Time to Leave Graceland, For Now, Turning the Wheels Further West, Jell-o, Pics from Yesterday

We were up shortly after 6 on Saturday, Nov. 3^rd. It is weird saying that, it doesn’t feel like it is November already. The weather is helping and I know it will get weirder as we move further to the southwest. By then, I’ll be used to warmth in the winter again. I had very strange dreams last night, only having one in my memory bank when I woke up with a start this morning. Oh well, it was just a dream.

My souvenir earrings
I love them!

We had our tea and coffee together and I read some blogs on my laptop, while Bill tried to read some stuff on his phone. I wish I could locate my Blackberry charge cord for my Playbook, it would be a way for him to at least read things on something with a bigger screen. It is here somewhere! As Rob says, it is right where I put it. He should write for Hallmark, I know! 😊 We had cold cereal this morning and I added banana to mine to make it more appealing to me.

So, I was playing with collages in Picasa today............
If you look closely, you recognize someone besides Elvis here

There wasn’t much to do to pack up, the outside stuff was mostly done last night. I made up a couple of sandwiches for on the road and put yogourt and clementines in the cooler too. I always have water and we decided that we didn’t need another hot drink since we hope to be moving early enough, not to need a second one yet. Bill got cleaned up first and went out onto the roof and cleaned off the roof and slideouts. We are parked under some trees.

Looks like his daydreams came true
I just wish they had lasted longer

Good thing he did that even though he found some bad luck up there. He noticed that the upper cable on our bedroom slide is broken. This is one of those things you can never prepare for and there is nothing to do but pray things work, in and out, until we can get to a location where we are sitting long enough to get it in for repair.

We walked through exhibits for his cars (above), clothes

guitars

and gold records
These were all obtained within 3 years

When we were ready, I pulled the slides in, cringing, but it went in fine. Our home is the style that needs the bedroom slide open to get to the bathroom and the bedroom. We were pulling out of the park, following Rob for a change, by 8:30 and it was a cool, sunny 46F/7C. We’ll take it! We all slept well and I feel so blessed that we got to Graceland, one of my all-time dreams.

To see this well known cape close up was awesome

How many shows did we watch where he wore this
or a similar jumpsuit? Only he could pull it off

Want to buy a Gold Lame Suit?
$2,999.00

or a belt? Only $350 to $425

Elvis Presley Enterprises was like a little town in itself with all of these shops
Elvis Sirius radio was here too but we didn't get in 

Pat and I were just borrowing Elvis' car for a spin around the block

We turned onto I-55N and soon after crossed the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River. Erected in 1949 this is the only bridge that spans the Mississippi River that was built before 1950. Yes, I googled it because it was kind of cool! Right in the middle was the sign ‘Welcome to Arkansas’. 

Inside the Lisa Marie, nice comfy chairs for dining or conferencing

Yup, if you chose to sleep, you could

By 9:30 we were all ready to stop at a Rest Area but it wasn’t very big so we didn’t stick around. We drove for another couple of hours or so and pulled off at Exit 107 at a Love’s for diesel. It was 60F by now and it was close enough to lunch that we backed into a spot and ate our sandwiches and had a coffee from their store.

Entering the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge behind Rob and Pat

And then we were in Arkansas!

As we looked back, we saw the Bass Pro shop Pyramid that we'd heard
about since Thursday night on Beale St.

We discussed our destination today and kind of decided against the Walmart in Fort Smith after all. Upon searching freecampsites.net, I found a casino just across the state line in Oklahoma that offered 5 full-hook up spots on a first come first serve basis. We crossed the state line at 2:05. Under a mixture of cloudy and sunny skies it had warmed up to 67F. 20 minutes down the road, there on the right was the Cherokee Casino sign so we took exit 325.

It was a really nice drive today

Good roads

Locating the rv sites was easy and we noticed only one motor home already in place. Yay! We took site #1 & #2, plugged into hydro and continued the set up. Our slide went out without difficulty so I must have had my eyes crossed the right way or my fingers or both. Thank you! We took a drink each and our chairs over to Rob and Pats for an early Happy Hour and by 4, we were parting ways for an hour to maybe read, snooze or just plain relax until dinner hour.

and good views

The only requirement here for staying (max. of 2 nights) is to register for a Player’s Card and fill out your information so they can reach you if necessary. We know from experience, exactly when this info would come in handy for them. Of course, it means we’ll adhere to their basic rules as well. By the time we came inside, the other 3 spots were taken so our ‘campground is full’.

I discovered Chili's our first winter down south
but since, they've changed their menu and it has to win me back again

At 5 we walked up to the front entrance of the casino and got our player’s cards. Duh! This is a Cherokee casino which is the same as the one in Grove, Ok and Bill and I are already registered. No worries, he gave us another card to work from instead of us walking back to the Suite. Lot of good it did us. Oh well, we had fun playing on our $20 each and Bill came home with $10 of his. Pat was the lucky winner tonight. Yay!

We had a nice buffet supper with lots of choices and I managed to refrain from pigging out too much. It wasn’t the $8.99/person but instead $14.99. We couldn’t go wrong for the amount of food we had, you never walk away hungry. We had a good time together and walked back at 7 to spend the evening quietly indoors. It is a mild night at 65F/18C and it will be great for sleeping tonight.

And this is our view tonight from between our units
good night all
from Roland, Oklahoma
Cherokee Casino

This has been another one of those good days. Has it truly only been 6 days? We're having a blast!  Thanks for stopping by!

Early Start, Two Time Changes, Trains! Plane! Automobiles and Cows!

Last night before Bill and I went to bed, 10:30 and 10:00 respectively, we changed our alarm clock (which will be thrown out if it should ever go off) and the microwave clock to Daylight Savings Time. That way when my peepers glanced at it in the morning, I would have the real ‘new’ time. On Sunday, Mar. 11^th, we woke at 6:15 and got out of bed at 6:30.

It was still dark so we took the time to go on Facebook to wish our friend, Kathy, a Happy Birthday. Then it was hook up time. I made our hot drinks for the road and we pulled out of the park at 7:30. We took Bottomless Lake Road up behind the park and it brought us back to Hwy 380 with just different views and less winding roads. In Roswell, we caught the Truck Route of 285 which put us onto US-70E with ease.

Goodbye Roswell

It is a cloudy day and only 47F but since it is a travel day for us, we aren’t too concerned with the weather. The sun is trying to poke through. It sure got windy last night, the Suite was rocking around 11:30. I felt sorry for the tenters that arrived yesterday and this morning we saw many pieces of garbage and personal items blown all over the park.

At 9:30 we arrived in Portales, NM and pulled over for Bill to change from his shorts into his jeans. The temperature has dropped to 41F yet it seemed quite warm back at the park at 47F. I dressed appropriately today and even threw an extra jacket in the truck. Clemson is keeping it warm for me.

Clemson has claimed my jacket on the left and Bill's on the right
He was such a good boy on this drive
In Black Beauty from 7:30 MT (DST) to 7 pm CT with pit stops of course
Other than treats he didn't eat until we stopped for the day!

We hoped to find a place to get breakfast here but that didn’t pan out. The only place open on Sunday at this time of the morning was El Rancho, a Mexican restaurant with no easy way to park. I have snack bars in the truck so we had one of those and Clemmy got a treat too. We’ll find something further down the road.

Cute little water tower

Driving through Portales and then Clovis, 16 miles down the road the state of disrepair of the town hit me again. They aren’t big towns at all but as ‘poor’ as they appear, their stadiums and arenas seem to be flourishing. Something about that does not seem right to me. I’m happy to see sports outlets for the youth but at what cost to the town?

On the east side of Clovis, we found a Pilot Station so pulled in to fill Black Beauty. We weren’t quite down to half a tank and the $2.83/gal price was reasonable. The wind seems to have picked up making the temperature seem even colder than 41F. We have made the turn onto US-60 headed east.

Followed single and then double sets of tracks for a long way before seeing any trains

When we started out on US-70, I noticed train tracks on my right but no trains. Once we approached Portales, that changed. By the time we turned onto US-60 towards Amarillo we met 15, raced 1, passed 1 and had to stop for 1. They are carrying car carriers, trailers for semis, storage containers, plus regular train cars and have as little as 1 engine and as many as 5 on the front and zero to 2 bringing up the rear. 

These collages are for all you train lovers out there.

At 10:30 MT we entered Texas and it soon became 11:30 CT. Now we’re only an hour different from Ontario time. We are definitely on our way home! This is a pretty desolate highway though. It is nice to have little traffic but there are also no rest areas. The road is not a smooth one, Bill will have to seriously consider his rating on this one!

US-60

Driving through Hereford they have a lot of restaurants, many choices but it is now after 12 and we’d just as soon drive the extra miles to Amarillo to a Denny’s.  At Canyon, I lost sight of ‘my’ train tracks when we veered off to the northeast onto I-27N/US-60 E/US-87 N. They were sure busy tracks. I especially liked this picture where one train going east like us had to wait for the oncoming train to pass on the second track.

We were greeted by this friendly Texan. Howdy! My gps took us onto I-40E and we figured we’d find a place to eat.

So, finally, at 1:16 CT we were able to find a Denny’s that we could get into. We took Exit 76 in Amarillo to the Flying J and found a spot with the transports. We were hungry and happy to stop. Sometimes things don’t work out quite as planned so you move to Plan B, then C until it works. Bill took Clemson out first, priorities you know.

Our exit to Denny's

Service was slower than we’d hoped but the food was good and it was 2:30 when we pulled back onto I-40E. Bill had a senior Club Sandwich and I had a Chicken and Sausage Quesadilla. Both very reasonably priced and both filling. Walking through the wind I had to snap a picture of the rose between two thorns, many thorns. 

Truck lanes are very tight but okay for us if we don't need to open slides

The temperature had risen thanks to the sun valiantly fighting to peek through on occasion.

Back on the Interstate Bill had to react quickly or rather watch a small white car react quickly. They missed the exit but started to come over into our lane, barely missing Black Beauty’s front left bumper as he darted in front of us only to keep crossing to the curb lane. Luckily there was a curb lane but I still thought he was going to go over the rails to the traffic below. That fellow must have said his prayer last night and needs to say them again tonight. He should know that if you miss your exit, there will always be another one. That was too close for comfort!

Many familiar sights along this Interstate 40

One day, I wonder if this leaning tower of Britten will topple

Just enjoying the sights, the landscape is pretty 'non-exciting', we are missing our mountains
and cactus

Originally our planned destination for today was in Amarillo at the Texas Travel Centre. It is the same place we stopped at last spring on our way home, with winds and tornados whipping around us. The winds are strong today but still calmer than they were then.

Early into our journey on US-60 we saw these rail cars on their sides

The wheels have been removed, I guess waiting for extradition

A few days ago, we decided that 3 ½ hours was not very far to travel today, it would put us at the Travel Centre at 2:30 and we don’t enjoy sitting so early when we can get further. So, we are keeping in that frame of mind and heading towards Oklahoma. 

Large cow farm in Texas
Sorry, the sign got cut off in my collage
Bovina Cattle Company

Cows in Oklahoma
Which ones would be happier?

When we got to Sayre, Ok, we took exit 20 to the Flying J for diesel. The price was $2.83/gal. Apparently, we don’t get a discount, just added points by using our card. That’s the pits.

Lots of old grain elevators and silos in Texas

You can see for miles on these flat lands

This was one of our first Rest Areas to stop at in fall of 2016
It is a beautiful one with great views

After fueling up, it was 4:30 so we decided to keep on trucking. Bill wasn’t feeling tired, he had his second wind. I felt tired so got out and walked around a bit and in to the washroom. I could at least rest while he was driving if I needed to shut my eyes. Back on the road at 4:45 pm with an hour and a half to go. This is a longer driving day than we normally opt for but still getting us to our destination in daylight.

We crossed the South Canadian River

Getting closer to home, there is actually grass turning green

Long story shortened, we have arrived at El Reno, Oklahoma, Lucky Star Casino. We snagged one of the available 9/12 full hookup sites for 3 nights. 

We stayed here last spring and enjoy the FREE price. We will enjoy dinner inside our Suite tonight, just soup and crackers at 7:30 before settling down to read for a bit. Bill did awesome today and so did his co-pilots! It was a wonderful day.

Our  back window looks out over the field to US-81

Goodnight from the Lucky Star Casino

We travelled 416 miles today.

Thank you for reading along.