Our 50th Wedding Anniversary

 

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Joe and I were married exactly 50 years ago today. We woke up and the first thing we discussed was not, "Happy Anniversary," but "Will you be long in the bathroom?" I guess that's what 50 years of marriage (or of anything!) does to people! We did go back to "Happy Anniversary" very quickly after that, however.

Our plans for the day were to be tourists in St. Louis--specifically, to visit the Gateway Arch National Park. I had purchased the complete ticket package yesterday, including a movie on the making of the Arch, a trip up to the top, and a boat ride on the river with narrated tour about the history of the city. We started out early for our 10:30a.m. boat ride. This RV Park, which has no beauty other than the beautiful night view of the Arch, makes up for that in convenience--it is truly less than 15 minutes from downtown, and it took us less than that to get to the levee, where we parked (at a steep angle) for the boat ride. 

The ride was an hour long, and was fun, especially when going downstream so that we had a breeze (there was no breeze going upstream.) The pilot narrated the whole time, identifying various buildings and explaining the history of things we were seeing. I was able to get one pretty good selfie of us before we docked, with the Arch in the background, so that will be serving as my memory of us on this auspicious day.

The cruise was over at 11:30, and it seemed too early to go to lunch. So we drove to Forest Park. It is huge, and we really didn't have enough time to do something like go to the zoo (and it was HOT again), but we stopped at the Jewel Box, an art deco glass building now used as a greenhouse and event space (weddings would be beautiful here.) We were the only ones in the building most of the time, and we didn't stay long. We did, however, note that it would be a good place for a wedding. So we went up to the front where the bride and groom would stand, and we "renewed our vows" for 50 more years. 

Inside the Jewel Box

By then it was 12:30, and we decided we'd better go eat. We had decided to have lunch at Pappy's Smokehouse, our most favorite BBQ place in the world. We never go past St. Louis without stopping at Pappy's, even if it just means getting off the interstate, stopping to eat, and then continuing on. We got there very quickly, which was lucky, because there was a long line. There is ALWAYS a long line, but this time it moved much more slowly because they had cut down on the number of diners. Masking was required, and I saw that they were spraying and wiping down tables rigorously after each group left. So we waited about 20 minutes before being seated, but the service is always very fast. And man, was the food incredible as always! Especially compared to Central BBQ in Memphis, there was NO comparison. Joe had a rack of ribs again, and even I loved them! I had the chicken as I always do. When I say that the green bean side dish was the first thing I finished--that's how good THEY were! Joe was moaning in ecstasy with his ribs, while i was moaning over my roasted corn on the cob side dish. All in all, we were just in heaven from the food.

Mural Dedicated to the Builders of the Arch

We had to run afterwards, though-- it was already about 2:10, and we had a 3pm ticket to see the movie, "Building the Dream", about building the Arch. But first we had to run back to the RV to walk Cassie. We rushed back home, jumped out, had 15 minutes to walk the dog, and then jumped back into the Jeep and drove to our parking garage, which was about a 10 minute walk from the Arch. We were really hustling, and managed to make it into our seats for the movie at 2:56pm.  

The movie was so impressive! It seems miraculous that this Arch could be built, when you see all the details that went into it. We were both just amazed. It was so impressive. After the movie, we stopped in the big waiting area where the trams to the top of the Arch leave from (it is a big space behind the Museum.) Joe wanted something to drink, so he got soda, and then we went to the gift shop to pick up my National Park pin for my collection, and a few other things. Then he rested while I looked at one corner of the adjacent museum.

St. Louis, looking West

At 4:30, we went to the tram line. They are being very Covid conscious throughout the National Park building/museum, and they kept us far apart and sorted us into the tram cars--each family group had a car to themselves. They also strictly limited us to 10 minutes, so they could transport people on schedule and so it would not be so crowded at the top of the Arch. The tour guide was very entertaining as we waited, and we got to see a cute little video "describing" some of the important events and people from the 1960s (when the Arch was built)-- everything from the Beatles to the Women's Movement to MLK's "Free at Last!" and the moon landing, Walter Cronkite and The Graduate, Woodstock and JFK. So that was entertaining, and then they sorted us out again to get into the little claustrophobic cars that take you up to the top of the Arch.

Looking East Across the River to Illinois

Needless to say, the views up there were spectacular. I'd forgotten my good camera in the car, but the zoom on my phone camera allowed me to see our RV all the way across the river. The entire view was pretty clear and I'm sure we were seeing for miles and miles. Looking down at the city was amazing as well. The 10 minutes passed all too quickly! Then down we went again.

There were quite a few steps involved, though, both getting to the trams and at the top of the Arch, and it really wore Joe out. So he decided to rest a bit, while I looked at the Museum. I thought it was very well done, blending both the history of the city of St. Louis and its importance as the "Gateway to the West," with the history of the country as a whole. There were exhibits on the importance of the Louisiana Purchase, and the subsequent "winning" (or stealing) of the West. And finally, there was a large section on Eero Saarinen and the contest for a design for a monument to stand on the shore of the Mississippi River, to represent all the history and the importance of the city. There were descriptions of how the Arch was designed and how it was built. I found all of it very interesting. And as we walked away, it was really hard not to take more photos of it!

At the Top of the Arch

At about 6:30, we walked back to our car in the parking deck (getting it out just before 7:00, when our ticket ran out.) We'd had a big discussion while sitting in the building--what to do about dinner. Neither of us were starved after our huge lunch at Pappy's, but I wanted *something*, specifically, a St. Louis specialty--toasted ravioli. After looking up restaurants making the best toasted ravioli, we found that most of them were closed today. In the end, we looked for a combination of pizza (St. Louis also has its own style of pizza) and ravioli, and settled on Imo's Pizza, which was not too far away.

Description of Treaties with Indians, All Broken

Visions of "Manifest Destiny" to Settle the West

St. Louis as Mercantile Center for Westward-Bound Carvans

So for dinner we had a small pizza with "the works" (the suggestion of the guy at the counter) and a portion of toasted ravioli. The latter was scrumptious! As for the former, I told Joey before we ate that it was important to take it on its own merits, not compare to NJ pizza. St. Louis pizza is made with an almost crack-like crust, very very VERY thing (half of a "thin crust" pizza at home.) We decided that although it was good, it was much more like a "loaded nacho" plate at home that like a pizza. Also, i thought the cheese tasted like velveeta--but Joey looked it up, and it was a blend of cheddar, swiss, and provolone. All in all, I would certainly not order "the works" again, but it was tasty. We brought about half of it home (we brought half my chicken from lunch home also, so we have LOTS of leftovers for the next few days.)

It was hard not to take photos of the Arch as we walked away

And then, we came back to the RV again. It has been a super-long day, but I think we made it memorable. I wanted something to remember our anniversary by, and this was a lot of fun. And Cassie was just fine in the RV with the air conditioning all day, so having this full-hookup campsite was worth it for the peace of mind. Altogether, I think our stay here was very successful. But... I am not as young as I used to be (I've been married 50 years!!!) and I am tired.

Driving up the Great River Road

View of Mississippi River from our Campsite

 Friday/Saturday Aug. 27-28, 2021

We left Memphis this morning and headed across the Mississippi to begin our drive up the Great River Road, a designated All-American Road on the Arkansas side. Our first destination was the town of Marion, to visit the Sultana Disaster Museum. I found this site the night before, when I downloaded the Great River Road app which tells about interesting stops all along the route up the Mississippi from Louisiana to Wisconsin. 

Photo taken of Sultana the day before disaster

The Sultana was a steamboat which was destroyed on April 27, 1865, when its boilers exploded. The boat was loaded far beyond its official capacity of less than 400 people; there were about 2200 on board. The majority of them were Union soldiers who had been prisoners of war at Andersonville or Cahaba POW camps. Through corrupt kickbacks from the boat's captain to Union officers, soldiers were loaded onto the boat to sail north to their homes. A photo of the Sultana taken the day before the explosion shows the decks overloaded with people, horses and mules, listing to the port side. According to our guide, more than 1700 people were killed (more than the 1200 originally counted.) It was the worst maritime disaster for the United States, surpassing even the Titanic in casualtiies.

We were amazed that we'd never heard of this event before! The museum was small but very comprehensive, with a list of ALL the passengers about the Sultana and notes as to whether they survived. We started out with a short video overview of the event, and then a docent gave us details about the exhibits.  There was a cabinet with photos of many of the people on board, a model of the boat, and photos and articles. There was also an exhibit describing the Andersonville prison camp, which was known for being the most deadly camp a soldier could be sent to.  It seems that even soon after it happened, news of the wreck of the Sultana was overshadowed by other events: within the same 24 hour period, Lincoln's funeral train left Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth was killed, and General Joe Johnson surrendered the last large contingent of the Confederate Army. So the Sultana disaster is almost unknown.

When we finished our visit at the museum, we decided to have lunch--we were parked in a shady spot off the main street, and there was plenty of area to walk Cassie too. It was almost 2pm when we headed north again. Our next stop was the Hampson Archaeological Museum State Park. Dr. Hampson owned property which contained relics of the Nodena Indians, and he spent his retirement digging up pottery and other evidence of their culture. The museum is quite small, but it's impressive that it really represents one man's dedication to learning about an early indigenous culture. We spent about an hour there (we were literally the only people there except for the park ranger and a secretary.)

Nodena Pottery human image

Nodena pottery display

After that, we had to take the interstate rather than the more mellow Great River Road route, because we would not have gotten to our campsite before dark otherwise. We spent the night at the Trail of Tears State Park in Missouri. We were parked right next to railroad tracks, and just on the other side of those was the Mississippi River. It was very mellow and we got a very good night's sleep, despite the train coming through periodically about 50 feet from our bedroom. 

Our morning started with a visit to the park's Visitor's Center to see the exhibit on the Trail of Tears. The relocation of the Cherokee Nation from western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee is well known--partly because the Cherokee had one of the most "modern" cultures of any Native Americans. They had a written version of their language, and during their "golden age" in the early 19th century, they had a newspaper, schools, and a governing council with its own laws. However, they were pushed westward as a government policy in order for white settlers to move into Cherokee land, despite advocates for their cause going as far as the Supreme Court. President Jackson was not interested in upholding the rights of the Indians to their land, and in the end they were forcibly relocated.

Trail of Tears Diorama

Reading the details of the governmental machinations which are so similar to some of the justifications used today to trample the rights of people was very sad. The Cherokee, once resettled in Oklahoma, once again established their own community with laws and elected leaders. But eventually they were absorbed into the new Oklahoma Territory, and they gradually had to relinquish their own government in preparation for statehood.

Joe and left the Visitors Center after a chat with the ranger, saying that when you think about it, the arc of history is a very sad one--all progress comes at the expense of someone else, it seems. 

We went back to the RV, had some lunch, did some planning for tomorrow, and finally packed up to leave. We headed up the Great River Road again, and after an hour, we crossed the river into Illinois on the eastern shore. The main reason we crossed was to go through the town of Chester. Its claim to fame is that it is the "home" of Popeye the Sailor Man, or to be more specific, of Popeye's creator, who came from Chester. As soon as we crossed the river, the statue was there to greet us, along with a parking lot sufficient for us to pull over into, and a lot of folks taking their photos with Popeye! There was a visitor center there too, but I didn't even go in--we didn't want to linger forever. Joey did take my photo with Popeye, however--unfortunately, only one came out where he didn't manage to chop of Popeye's head!

We spent about 30-40 minutes in a traffic jam for one mile from the bridge to the main route north--they desperately need a stoplight at that intersection! But it gave us time to snap a photo of another Chester--Home of Popeye sign, which also wished a happy 50th anniversary to Loren & Peggy Jany. I think Highland Park should put up a sign to wish US a happy anniversary tomorrow!

Once we finally got on the route north, it took about 90 minutes more driving and we arrived at the Draftkings at Casino Queen RV Park. This is a huge parking lot, basically, but it is set up with all pull-through sites with full hookups. There's a laundry, showers, etc right here as well, and it is 15 minutes from St. Louis. I decided last night that we should "do something special" so we'd at least remember what we did on our 50th anniversary. So I booked us reservations to go on a riverboat cruise for an hour in the morning, and then (after time to come check on Cassie, and to have lunch) a ticket to the movie about the building of the St. Louis Arch, followed by a tram ride up to the top of the Arch. So we will be tourists at the St. Louis Arch tomorrow, learning all about the Westward Expansion, and (mostly) staying out of the expected heat in the 90s yet again. And we'll look for someplace for a nice dinner, too. I'm hoping we have a memorable day.

Slipping into Washington

Mine Disaster Memorial

2019-09-15 (Sunday)

With about one month left of our travels, we made our departure from the state of Montana after two weeks there, and headed toward Washington. Of course, for that we had to go through Idaho, but that was only about 70 miles of I-90, so no problem. We had the usual beautiful Montana scenery until we got to I-90 before that, though. We stopped at a huge tourist “trap”, an enormous gift shop next to a casino. I went inside to get a milkshake, but spent some time going through the gifts. I came out and told Joe, “We should probably head for home now, it’s time. I couldn’t find a single thing to buy in that enormous store!” I did, though, get a chocolate malt, and that was scrumptious! We got onto I-90 at that point, and 30 miles down the road, we crossed into Idaho, and into Pacific Daylight Time. So we are now 3 hours behind “home.”

We would most likely not have stopped at all on that 70 mile stretch of Idaho, but for some reason, our tire monitor began shrieking. We took the next exit, a mile down the road, and could find no problems with the tires. However, the stop put us into a historical spot (Idaho actually had a historical marker very frequently along that 70 mile stretch.) This one was in commemoration of a terrible fire in the country’s largest silver mine. 61 men died in the tunnels of the mines. The statue and marble plaques at the mine site along the highway were a somber reminder of the danger miners face to recover the metals hidden deep in the heart of the mountains.

After that stop, we drove through Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and over the border into Washington. We passed through Spokane, and headed for our planned stop, the Northern Quest Casino. We knew it was a free overnight stop. I was somewhat taken aback when we got here, though. For one thing, it was huge and very glitzy. For another, it was evident that something was going on here besides the casino. There were a dozen RVs and lots of cars, and people were tailgating. This was not the usual way we find casinos.

There was a sign that RVs needed to check in at the desk to stay overnight, so after getting lost in the very upscale hotel area, I found my way through the large casino (including table games and OTB, unlike the many “casinos” in Montana which feature only a few slot machines.) I signed in at the security desk, and asked what was going on. Well, tonight there’s an outdoor concert in the outdoor amphitheater (it’s behind the casino/hotel, so I didn’t see it) by the country group Old Dominion. The parking lot is now completely full—we were most fortunate to get here when we did! We are parked along the edge with a lot of other RVs, out of the way. And i suppose it will be a bit noisy when the concert is over and the crowds leave. But meanwhile, we are all set.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to the Grand Coulee Dam. I have to think it’s the influence of my father in me that I am so “into” locks and dams. I’m very much looking forward to it.

Rocking It in Little Rock

Clinton Library with "Washed Ashore" Trigger Fish

2019-08-22 Thursday

I’m writing this a day late, and that is always a mistake-- it is so hard to remember what we’ve done when we do so much! Yesterday we left our park campsite and drove for about 20 minutes into downtown Little Rock. We easily found the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, and the large parking lot allowed us to park along some grass at the far back of the lot. After giving Cassie a quick walk, we walked to the museum building, which is a very modern and attractive one, oddly situated beside an old rusty-looking railroad bridge crossing the Arkansas River. We quickly found out that the bridge was part of an urban trail following the river, and was part of the “Park” part of the complex.

Dryer Lint Vest

Campaign Buttons

As soon as we walked into the building, we were greeted by one of the very lovely volunteer docents (we met them everywhere). We hadn’t even paid for our entry before we were fascinated by a display in the lobby, of items of clothing created from recycled materials by high school age kids. What caught my eye was a vest--it looked like an argyle vest, basically, but it was made entirely from dryer lint!  Next to it was a fabulous flamenco-style dress made with recycled paper which was folded into fan shapes. There were a number of other examples which were simply delightful.

The Clinton “library”, so to speak, is really more like a museum, utilizing all the modern interactive multi-media techniques which make modern museums so fascinating. The first thing we did was watch a short film about Clinton’s political life and his goals and ideals in being attracted to public service. Before we were long into it, Joey started moaning, and I knew what he was thinking-- the idea of going into politics to help people seems so foreign to our current Oval Office occupant. That was just the beginning of the inevitable comparisons. I realize that Clinton had his faults, and that his library would always put a positive spin on his career, but still. Looking at photos of him genuinely and warmly interacting with all kinds of people (of all colors, of course), was a huge contrast to what we see today.

Topic Alcoves

"Putting People First"

Outside the film orientation theater were panels covered with Clinton campaign buttons from his runs for congressman, Arkansas governor, and  president. Next there was a reconstruction of the Cabinet Room. At each seat, there was a screen allowing the visitor to find out more about how critical decisions were made. I read through one to learn about the budget fights and government shutdowns during the Clinton administration--it was quite interesting. The rest of the second floor was taken up with invidual galleries, each of which focused on a specific area of public policy and accomplishments under Clinton, such as education, scientific research, foreign affairs (a lot about Kosovo and the Israeli/Palestinian Peace Talks), protecting the earth, building a better society, etc. They were all interactive with short videos and materials to read. There was also a timeline--8 large panels representing the accomplishments of each year of Clinton’s presidency. One interesting part of these was notebooks under the panels, which contained Clinton’s daily schedule of activities for each day. He was scheduled down to the minute, including things like “walk back to limo, 5 minutes.”

Gifts to the Clintons by other Heads of State

The final display on the second floor was small, but we lingered by it. It was a reflection of the Little Rock Nine, who integrated Central High School in Little Rock during the Civil Rights movement which we’d read so much about yesterday. The display had photos of each of the nine (now, of course, in their 60s) and quotes from them. There was also a Congressional Medal, which they had (each) been awarded with; they as a group had donated one to the Clinton Library.Joey and I were about to head for the 3rd floor, but realized it was well after noon, and Joe needed to eat (and rest!) So we went to the ground floor restaurant. There, I got to look at the rusty bridge walkway while we had something to eat.

Ocean Reef made of plastic items "washed ashore"

That gave us the energy to go back to the third floor, where we read through panels about state dinners (Joe loved reading the different menus-- he told me that every single state dinner included “cookies” at the end!) and life in the White House. The latter included panels of the many ways the Clintons invited the public in to experience events such as holidays with them (again, a difference from today.) There were photos and memorabilia of various Thanksgivings, Chanukahs, Christmasses, Easters, etc. There were also displays on this floor of Clinton’s early years (I hardly had time to look at these at all.) And there was also a complete replica of the Oval Office (where I was not allowed to take photos.) The fascinating items there included a replica of the Resolute Desk, which was specacularly carved, the many books on the shelf about Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and, a personal and quirky item, a small statue thing of a family of three meercats! I mentioned them to the docent, who said her best guess about them was that Clinton was very fond of Nelson Mandela, and perhaps the meercats were a link to South Africa. Anyway, they were cute and who would expect that to be in the Oval Office?

Ocean Waves panel made of plastic waste found on the beach

There is also a temporary exhibit gallery in the building, and I must say we enjoyed this exhibit just as much as the permanent one. It was an “art show by a group called Washed Ashore. This group cleans trash off the beach, and then created incredible art with it. We were just enthralled and delighted with the jelly fish hanging from the ceiling, the seahorse (with it’s mane of reclaimed brushes of various kinds), and the whale ribcage made entirely from white plastic bottles. The colorful reefs were spectacular, and there were some flat “paintings” as well. We thought the art was amazing, and it’s a good thing it wasn’t for sale!

Seahorse "washed ashore"

By this time, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and we really had to think about leaving. So we went outside, NOT taking the time to walk on the bridge over the river, and forgetting to look for the Anne Frank tree or enjoy the gardens outside (well, it was really too hot for that stuff anyway.) We went back to the RV, walked Cassie again, and then hit the road.

Our destination for thursday was Tulsa, OK, but we didn’t think we’d get there tonight. Sure enough, we decided we were tired of driving at about 6:30, and we spent the night at the Cherokee Casino in Sallisaw, OK. The casino offers a large RV lot, paved and pretty quiet, for free. We had dinner and then went inside to look around. It’s not a big casino (their much larger casino, with a buffet and musical acts, and with hookups for their RV overnighters was about 17 miles down the road, but we passed it up for this one.) We are not, of course, big gamblers, but i did manage to lose 90 cents while we were “testing” how to play the machines.  Then we went back to the RV, where I was suddenly so tired that I lay down and promptly passed out from exhaustion. Which is why this blog is a day late.

Rolling on East

Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018

A short blog tonight, because I don't have ANY photos and not much to write about. We got a late start this morning-- I overslept!! Joe finally woke me up and to my shock, it was after 10:00-- he said he'd tried twice earlier but I was obviously SOUND asleep! So we didn't leave Walmart until about 11:00 or so.

Our first stop-- buy gas! We had forgotten the evening before, but we were almost entirely out. Then we headed back toward I96, US 23 (taking us through horrible Ann Arbor), and back to I-80. We did make one stop on US 23-- at the Beef Jerky Outlet. We spent quite a while tasting about 60 different flavors before deciding on a few to take home, along with some other goodies. Then we ate our lunch before really settling in for the drive at 2:30.

Other than a quick pit stop at a rest area on the Ohio Turnpike to dump our tanks, we drove right through all of Ohio, following I-90 rather than our usual I-80, up around Cleveland (we saw Lake Erie to our left) and then into Pennsylvania. By then we were getting tired and hungry and it was after 6:00.

We stopped for gas again, and decided we'd splurge and have dinner at a restaurant. So we stoppped in Erie, PA, and had dinner at Quaker Steak & Lube. This had the added advantage of many TV screens showing college football, and I caught the completely unexpected overtime situation and win by Penn State against Appalachian State. Then the Michigan-Notre Dame game came on, and I was faced with the dilemma of wanting BOTH teams to lose, but wanting Michigan to lose worse.

After dinner, we drove 3 more miles down I-90 and got off again at the Presque Isle Downs & Casino. We'd read on our RV Parky app that this was a better place than Walmart to overnight (the Walmart was literally behind the QS&L). It is a HUMUNGOUS parking lot, and quite dark in the area we are at. There are at least another half-dozen RVs parked here as well. It's too bad I wasn't really in the mood to go investigate the casino, I'm sure it would be fun another time. But this is a great free overnight stop.

And... hurrah for shadenfreude!!  Michigan lost! 

Driving Until We Find Our Lucky Star

August 23, 2015

Route 66 diner, St. Robert, MO

Today’s blog will be short, because we drove all day with minimal entertainment during the drive. We left St. Louis at about 9:30 in the morning, and headed southwest on I-44 toward our ultimate stop for the night, planned as Oklahoma City. We were traveling along the old Route 66 road for much of the time, and saw a number of references to stops along the route whose nickname is “the mother road.” I was perusing our tour guides and maps for much of the day, at first looking for “something interesting” to stop and see, because the drive was not supposed to be terribly long. I didn’t find much in Missouri, however, and we soon started looking for a town along the way which might have some good barbeque. We were hoping to make up for missing Pappy’s last night.

The AAA books gave me a couple of options, but one came along at 11:30, which was too early. So we stopped for lunch in St. Robert, at a recommended roadside bbq place. Joe said his pulled pork was yummy, although “nothing extraordinary”, but I was pretty unimpressed with my brisket.  We also found a Missouri tourist office, so I was able to collect a bunch of literature for our return trip, and we drove past the Route 66 diner, which looked suitably retro. I jumped out of the RV and took a photo before we got back on the highway.

That was it for our stops for the day—for some reason, that morning segment seemed to drag, and it was already after 1:30 when we finished lunch. (We were delayed an extra 5 minutes by Cassie’s ecstatic rolling in the grass.) We drove all afternoon through Missouri, and into Oklahoma. We stopped and picked up a bunch of literature at the welcome center 10 miles past the state line, but neglected to ask about the toll roads coming up. Oklahoma has a bizarre set of toll roads which are all short segments of longer roads, and we never did figure out how they decided what to charge. The first time we left the road was the honor system: “Did you come from Missouruh?” “Yes.” “$1.25”. After that we paid $4, $1.75, and later, at two exact change coin toll booths, $1.15 and $.60.  I’m still wondering if we should have bought a “Pike Pass.”

All afternoon, I was trying to find a place to stay for the night. Oklahoma City had four Good Sam rated campgrounds, but they would all run us about $45, and all we really wanted was to stop and sleep and hit the road again in the morning. There were no state parks anywhere near our route. There were NO highway rest stops anywhere in the vicinity (we were switching between I-44 and I-40) and when I checked the internet, the reports were that the Walmarts did not allow overnight parking. I didn’t want to stay at a Cracker Barrel, and didn’t see any Flying J’s coming up—both places which are RV friendly. I did notice a mention of the Oklahoma County Fairgrounds, which gave me the idea to see if they allowed RV parking when there are no events at the fairgrounds. I couldn’t find a website to tell me that, but I ended up on a website listing free rv parking places, and while looking for a county park or info on the fairgrounds, I found a list which included a casino in El Reno, about 10 miles or so west of OK City. I found some reviews of it, one from just a month ago, which indicated it was 1) free, 2) had hookups, and 3) was safe.  I’ve always wanted to try casino camping—this is something I know a lot of RVers take advantage of, and it is usually free or extremely low cost. So I put the address of the casino into my Google Maps.

Well, in this case, Google Maps had its head up you know where (if it would have had one.) It led us off the free interstate onto another toll road, and then onto 15 miles on a very badly paved road in a quite rural area.  When it finally brought us out on the main highway the casino is on, it told us to turn the wrong way and then took us down a dead-end road. It was deep dusk by then, and our rear view camera has lost its antenna and isn’t working. I had to get out to help Joe make a k-turn (luckily it was a dead end, so no traffic.) We went back to the main road and stopped at a gas station/convenience store to ask, where was the casino. The lovely young man directed us back the way we had come, telling us we couldn’t miss it. He was right—if Google Maps hadn’t taken us on such a stupid way, we’d have been there probably 30 minutes earlier, too. 

But—indeed, here we are, at the Lucky Star Casino in El Reno, Oklahoma. There are 10 RV spaces here with FULL hookups (electric and sewer!), for free, and the casino security guy could not have been nicer when I went in to register with him. He told me he’d always wanted to see Atlantic City. He says they are open 24/7, and if we need anything to come and let them know. I believe the casino is owned by the 500 Nations, and if it weren’t so smoky, I’d go inside and support the tribes. But I’m very tired and I really DO want to get going early tomorrow—we are planning to stop at the Oklahoma Route 66 museum about an hour from here.