Little Trip to Dog River

It was a cool, rainy 3ºC in Lumsden as we packed up our Open Range Home. One of the tires was low so Randal had to put some air in it by using the small compressor. We were on the road by 10:00am.

We drove into Regina, went South on the Lewvan Dr. to the new overpass on Highway #1 at the south end of Regina. We turned east on #1 to Highway #6 South until we arrived at the junction of #39. We turned west to Rouleau (aka. Dog River). The Souvenir Shop that just opened there was our destination. It is in the former TV Series Corner Gas set in “Dog River”.

It was nice visiting with the owners, Sylvain and Kerri Senecal. www.cornergassouvenirstore.com .

This Corner Gas Station has lots to offer visitors from souvenirs to clothing. You can even sit down and watch an episode of the 6 season sitcom while drinking a hot cup of coffee from your new Corner Gas Mug.

The “Ruby Cafe” was never a real restaurant so to make it a truly functioning Cafe there is many obstacles to overcome. The kitchen portion of the set was only in a Regina sound stage. It is a shame that we couldn't have the famous Ruby Chill Dog and Fries while we we there.

After taking some exterior shots in the wind and rain, we continued back down #39 South until we got to Nickel Lake Regional Park, a few kilometres from Weyburn. We purchased a Regional Park Seasonal Pass and booked in for 2 Nights

It continued to be cold, windy all day with predictions of snow tonight. There are only a few campers here ready waiting to enjoy the summer!!

Travelling Through Oklahoma

Before we left Tyler, TX, had the Open Range living-room slide-out cable replaced. We pick it up at noon from the Southern RV Supercenter. We noticed on the living-room slide that the skirt had a dent. We had not noticed it before now and could not be sure when this happened. It could have been from a lawn mower at Bushman Camp. Who knows.

We were on the US-69 North to Greenville, Celest, Denison, Texas. The highway was one-land for most of the way. The trees were not as green and filled out as we drove North. There were many ranches, cattle, very green corps and pastures.

As we passed the Saline River ares near Emory, we could see the flash flooding results from the rain that went though the region the other day. Fields were very wet and water was filling the ditched.

At Celest, a small town the main street stores, where US-69 went, were all closed. There were many older homes deserted. But in some ares the ranch homes were magnificent and large.

We drove into  the State of Oklahoma later in the afternoon and arrived in Durant at the Cocktaw RV KOA  Park. The trip was 120 miles. www.chocktawcasinos.com .

The KOA RV Park  was built in 2009 and it is a First Nations Casino as large Resort, with a hotel, car park, restaurant, spa and swimming pools. If you were a gambler it is a wonderful to take your holiday.
The park was large with all pull through and wide pads and roads. It was  $36.00

When we registered at the KOA, we were also registered for a pass to the Casino and restaurant. We had to give our names and birthdays to receive a ID neck tag. There was a shuttle bus to the Casino and back to the KOA.

We booked here for one night and because we are not gamblers we just spent it in our RV. In fact we did not unhook the truck.

The next morning we were on the road by 10:30am, taking US-70 towards Durant and Texoma. There was a causeway that went over the Lake Texoma, and past the Texoma Lake Resort that was form by the dammed river.

Along the way Randal noticed cement containers that were built for Tornado Shelters. There was a entrance door and ventilation stack.  I could not believe that he could tell what they where. So when we were at the next KOA he looked it up and there was the information one them. The units are buried  into the ground, with the top part just above ground so the trap door can be accessed inside the house and the vents will be on the outside of the house. He is so smart!!!

At one small town intersection there was a line-up on traffic with a wide mobile house  inline. Four women with a pink sign and pail were standing in the intersection asking for donations. They were almost stopping the traffic!!

The trees are still looking bear as the leaves are just starting to come out.  The temperature was 19ºC during the day.

An hour later we were on I-35 North towards Oklahoma City. The terrain had rolling hills, farms, ranches, and trees. At one Ranch they were offering house-shoeing classes.
There was one place with view points rest areas that was very rocky and  with the highway cut through them.

As we were approaching the east side of Oklahoma City we passed the Tinker Armed Force Reserves Base, along I-210/I-20 East.

We arrived at Oklahoma City KOA at 2:30pm. The staff was not in the office  so we found a pull-through and left the truck hooked up.

After we had a lunch we  spent the rest of the day relaxing, writing, down loading pictures and walking around the site. For supper we had popcorn and watched a movie.

The following morning, it was a beautiful morning to get out for a walk and see the sun raise. The temperatures was 17ºC and it was sunny. We were ready to left at 10:00am and was on the road shortly after. It is so nice not the hock up the truck every day!!!

We drove to I-40 and along the highway just outside of Oklahoma City, just before Edmonds,  there was an Amusement park with a “To Hire Here” sign.

Randal had entered a service station to fuel up close by the KOA, but there was none there. I guess we can not believe the internet information. We had half a tank of diesel to travel until one showed up. We stopped at a “LOVE” Station at Guthrie, which advertised diesel, however it was out of service. Back on to the Highway we went, driving further to Orlando KS to fuel up at a a truck stop.

We were heading into  flat farm country,  with the corps well up and lush and green. There were quite a few oil wells along the way as well.

Soon we were in Kansas.

Kansas Experience

On Saturday,  March 24, we hit the road at 10:10am leaving Oklahoma City East RV Park, and headed onto I-40 West and then onto I-35 North. Driving for 140 miles.

On entering the State of Kansas at 12:30pm we were on the KS Turnpike/toll I-35 N. We picked up a toll ticket and paid when we turned to go into Wellington. It cost $1.65 Before we went to the KOA RV Park we stopped at Wal Mart not far form the RV Park. Wellington KOA RV Park. is a small, with a small pond with turtles. There were not many units there but as the day went on more RV-ers arrived. They all were heading north to their homes. We had a big meal and watched a movie on TV. Went for a walk and met a couple who were going home to Topeka KS.

Kansas has several Casinos along the main highways. We were in the Flint Hills Region of Kansas.   http://kansasflinthills.travel/ Found on this site is their Mission Statement:
“The residents of the Flint Hills work collectively to balance preservation, conservation, education, recreation, economic development and interpretation for the betterment of the lifestyle and natural resources of the region. This is done through the development and implementation of plans and coordinated activities that capture the grassroots efforts of stakeholders who support the vision for the future of the Flint Hills.”
From Wikipedia: The Flint Hills were created approximately 250 million years ago during the Permian Period. During this time much of the Midwest, including Kansas and Oklahoma, were covered with shallow seas. As a result, much of the Flint Hills are composed of limestone and shale with plentiful fossils of prehistoric sea creatures. The most notable layer of chert-bearing limestone is the Florence Limestone Member. It is approximately 45 feet thick; numerous road-cuts of the Florence Member are prominent along Interstate 70 in Riley County, Kansas. Many of the honey-coloured limestones have been used for building blocks. The non-chert-bearing limestones are best for this, since the chert is extremely hard to cut, yet it can fracture quite easily.

We drove for a couple of hours before we stopped for fuel at Cassoday near Emporia, KS one of the 66 stations situated in between the two highways. These stations were every 30 to 50 miles along the Turnpike. There was a McDonalds and restrooms.

We noticed signs saying “Drive with caution when there or Range Fires”. At one place we could see smoke at the hills and pastures. There were note any bill-boards in this part of the United State as there was in Southern US States.  The trees are just turning green but the flowering pink ones dotted the landscape. The farm field crops were lush green and yellow.

At Topeka, when it came time to pay the  toll fee, I handed Randal $2.00, the price we paid yesterday, however the lady at the toll booth asked for $16.00!!

We arrived at Deer creek Valley RV Park in early afternoon. www.deercreekvalleypark.com. It is a newer one with all cement pull-through pads with wide roads and turning lanes.   We booked for three nights.

Over a pizza early supper, we had a bottle of the KE wine and watched two movies of crime and hate.
I needed  allot of positive time and affirmations before I retired.

The temperature got to a high as 27ºC so the air conditioner felt good the rest of the day.
We were up during the night talking bout our trip north and looking at RV Parks to stay on the way back. There are few RV sites open this time of year so we have to go to ones are open on April 1st.
We think we should go through Manitoba or Saskatchewan and try to be there by the Easter Weekend.

Monday morning we went to Lake Shawnee County Park and Recreation http://parks.snco.us/  the walking paths along the dam and shore, and Ted Ensley Gardens www.scprfoundation.org

The Dam was built during the 1934-38 depression as a work project. The Shawnee Lake was formed and is now a popular place for recreation. The sweet fragrance of the full-blooming tulips and tree blossoms made our walk enjoyable.

While walking in the Gardens we spoke to a few interesting people. One fellow was marking off a running distance in kilometres and trying to figure it out in miles.  I learned that the US running groups always measure the distance in km. At noon a siren  went off that was almost deafening that lasted for a minute. We asked a young lady why and what it was about, thinking they may be testing out for a tornado warnings. She informed us that every Monday at noon it goes off to indicate the start of a work week. We talked to a few others about how beautiful the tulips were this time of year, being so early for then to be blooming.

On Tuesday morning a thunder storm rolled in over Topeka while I was doing the laundry in the “storm shelter/laundry room”. Randal drove over to check on me and brought me an umbrella. I was going to run the laundry trolly back to the Trailer, carrying the umbrella, but I was concerned I may be hit by a bolt of lightening. Randal most have known my concerns and came back to pick me up.