Early on the Road - Thurs., Sept. 18

Talk about early birds...that usually isn't us. But this morning we made an exception so we could ameliorate our commute through large cities. A week/work-day rush hour can mean stop-and-go traffic.

At 4:40 a.m. we were headed north toward Austin, Texas. At New Braunfels, the lightning storm was our entertainment with its streaks, flashes, bolts, and octopus-like fingers reaching toward the ground at one time, and jutting skyward at others. Wow. Then came the deluge. We were heavily rained upon. Thankfully, traffic was light.

Our first sign of a slow-down was south of Austin around 6:00 a.m. However, that cleared relatively quickly and we breezed through downtown.

Bob drove through the heavy-duty construction areas along I-35 north of Austin. The 5th wheel bucked and swayed over the bumpy roads. I was sure we'd go back in the 5er and find cupboards popped open with books spewed all over the floor. (Everything was fine.)

Onward we pushed through Ft. Worth. Again there was some road construction, but we made it through Ft. Worth around 9:30 a.m. Seemed like most people were at work for the day so the traffic moved along at a good clip in most places.

I drove through northern Texas into Oklahoma. Black storm clouds loomed ominously in front of us. The wind picked up and swayed the 5th wheel a bit. Then the rain started; however, it was a much different rain than what we experienced in New Braunfels, more steady; not so much a deluge.

A scenic overlook was coming up and we exited the freeway. Couldn't see anything because the clouds were hanging low,fog-like. We used the facilities in the 5th wheel, made almond butter and jam sandwiches, fed the cats, and changed drivers. Bob drove the rest of the way to our destination for tonight: Arcadia Lake's Central State Park in the City of Edmond, Oklahoma. The park is easy to access from I-35. Take Rt. 66/2nd St west 3.5 miles. Arcadia Lake's Central State Park will be on the right. (You'll pass Edmond Park first - no camping there.)

We found a nice pull-through site, but I must tell you many of their sites are uneven. We were able to position our 5th wheel in our pull-through site so it is level, but there is a slope in front of and behind us in the site. The park is beautiful but you have to choose your site carefully. Some pull-throughs were available next to the lake, but we didn't think our 5th wheel would do too well with some of the sloped sites. Instead, we chose a larger site in the middle of the park away from the water. Week-night rate $24. [Note: This park is right in the flight path of the Oklahoma City airport. Thought you'd like to know that.]

Central State Park, Arcadia Lake

View of center campground (not on lake)

Our picnic area and fire ring (to left)

As you can see, we left the storms south of us and have hot weather here with not a cloud in the sky. We debated doing the capital Volksmarch this evening, but it is just too hot. Instead we will be up early again as we can start anytime after 5 a.m. Sounds like a plan to avoid downtown traffic during rush hour and to have a much cooler temperature.

We will then head north, stopping in Topeka, Kansas to do another capital Volksmarch and continue on to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend tomorrow night. We may run into T-storms again in Lincoln.

I'm going to back up a little. This week I worked two days at the insurance office.

Tuesday night, Bob and I went to dinner at County Line Bar-B-Que. We had a certificate that said it was good for two dinners and two soft drinks ($25 value). Hah! The County Line Bar-B-Que on the River Walk in San Antonio is good, but they charge a lot. One dinner runs $16.99 and up. The food is good, but we thought it was over-priced. Lots of reasonably priced BBQ to eat in San Antonio.

Interior of County Line Bar-B-Que

On the way home from dinner, we were treated to an active, stormy sky...

Looking west from San Antonio, toward the sunset.

Beginnings of a sunset over San Antonio

Here are the fur-kids, looking adorable:

Yes, Bowie is sleeping on top of Sunnie.

Sunnie's like, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Bowie had to move. Sunnie is king of the box.

So far this afternoon has been very relaxing in our air-conditioned 5th wheel. When it cools down, Bob plans to do a marathon training run of 8-10 miles this evening. I plan to sleep so we can walk very early and get on with our day.

Safe travels to everyone moving about the country or even just your neighborhood.