Get your kicks on Route 66!

August 16-17

We got on the road to Oklahoma and traversed almost the entire state (I spent much time perusing maps) before stopping at Foss Lake State Park. I wasn’t sure how this campsite would be since it hadn’t been profiled in the campground guide I had, but we needed a place to stay, and it was in the right place at the right time. Since we arrived after hours, the sign told us to select our campsite and come and pay in the morning. There were a variety of campgrounds and we finally selected one right on the banks of the lake. Apparently this spot is a big favorite for boating and fishing. We set up camp with the door facing the lake and were rewarded with a nice lake breeze. No mosquito problems at this site, but there were some other interesting insects (harmless). Jordan and I are going to look them in insect guide when we get the chance. This spot had the campsites closer together than we normally like, and later after we had set up and driven around some more, we found a really nice secluded spot at one of their different campgrounds – although not right on the lake, but we didn’t want to take down and set up again. We might have considered it if we were going to stay for a week, but for only one night, our spot was just fine. And actually, we had such a good time meeting and talking to our camp neighbors, that I’m glad we picked that spot in the first place. It was the first time I had camped right by the water (the mosquito-infested creek at the last campsite didn’t count) and it was so nice to sit out and listen to the wind on the lake. The moon was full that night and the reflection off the water was absolutely beautiful. Made grilled salmon and zucchini over the campfire and the kids had s’mores.

The family next to us had come prepared for some major fishing – they had all the equipment, down to the rod alarms that notified them when a fish was hooked. They were catching catfish and hybrids (? – I think a cross between bass and something else). All of us are fishing novices (and that is being kind). We bought some rods last year and took them with us on our last camping vacation to Smith Mountain Lake. Didn’t catch a thing! I told Wayne that we needed a book like Fishing for Dummies. I did a search at our local library. Lo and behold, they actually had one! I checked it out, but haven’t had time to read it yet. Besides, we didn’t bring the rods on this long trip. These people next to us, however, were experts. They even brought a seine net to catch their own bait. Now that was something I knew how to use after all my years doing environmental education on the bay. We were standing there talking and the rod alarm went off and we watched the guy haul in a huge catfish.

While in the area, we decided to check out several of the local attractions. Portions of historic Route 66 go through the area and there are actually TWO museums dedicated to it – only about 10 miles apart – one in Clinton, OK, and one in Elk City, OK. Our first stop was the Oklahoma Route 66 museum (in Clinton), and the second was the National Route 66 museum (in Elk City). Both were very good and amazingly didn’t overlap that much – except for the items in the gift shop. I picked up my first kitschy souvenir – a pair of Route 66 earrings. The kids had fun sitting in old cars and pretending to drive down the route. They even had an exhibit set up like a drive-in theater (had to explain to the kids what that was) that was showing old trailers from “The Blob” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon. An old rotary dial phone booth was in both museums, and Sarah could not get enough of trying to figure out how to dial it (had to explain that one too). An adjacent building held a farm and machinery museum. All 4 kids to practice using a contraption that shucked dried kernels from ears of corn – and another that ground it into cornmeal.

After spending several hours checking out the museums, we continued on with our journey to our next stop of Albuquerque, NM. Wayne bought each of the kids notebooks so they could journal their trip.