February 20th – March 2nd

Sorry it’s taken me a long time to catch up on my travelogues (today is July 18th). This one episode is hard to talk about, as I had a severe tire blowout and the repairs were complicated, so that I spent 3+ weeks in Oklahoma. I moved to several different RV parks trying to figure out what I needed, then waited for parts to arrive. I was able to go exploring and saw a lot of the area around Oklahoma City. I’d never spent much time in Oklahoma, and it is really a fascinating place!

Fri Feb 20 – 21: I left San Antonio TX and drove to Hwy 21 RV park in Paige TX, on my way to visit friends outside of Dallas. Stayed a second night at the RV park due to high winds, and was able to catch up on laundry, emails, dumped and filled RV tanks, etc.

Sun Feb 22: Made res for COE RV park in Ennis TX, on the way to Frisco (east of Dallas). I drove on back roads to avoid freeways, stopped in Waco for groceries. The park was on a beautiful lake so I walked all around it.

Mon Feb 23: On the way I did a drive by of old friends’ house in Plano (Judy and Lew were friends in Hawaii in the 70’s, and both have now passed on). Got to Pam & Bob Hatch’s condo in Frisco in the early afternoon, I parked overnight in their parking lot. We visited, Pam made dinner, and we took the dog who was staying with them for several walks. Pam and I worked together in the 80’s and 90’s in Redmond. I took a shower in the morning and we visited for awhile, then I headed north toward Oklahoma. I had a reservation at Courtney RV Park in Tushka OK.

Tues Feb 24: I made a few stops. At one of them, I missed the curb and one of the trailer tires bounced over the curb. After a while I heard weird noises, but when I checked it out several times I didn’t see anything. I had crossed over into OK and had only 6 miles before the RV park, when the tire blew. I saw the rubber tire roll down the road and the fender had also fallen off. I was on the side of I-75 with a lot of traffic. I called AAA and they came within a half hour. A police officer also stopped and stayed until I was able to move off the freeway. The tire was completely scraped up and only parts of the rim were left (see the photo).

Once the spare tire was on, I proceeded to the RV park in Tushka OK. It was clear that the tire was crooked, so I turned on my blinkers and drove REAL slowly. The owner gave me the names of several tire shops for me to call in the morning.

Wed Feb 25: Small town, Tushka OK, only 2 tire places. I called both local repair shops and only one could help me, so I got a new tire and rim. They could not handle the axle issues. They referred me to a Forest River shop (brand for my Rpod trailer) 40miles north in McAlester OK so I drove there. They took apart the wheel and rim, did some repairs and assured me that the axle was not bent. I went to Belle Starr COE – for 4 nights waiting for the fender parts, and noticed the tires were crooked – which means the axle is probably bent. Sigh.

Thur Feb 26: Slept over 10 hours after several difficult days. Moved slowly, stayed in COE for awhile, then went on a drive to Muskogee OK (sorry, I didn’t take any pics – lots of interesting places!)

Fri Feb 27: Packed a lunch and went to Tulsa OK’s visitor center. Then I went to their Gathering Place, a fun place for kids, kind of like Disneyland just smaller.

Sat Feb 28: Dealer in McAlester didn’t get the fender, so I cancelled the order and got ready to leave the next day. I took a big walk around the park and along the lake, then drove to Eufaula, crossed the Canadian River (water was high from a nearby dam), shopped, and drove around Eufaula to view the murals on the buildings. (Oops, I didn’t take any pics! The murals are beautiful. Here’s a link: Eufaula-Murals.) The Canadian River originates in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, flowing south into New Mexico, east through the Texas Panhandle, and spanning the length of Oklahoma. It terminates at its confluence with the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, near the town of Webbers Falls and the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir.

Sun Mar 1: I had a reservation at Central State Park, near the Visitor Center on the NE side of Oklahoma City for 3 nights. Stayed at Spring Creek park on Arcadia Lake. I was talking to a young man who examined my tires and axle and he agreed that the axle was bent and even the new tire was worn. I had to drive 130 miles to my next stop, so I stayed on back roads and went very slowly, often with my blinkers on. My portable air compressor wasn’t working well and the new tire needed to have air added. I managed to get it a little fuller, but needed to buy a new compressor.

Mon Mar 2: Called J&B Mobile shop looking for local repair shops. I sent them pics and they said they couldn’t work on it, but they referred me to a guy named Seth at Legacy Trailers in Shawnee OK, a place that specializes in axles. Finally, an expert!!

More details to this story will be in the next Travelogue, along with photos from an eclipse and more exploring.

Hover over any photo (below) to see the caption. Click on any photo below and you can scroll back and forth thru them. Use the arrows at the bottom of each photo.