We knew our drive to Oklahoma had a couple of complications, but still, it was less than 300 miles, so how hard could it be?
Although the forecast called for rain, the day started with some promise –
But it was going to be a broken promise!
Our first stop was getting Lizzie inspected at a garage just 10 miles down the road, so I was going to follow in the truck for the first bit. (Texas RV inspections are pretty simple. Lights, flashers, turn signals, wipers, horn. $7. See ya next year.) Since our next stop was going to involve getting the tires rotated on the truck, we decided to continue in our caravan style to avoid unnecessary hooking and unhooking in the rain.
Yes, the rain had arrived.
Can you see Lizzie up there? With those bright (newly inspected) lights?
By the time we arrived at Costco for the tire rotation, the rain was steady and the wind was blowing. We did our shopping, had our favorite Costco $3 lunch (IYKYK), and retrieved the truck from the tire center. And it was still raining. So we decided to delay hooking up the truck until we stopped for fuel about 20 miles down (up?) the road.
By now the wind had picked up too, so after Gary filled up Lizzie (gulp), we found a place to park and waited out the worst of it. The rain finally let up enough for us to get hooked up, and (after we put on some dry clothes) we were on our way! Reunited again!
But there were still 165 miles to go. While we were in a pocket of no rain, the wind continued to batter us. And let’s not forget about that good old traffic demon. Lots of folks were getting the heck out of Dodge (Dallas!) for the weekend!
And then, as expected, the rain returned.
We took a break at the Oklahoma Welcome Center, and considered calling it a day and just staying there for the night. But after the driver took a little power nap, we opted to continue on our way.
Eventually, we got off the interstate which, even though it was still 50 miles to our destination, made it seem like we were closing in on the prize!
Oklahoma – thanks for the hint of Fall color, but if you could do something about the utter lack of shoulder, that would be lovely!
Off the main highway, onto the dirt road
and finally, a full 10 hours from our departure we were parked.
So it was a pretty yucky, super long trip. But there were some bright spots –
RV Inspection – check
Truck tires rotated – check
Filled up the truck @ Costco – $2.93/Gal (Sweet, right?)
Arriving safely – even if it was a bear of a trip. Always thankful for that!
And a bowl of delicious soup waiting for us upon our arrival. Thank you to our wonderful Group Leaders!
It might’ve been a long hard drive to get here – but I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a good month! (For a little more about just where we are, hop on over to the Where we are now page!)
Thanks for coming along on our rainy day travels!
