Sunday - We were not in a big hurry to leave today because check-in time at Sequoyah State Park campgrounds is after 2:00 pm, so we took our time getting around. A little before 9, I received a call from Michelle (my step-dad's niece). Michelle and her sister, Stacey, were very young when my mom and step-dad married, so I've known them most of their lives. I've always enjoyed visiting with these two cousins by marriage. Michelle and her husband Dan were on their way to Chetopa, KS (8 miles south of Oswego) to help a good friend with an auction and wondered about stopping to say hello to us on the way. I was thrilled that she contacted me, and of course I said yes.
They arrived at the park around 11:15, and we had a nice visit for 30 minutes or so. I wish we'd had more time but they needed to get to Chetopa and we needed to get on the road after a quick lunch. I hope when we have some time to spend in the Kansas City area we can visit with them and enjoy more than 30 minutes together.
Today was similar to many other "moving days" recently. As we began to hook up, it started to mist, eventually turning into rain and it continued most of the way to Sequoyah State Park at Hulbert, OK. Fortunately, it was never a heavy rain. It did clear up shortly before we arrived and it turned out to be a pretty nice evening.
Once we arrived at the campground, we found our site and were soon parked. Our friend Alvin must have pulled in behind us somewhere on the road, as we noticed he was waiting patiently behind us while we pulled into our site, and then he parked next to us. Once we were set up Phil & Janelle, who arrived before both of us, walked down to visit a bit.
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| We enjoyed watching the deer while we visited. |
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| A deer on the right and a bit in front of Bentley. |
Alvin's wife, Linda drove out in their car a short time later. It was so good to see these two couples again. We've missed this group and look forward to the next few days to see everyone who is coming. It warmed up a little in the afternoon, and we all had a nice visit before returning to our RV's late in the afternoon as the temperatures began to drop again. We are expecting 3 or 4 more couples to arrive tomorrow.
Monday - With an overnight low of somewhere around 38 degrees, it was pretty cold in the RV this morning. The wind was blowing and continued until later in the day. My first cup of coffee helped warm me up a bit until the electric fireplace took over and added a little extra warmth to the room. We leave the furnace running around 62-65 overnight, and then I turn the fireplace on when I get up. If I turn the furnace up it wouldn't be very comfortable for Dean, since the bedroom is so small and the ceiling so low it gets warm up there pretty quick. With the door closed - it's even worse. Therefore, I don't mess with the propane furnace while he is still sleeping. The electric fireplace makes the living area toasty within a short time. I try to do a few exercises while the coffee perks - so between that and the fireplace, it doesn't take long for me to be comfortable.
It was a short time after lunch before two more couples pulled in, Keith & Drena parked next to us, and then Stan & Linda next to them. We have at least one more rig coming in and possibly a second yet today. Once it appeared Keith & Drena were set up, I saw Drena outside, so I walked over. It was so good to see her again. We visited for a bit, before Dean and I left to go to into Wagoner with Alvin & Linda. They needed to run by their house to get a few things and I needed to stop at Walmart. I've decided I need some long handled underwear and a pair of sweats if we are going to set around the fire at night. It is just too cold without something a little warmer than jeans and a sweatshirt.
I worked on the blog when we returned before we all left to go eat dinner at Lopez's in Wagoner. Phil & Janelle are the camp hosts for this casual campout and have planned our activities for the week. They live in Wagoner and Lopez's is one of their favorite restaurants. Alvin & Linda had their car, so Dean & I and Keith & Drena rode with them to the restaurant. Stan and Linda rode with Phil and Janelle. As we left the park, we met Bob & Patty just a short distance from the park entrance. Drena sent a text to let them know where we were going, but they replied they'd see us later at the campground. Patty hasn't been feeling too well, but since they had their reservations they decided to come on down for the week.
Typically I order the carnitas at Lopez's, some of the best I've ever had; but I'm trying to cut back so I just had a taco and an enchilada. The food was very good but the company around the table was even better. It was fun to visit and catch up with everyone.
After a little discussion, once we returned from dinner, we decided it wasn't too cold to sit out by the campfire (well, by the "Flame Genies"). Three couples have flame genies. They keep you warm without the smoke and when you are ready to call it a night, you just stop feeding it pellets and the fire shuts down pretty quickly compared to a wood fire. I enjoy campfires, but the smoke does bother me, so I really appreciate not having to deal with it. Phil and Stan (parked next to each other) brought their "Genies" out on Phil's campsite. Between the two, they kept the twelve of us pretty toasty - along with our hats, gloves, blankets, coats, etc. Fortunately the wind died down so with the warmth of the fires it really wasn't too bad....but that might have been because I was wearing my new long handle underwear, sweats, a heavy sweatshirt, a jacket and had a full size quilt wrapped around me, plus a stocking hat and heavy gloves.
There are a lot of deer here in Sequoyah State Park. That is to be expected with a thick woodland all around us. I think we counted nine deer at one time this evening. Through the evening there were groups of five or seven around us several times, that included a few fawns. They are so much fun to watch. The deer are timid, but somewhat used to all of the campers that stay here, so they aren't too skittish either.
About 9 we called it a night.
Tuesday - After breakfast, I decided to go ahead and make deviled eggs for our potluck dinner tonight. I am making Carolyn M.'s "loaded" deviled eggs. Mine aren't as good as hers (she adds more ingredients) but they aren't too bad, and no matter how they are made, they are one of Dean's favorite foods. I'm also making a peach crisp and Mexican cornbread, so I prepped as much as I could for those until I'm ready to bake them for our 5:30 meal.
Dean was outside working on a few things. While we were in Putnam, IL it rained most of the time we were there. When we first arrived on a beautiful, very warm day, we put out our large ground mat out so we could sit in our chairs outside under the awning. It started raining the day after we arrived, and continued to do so most of the time we were there. We had to put it up wet and it was a muddy mess. So Dean washed and scrubbed it this morning. He also took a scrub brush to our metal steps into the rig. Mud was packed into the grooves on the steps and they looked horrible. They both look pretty spiffy now!
While he was doing that I got the last part of the blog for the remaining time we were in Oswego posted and started on a post for our time here. After we ate a sandwich, we took our chairs down to Phil & Janelle's site. We'll be having our potluck dinner here so we left our chairs for later, and we took a walk around the campground and then out to the main road and back. It was a beautiful day. I had to end up taking my coat off and carrying it. If the sun would come out entirely from behind the clouds it would have almost felt like summer.
I took a few pictures as we were walking:
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We are just a short walk away from the restroom, and you can see the lake from our site as well.
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| Alvin & Linda, and behind them Bob & Patty |
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| Keith & Drena, Stan & Linda, with Phil & Janelle at the end. Cindy was parked across from Stan and Linda, but she had not arrived when I took these pictures. |
After dinner, and taking our leftover dishes back home, we returned to Phil & Janelle's for another campfire around the Flame Genies, where we enjoyed some great conversation and lots of laughs.
Wednesday - Janelle planned for the ladies to go into Wagoner this morning to visit a couple of gift shops and have lunch. Linda offered to drive us. Patty and Bob went to visit a friend of Patty's today who has been ill, so she didn't go along with us this morning.
Our first stop was at a Drug Store that included a gift shop. I don't think anyone left without purchasing something here. Several of us bought these neat little holders for our chapstick/lipstick that you can attach to your purse.
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| Chapstick/Lipstick Holder |
I spied the cutest hat that was brown and with an olive green bill. As soon as I saw it, I thought of Linda B. and called her over. I told her she needed this hat, that it had her name written all over it. She tried it on and it looked so good on her. She ended up purchasing it and wore it several times during the rest of the campout.
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| Linda is on the right with her new cap on. |
The gift area had a number of unique items and even though I walked around the store several times I continued to find things tucked in here and there, even as we were walking out the door. I love places like that.
Janelle told us the building was originally her aunt's home. The drug store had purchased it and totally remodeled it. Whoever the contractor was did an amazing job.
From there we moved down the street to a flower/gift shop where they also serve lunch. We enjoyed looking around in here as well. Again, they had many cute things. I was tempted to buy a couple of things but I passed in the end.
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch here. Me and several others chose 1/2 chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, and a bowl of potato soup that came with a fruit cup. The meal was delicious! I particularly enjoyed the potato soup - and I typically am not a big fan of it. It was pureed - no chunks, except for some pieces of bacon in it. It was delicious! We had such a nice time visiting during our meal as well. It was a lovely outing with these five ladies.
We returned to the campground a short time later. The guys had done their own thing and ended up eating lunch at The Lodge, located in Sequoyah State Park.
Everyone brought their leftovers from last night back to Phil & Janelle's for dinner, then we enjoyed another evening sitting around the flame genies. The weather has been wonderful with the last two days being a little warmer each day. We didn't have to bundle up near as much as Monday night. This is fall break for children from school here, and the campground has started filling up with families. Halloween decorations are at many of the sites.
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| A few Halloween decorations on display at this camper here for Fall Break. |
The deer aren't quite as brave coming to the campsites with the additional traffic and noise. However, we can still see them first thing in the morning and in the evening if we just look around.
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| Linda L, Stan, Janelle, Cindy & Drena |
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| Phil, Cindy, Drena and Linda B |
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| Bob, Alvin, Keith & Dean |
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| Keith & Dean |
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| Bob & Alvin - I'm not sure but it looks like Alvin might be napping! |
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| A better picture of Linda L and husband Stan, with Janelle and Phil. |
Thursday - I asked Dean to get my bicycle down from the rack on the back of Bentley yesterday so I could ride with Linda this morning. We started off and I noticed it was really difficult to pedal so I switched gears thinking I must have it on low gear since we were on a slight incline. That didn't make a difference and then I noticed I could only turn the shifter to 3 of the gears and not all 7, so it was very difficult trying to pedal at all, especially with an incline. After trying to pedal only a block or two I had to stop and return to the RV. The gears were not working at all. Dean is definitely going to have to do some work on it before I will be able to ride it. My legs were shaking so hard by the time we got back I'm surprised I was able to ride it back. So much for that. Alvin had brought his bike too, so he joined Linda for her bike ride. A little later, after my legs recovered, Dean and I took a walk around the park to get a little exercise as well.
Shortly before noon, we caravanned to Tahlequah to eat lunch together at the Restaurant of the Cherokees. Linda and Stan rode with us today. The restaurant has a buffet, or you can order from their menu. We all chose the buffet and the food was delicious. They had a large table for our group, but by the time we got our food the table was full, so Dean and I set at a nearby booth with Alvin & Linda.
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| In line at the buffet |
Alvin and Keith are making plans for a couple of trips that several members in our SKP group plan to enjoy next year. Alvin and Linda are planning a trip that will actually be our SKP June casual campout, to be held in Nathrop, Colorado. Dean and I have only been to the eastern part of the state around Colorado Springs so we are excited to visit more of this state, even though it means crossing some major mountain passes. Eek!! We enjoyed visiting a little about the trip during lunch.
Keith has been putting together another trip that will take several of us from Arkansas to the east coast and back over a period of about four weeks. Dean and I will join them somewhere in Louisiana after we leave Texas around the end of February or first of March. We will break off from them for a few days when they visit Florida, to stop and see my step-brother who lives in Florida for a couple of days before rejoining them for the remainder of the trip.
After lunch, we all drove to and visited the Mullins House which is located on the Cherokee Nation grounds. Dean and I had never visited here so we took the tour through the home. It was interesting and it is the only antebellum mansion left standing in Oklahoma today. Of course, I took a number of pictures as we walked through the home, and I've included a few of them below:
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| The Murrell Home |
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| Living Room |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Dining Room |
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| Kitchen |
Our next stop was at the Cherokee Heritage Center, where Dean and I visited last year prior to attending the October casual campout with this group. Dean enjoyed it so much, he wanted to take the tour again. It is led by a native Cherokee through the village they have set up to introduce others to their way of life in past years. Alvin & Linda, Cindy, and Keith and Dreana joined us on the tour along with a few other folks visiting the center today. It was just as interesting and enjoyable as it was the first time we were here.
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| This was the waiting area before the tour began. (Drena & Keith at far end) The young lady to the right was our host during the tour. |
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| Alvin, Linda and Cindy. |
Once we returned to the campground I spent some time putting away as many things as I could in preparation of leaving tomorrow. It is supposed to rain, so Dean also emptied our waste tank so he would not have to deal with that in the morning. While he was outside working and putting away some other things, I decided to make some brownies. I just had a need for some chocolate I guess. A little later, Linda sent a text inviting us to come over and enjoy the fire around their flame genie. Phil and Janelle's son and family arrived while we were gone to the Cherokee Center. They are going to be camping in a tent at Phil and Janelle's site tonight. The rest of the group gradually joined us and I was so glad to share my brownies with all of them. Now I won't gorge myself! (I would have frozen them, but I still would been tempted, so I was very glad it worked out as it did.)
Our last evening around the campfire together. It has been a wonderful week and for Dean and I, it was great to spend time with these folks. We missed all of those that were not able to attend and sure hope to spend some time with them in the coming year's camping season or at one of the monthly luncheons in Springfield before we leave for Texas.
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| Several deer were enjoying their time at Alvin & Linda's site. |
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| Alvin had just added more pellets to the fire - made for an interesting picture! |
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| It was fun watching these deer - noses to the ground! |
Friday - Well, as we have encountered with most departures from a campground for a while, it started to rain in the night and continued on throughout the morning. We are all going to eat breakfast at the Lodge here in the Park this morning at 9:00, so Dean and I took advantage of the time before we left to pack up as much as we could. When we get back about all we will need to do is hook up to the truck and unhook from the electric.
We rode over to the Lodge with Alvin, Linda and Cindy. Everyone came for breakfast including Phil and Janelle's son and his family. We asked Lane if they got wet last night in their tent and he said they did, however, they were able to move together pretty good and make it through the night without it being too bad. I remember many rainy nights spent camping in a tent. I have some great memories of those times - especially when I was in Girl Scouts. I can't remember one time that we camped that it did not rain at least one night though. As a kid it was adventurous. Today.....probably not!
Breakfast was very good and plentiful! As usual the visiting around the tables was great and we enjoyed this last time together before we all head our separate ways. All too soon, we were loading up to head back to the campground. Dean and I quickly finished the last of our work and we pulled out shortly after 11.
Fortunately there was a lag in the rain shortly before we left and while it did continue to rain, it was light. However, soon after we were on the road the rain picked up and it rained on us the entire trip back to Oswego, where we arrived shortly before 2. We pulled into the same spot we were in before. We will be here through Wednesday of next week.
Neither of us were hungry since we ate such a late breakfast so once we were settled I went to the grocery store to get a few things we were out of. It was a quiet day and I only ran into one person, Tina. Funny, that her mom was one of the ladies I enjoyed visiting with at the store last week.
About 2 or so I went over to my sister Cindy's and visited for a couple of hours. When we got back, Dean and I were both getting hungry. There were no leftovers, so we decided we would order a pizza; but no one answered the phone when I called in a pickup order. We decided to drive to Columbus and get hamburgers from McDonald's instead. We watched some TV and soon called it a night.
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