Oklahoma, Missouri and Route 66

Oklahoma, Missouri and Route 66


We departed the KOA outside Amarillo after a bitter cold and extremely windy night. The winds were in the 25 mph range and the temps were in the 20's! It was so windy, I pulled in the sides that night to reduce the rocking and possible damage to the slide awnings. As we were heading out, Cindy noticed a propane smell outside and now our propane tank was almost empty. We had needed propane for heat the last 3 nights and thought we drained it, but decided to keep a tab on the odor (our fridge runs on propane while travelling). We drove a few hours on I40 East towards the Texas/Oklahoma Border, where we planned on switching over to old Route 66. We got on at Texola, OK and two miles later pulled in at the Tumbleweed Grill and General Store.  Before going inside to order lunch, (grilled onion burgers) we again detected a propane odor. I retrieved a bowl of soapy water and proceeded to test the various connections I could get to. All the joints for the tank,  water heater and fridge tested OK. Could it  be because the tank is low or ? We ate our lunch and looked around at other buildings in the area.

yummy and fun! Tumbleweed Grill

what once was - Rt 66 The Mother Road

Trying to solve the odor puzzle, we continued on. We drove a few miles to a Loves and filled the gas and propane. The smell persisted. Calling ahead we found an RV dealer, McClains in Oklahoma City that coud squeeze us in if we could get there before 5:30. It was 150 miles away and 2:30 pm! Back on I40 and up to the 70 mph speed limit and 2 hours later we were pulling into McClains RV! They were expecting us and quickly pulled Winnie in to the shop. 15 Minutes later, Lance Tate, the Service Advisor came out to me with the scoop. The flexible line feeding the propane stove/oven had cracked (age combined with moving the slide in the extreme cold temps? the night before?) They didn't have the part nor could they cap off the line so we could use the there propane accessories. He advised we keep the propane tank valve closed and only use electric heat and fridge until we got home and got Winnie to the dealer here. Not a big issue, we would be sure to book sites with electric for the remainder of the homeward trip. Lance recommended a Good Sam RV Park only a mile away and after informing us there would be no fee, we were on our way to our home for the night!

Saturday morning we hit the road before 7am. The overnight temps put a hurt on our heat pump to keep up and we fired up the RV, disconnected, stopped at the Valero on the corner and after fueling up were on our way East on I40 heading towards I 44. We traveled past Oklahoma City then hopped off to travel more of RT 66, specifically the town of Chandler. Chandler was well worth the visit - a lot of vintage buildings including a 1920's Phillips 66 cottage gas station and numerous 1920's buildings now housing modern businesses. We visited the coffee shop, Manvel Ave Coffee and had a good latte, a breakfast panini and a street waffle. Yummy! then after discovering we couldn't continue East with the RV due to construction, we returned to I44. Oklahoma has a very different approach to toll roads (44 is one of the) You pay the full amount and get a refund if you exit early? Weird -BTW: EZPass not welcome.

late 1920's gas station. Island for pumps in foreground. lift to the left

downtown Chandler, OK -part of old Rt 66

Manvel Ave Coffee breakfast

Nice Latte to start the day!

We caught a few more miles of Rt 66 before Tulsa and then veered off due East towards Arkansas and our eventual stop for the night in Southwest Missouri - Stagestop Campground, near Neosho. We have now RV'd in 48 out of the 50 state!  Only Hawaii and..... Rhode Island remain. To us that means camped and/or driven through in with a camper or motorhome.

Arriving at Stagestop was a pleasant experience. We had called ahead and the last site (there are only 16) was waiting for us. We pulled in, hooked up the power, ate dinner and ran a few loads of wash in their laundry. The entire campground was spotless, with a nice area for CJ. We would recommend a one night stay, the size and general lack of attractions in the area being taken into consideration.

We had a short driving day planned, mainly consisting of crossing southern Missouri on RT 60. Looking for attractions en route that may be of interest, we decided on stopping in Mansfield, Mo and visiting the  home of author Laura Ingalls Wilder of "Little House on the Prairie" fame. this is where she spent the majority of her adult life and where she wrote her books. An interesting house, almost perfectly preserved as it was turned into a museum within 3 months of her death. There is also the stone cottage she lived in briefly nearby. We were able to navigate in to the parking lot and park  (taking multiple spaces sideways) and the tour last 1 hr. A nice stop and a good way to break up the driving if you are in the area.

Laura Ingalls Wilder House - remarkably intact

well known author lived in Mansfield Missouri many years

Then back out to Rt 60 and our home for the evening, Camelot RV Park in Popular Bluff, MO. Again, this was just for an overnight, and with our dependence on electricity due to our broken propane line, the electric hookups were most welcome. (temps were staying in the lower 20's overnight this entire time). Kind of hilly, the RV leveled up ok, but Jeep was hanging on a rather steep grade. (I made sure Jeep's parking brake was on and the RV wheel chocks secure). While I setup, Cindy walked CJ over to the dog exercise area. (VERY SPECIFIC RULES ON DOGS) and we settled in for the night while watching TV! - American Pickers! We hadn't turned on the TV since leaving Home.

The next morning, clean the windshield, check tire pressures and oil level, disconnect, close up and down the road to Kentucky. Pennyrile State Resort Park, touching base with cousin Casey and a little genealogy research awaited. The drive took 4-5 hours and there really wasn't anything to pull over to see. We motored along, crossing the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers before pulling into PSRP mid afternoon. The road back to PSRP gets smaller and more twisted as you approach the park. At times, with the abrupt drop off on both sides, we were very glad to not meet a lot of on coming traffic. The park is very nice, well maintained and includes a lodge, mini golf course, lake, laundry facilities and other amenities. However, as was our experience with My Old Kentucky Home State Park, they really need to learn how to use a level! We backed in to our site and considered getting a different one. We stayed after checking out several that were available, but similar. We used 4 rows of leveler blocks on the passenger side and it was still not quite level, including the hydraulic leveler system on the RV. It was usable, but the first steep up was over a foot in height!  All in all though, a nice place. Great Showers!!!

take care - CJ