Thursday

I had planned to bypass Oklahoma City because of the bad roads near the city. The last time we were in Oklahoma, there was a stretch of highway 44 that was like driving on railroad ties. Highway 44 is the route normally taken to get from eastbound I-40 to northbound I-35 while bypassing the heavier traffic through downtown Oklahoma City. So, we headed north on US-81 to the junction of Highway 33 in the town of Kingfisher where we turned east toward the town of Guthrie.

Downtown Kingfisher where we turned to go to Guthrie

As we drove through the farmland dotted with oil wells, Tom and I made some test transmissions with our CB radios to try out his new CB antenna. We were both pleased at how far apart we could get while maintaining a good signal. It made me feel much better about the CB antenna I had installed on my motorhome. Tom and I were getting much better talking range than we had before his old antenna broke. His fix was a good one.

Beautiful downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma — A fun place to visit

Archie had told me about how much fun Maureen had while shopping in Guthrie, Oklahoma, so it was decided that we would stop there for awhile. It wasn't very long before were driving through the interesting downtown area of Guthrie. We were fortunate to find a parking area that was on the edge of downtown that was long enough for both motorhomes. We walked around and found the town to be a fun place to visit. It was easy to see why Maureen likes it in Guthrie. I must say, "Thanks," to Archie for the tip.

Charming section of downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma

We enjoyed making the rounds of several interesting antique shops. One shop was especially interesting as it specialized in old, pedal-powered, toy riding tractors. One thing that many people working in the stores had in common, was the solitaire card game that comes with Windows computers. The game was on the screen of the computer monitors in many of the stores we entered.

Tom looking over a collection of old, toy farm tractors

The old state capital building

Nora was collecting green glass items while Kay was collecting blue glass. In a large antique store, both Nora and Kay found some nice glass objects they felt they just had to have. The result was the enrichment, in a small way, of the local economy of Guthrie. The walking began to wear on us, so it was decided that we would take a break by having lunch at a local establishment before heading out of town.

Nora and Kay prepare to enter yet another antique store

The place where we ate lunch is called Little Susie's Grill, a fun little place with a '50s style interior design. The menu offered an All-American choice of hamburgers and fries as well as other simple food items. The food was good and the ambiance was fun. All around the room were items and pictures from the 1950s.

A fun 50's style eatery where we had lunch before leaving Guthrie

When our lunch was finished, it was time to say, "Goodbye" to Guthrie. It was a very short distance to where we turned north on I-35 and headed toward Wichita. We were now on a section of highway that was very familiar to Kay and me. It didn't take long for us to reach the border of Kansas where I-35 becomes the Kansas Turnpike.

We were one whole day ahead of schedule, so Tom decided to call the campground in Wichita to see if they had vacancies for us. Luckily, campsites were found for us. Not only were campsites available, Tina and Kevin were already in camp. We entered Wichita in the mid-afternoon and found our way to our campground.

The campsite assigned to me was across from Tina and Kevin's site. Tom was supposed to get the site next to Kevin and Tina. Unfortunately, there was a motorhome in that campsite, so Tom took a site at the end of the row. As it turned out, the owners of the motorhome in the site Tom was supposed to get, had decided to stay an additional day without notifying anyone in the campground office until late in the day.

It was good to see Kevin and Tina again as well as Tina's dog Mickey. I refer to Mickey as "My little bitty buddy." After getting settled and our car unhooked, Kay and I took off to visit with her family while the others in our entourage did laundry.

We found our way over to Jim and Donna's house. It seemed strange to be driving our own car in Wichita. We usually have a rental car when we are in town. It was good to see Jim and Donna again. We didn't get to see Steven as he was away at college when we arrived. However, we did get to see Sophia, Jim and Donna's dog. We were also able to get in a short visit with Kay's parents before heading back to camp.

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