Goal: Double D RV Park in Texola, Oklahoma
We are going to travel “back roads” from Great Plains State Park, up to where I40 is about to cross into Texas from Oklahoma. Our campground, the Double D RV Park, tonight is a half mile from the Texas border.
We started traveling a short way south to pick up US 62 at the town of Snyder, OK. We then traveled west on US 62. US 62 was a well maintained set of 2 lane past a variety of farm land.
We were approaching the next town along our route on US 62, when we observed 2 LARGE planes doing what we perceived as “touch & goes”. As we got closer we realized that we were approaching the Altus Air Force base. The airplanes we were watching were NOT commercial aircraft, they were Air Force blue-gray! Yes, they were doing big practice circles, with an equivalent to a “touch & go” over the air strip. Even Rob, who was busily driving, had time to watch the pilots perform their maneuvers.
The road after Altus was undulating land which changed to rises through scrub covered bluffs and ravines. We were thrilled by the lack of traffic. On one of the bluffs we achieved the day high of 2,000 feet of elevation.
We turned north off of US 62 onto Oklahoma 34 at the town of Duke. The road beyond had cotton fields in various states of harvest.
At the town of Magnum we turned and took Oklahoma 9 West to the the town of Reed, and on to the tiny town of Vinson. Vinson was barely a wide spot in the road. However, in the center of Vinson was a clear sign north to on Oklahoma 30 to the town of Erick.
As we approached the town of Erick, was the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area, part of the Oklahoma state park system. The wildlife management area preserves 25,000 acres of pristine prairie land. Deryl even spotted several hawks in flight.
We turned west at the town of Erick. Erick is a town who’s center is still on US 66 (yes, THE Route 66). Like many towns that I40 went around when the interstate system was built, Erick is one of THOSE towns.
We chose to drive on 40 BR, which happens to be the OLD US Route 66! We traveled west past a farm or two, and then rolled through the tiny town of Texola. Texola is more of a ghost town than a town. There are a few houses but every one of the business closed years ago.
The location of the campground is north of the “center” of town, provided you define center as the place where the two streets cross. The campground is 100 feet south of the I40 east bound exit ramp.
Double D RV park is nothing much to write home about. It is a gravel parking lot with a few trees. The utility hookups and a tree or shrub is the delineation between the parking spaces. All of the sites are pull through, and long enough for a 43 foot 5th wheel and long bed pickup truck. Given the ease on and off of I40, it is pretty obvious that this campground’s market is the overnight transient camper. (Which was fine by us, as that is what we wanted.) The price reflects the market, as does the fact that fee collection is on the honor system.
We were able to quickly park, level, and hook up to the utilities so the cats could get out of their transporter and into The Roost.
We arrived early enough that Deryl just made BLA sandwiches. Bacon, Lettuce, and Avocado, on Brioche bread toast.
We then drove on I40 east one exit to Erick where the closest fuel station was located. We wanted to make sure Clyde had a full fuel tank for tomorrow.
We returned to camp, and curled up to work on trip planning and the website.
Dinner tonight was Chicken Marsala and a baked potato.
We called it an early night, as there wasn’t even TV to watch.