. We went into Coweta for supper at a Mexican place, then came back and sat outside. They need rain here too, it showered a little as we arrived in the afternoon, but then quit. Thank you Evans' for your hospitality.
Today we go to Oklahoma. Headed west on # 20, then north on # 271 through Gilmer, Mt. Pleasant and Paris, TX. Crossed the Oklahoma border and instantly had rough roads! Not a priority here, I guess. Shortly after that we had our first armadillo sighting, on his back, feet up in air. We did not see a single one in Texas where they are lovingly called Texas speed bumps.
At Hugo, OK we started on the Indian Nation Turnpike. It was a little smoother and had very little traffic. We got off just south of McAlester, $7.50 paid out in tolls. There just aren't many straight highway options in that part of OK.
So now we are on Hwy 69, very rough and a lot of semi traffic. Drove up through the lakes area, Lake Eufaula being the largest. Arrived at Onapa RV Park - a small place just south of Checotah. Set up and then went in to Eufaula for groceries and to look at the nearby Oklahoma state park. We wanted to see how their state parks compared to other states. They look about the same, some sites have water hookup, the older sites were gravel pads and very small. There were larger sites with paved pads too. Home, supper and early to bed - it was a long travel day.
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| Onapa RV Park site |
Tuesday - we went for a long walk on the rural roads by our campground. Watched a movie on TV while having breakfast, some western called "The Honkers". Drove north to Wagoner, then west to just outside of Coweta. Here we stopped to see our friends, Chris and Dorri Evans - we had met them at the Workkamper News Rally we went to last October and then Gary had seen them again in May at the RV Maintenance training. They had invited us to park and stay overnight in their driveway. It was great to visit with them and catch up. We went into Coweta for supper at a Mexican place, then came back and sat outside. They need rain here too, it showered a little as we arrived in the afternoon, but then quit. Thank you Evans' for your hospitality.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Sept. 12 & 13
Thursday - after our last two busy days, we decided to stay put today. I went for a walk, then we did book work, laundry, and cleaning. Gary took our outgoing mail to the post office. the post office in Cut-n-Shoot had closed at 1:30, so he had to go on to Conroe to get things mailed. In the afternoon we went to the pool, then had an early supper. (It is nice not to be driving somewhere every day)
Friday - time to pack up again and hit the road. Heading north now, took # 105, then # 59 up to Nacogdoches. As we left Cut-n-Shoot and drove, the lovebugs were hitting our windshield like rain! We did not dare run the windshield wipers, it would have been a solid smear. When we stopped for gas, Gary tried to wash them off, but with very little success. Yuck! Then north on # 259 and at Henderson caught # 322 and #1122 to the Fernwood RV Park just south of Longview, TX. A very nice place, cement pads and blacktop roads, but no shade and it was high 90's. When we got out to look, the entire front of our motorhome was covered with love bug carnage - we will work on that tomorrow when it is cooler. Hooray, there are no bugs here!
We got setup, had lunch and went to the pool at the RV park. Changed our clothes & went in to Longview for supper where we found Leon's Steakhouse & Saloon. A busy place, we sat by a table full of salesmen, celebrating because their team had met their sales goals. The sales manager & boss were there getting them everything they wanted. (They all talked funny too.) When we were ready to leave, one of the owners stopped us to ask how it was and then took us back to see the dancehall area. They were having a live blues band that night and a rock and roll band on Saturday night. She was very friendly, encouraged us to come back to dance - we had a nice visit and then headed home.
Friday - time to pack up again and hit the road. Heading north now, took # 105, then # 59 up to Nacogdoches. As we left Cut-n-Shoot and drove, the lovebugs were hitting our windshield like rain! We did not dare run the windshield wipers, it would have been a solid smear. When we stopped for gas, Gary tried to wash them off, but with very little success. Yuck! Then north on # 259 and at Henderson caught # 322 and #1122 to the Fernwood RV Park just south of Longview, TX. A very nice place, cement pads and blacktop roads, but no shade and it was high 90's. When we got out to look, the entire front of our motorhome was covered with love bug carnage - we will work on that tomorrow when it is cooler. Hooray, there are no bugs here!
We got setup, had lunch and went to the pool at the RV park. Changed our clothes & went in to Longview for supper where we found Leon's Steakhouse & Saloon. A busy place, we sat by a table full of salesmen, celebrating because their team had met their sales goals. The sales manager & boss were there getting them everything they wanted. (They all talked funny too.) When we were ready to leave, one of the owners stopped us to ask how it was and then took us back to see the dancehall area. They were having a live blues band that night and a rock and roll band on Saturday night. She was very friendly, encouraged us to come back to dance - we had a nice visit and then headed home.
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| What a Mess! |
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| Hard to see through all this! |
Sept. 14 & 15
Saturday - up for a walk, while Gary washed the love bugs off the windshield and front of the motorhome. It was cooler this morning, we had the windows open for a couple hours. Took this day to catch up on financial work and to research more about what to expect at our Amazon job. And of course, watching college football! (Wins for both Michigan and SDSU-yay!!) I went in to town to Walmart for essentials and groceries. I bought salmon and a sweet onion which we grilled for supper and then watched the Notre Dame game. Good job Irish!
Sunday - 10:00 Mass at St. Mary's in Longview. A nice parish, but the congregation was not singing. We really notice that now. Home, lunch, watched my Kansas City Chiefs win! That game was on locally because they played the Dallas Cowboys (did I mention who won?). The Packers won too, but the Vikings lost by just one!
We went to the pool, got there just as a family group did, so after a lot of getting splashed on and listening to a lot of loud voices (and they all talk funny down here) we went home and sat out in the shade to enjoy the afternoon. The park here is full of trailers, fifth-wheels & motorhomes, mostly with Texas plates, but very few people staying in them this weekend. Grilled burgers for supper. Later, I went to the shower house and did my hair coloring touch up, it needed it.
Sorry, we forgot to take pictures.
Sunday - 10:00 Mass at St. Mary's in Longview. A nice parish, but the congregation was not singing. We really notice that now. Home, lunch, watched my Kansas City Chiefs win! That game was on locally because they played the Dallas Cowboys (did I mention who won?). The Packers won too, but the Vikings lost by just one!
We went to the pool, got there just as a family group did, so after a lot of getting splashed on and listening to a lot of loud voices (and they all talk funny down here) we went home and sat out in the shade to enjoy the afternoon. The park here is full of trailers, fifth-wheels & motorhomes, mostly with Texas plates, but very few people staying in them this weekend. Grilled burgers for supper. Later, I went to the shower house and did my hair coloring touch up, it needed it.
Sorry, we forgot to take pictures.
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