Eastward Expansion - Day 7: Tulsa, OK to St. Louis, MO

Part 4 of the blog series took us from Amarillo to Tulsa, then around the city of Tulsa, where we enjoyed a gorgeous day full of history and great food!

At a fantastic rest area near Conway, Missouri - all of the shelters were Route 66-themed

When we made our reservations for the KOA Tulsa NE, we knew our site would be trackside at Will Rogers Downs, and our time there was right in the middle of their spring thoroughbred racing season.  We also knew that, unfortunately, we'd likely arrive after the Tuesday races concluded (if they happened at all, because of the extremely windy weather).  What we didn't anticipate, however, is that a set of Thursday afternoon races meant that the horses would be out working the track on Thursday morning, so we had a chance to see them doing their laps as we made breakfast and packed up!

Coming around the bend!

And down the straight!

As you might imagine, the dogs were losing their tiny minds at all of this.

While our breakfasts on travel days are quicker and involve less prep than those on rest days, this one was lighter still; we planned a second breakfast stop just 40 minutes up the road, so we didn't need too much at the campsite.  When we hit Oklahoma City a few days earlier, we'd finally moved off Interstate 40 and onto the 44, also known here as the Will Rogers Turnpike.  Although we normally avoid toll roads, it was such a straight shot through this area that we couldn't pass it up, and we ended up taking it to the Missouri border, near Joplin.  There are a few fee-free exits on the turnpike, including fuel stops and rest areas, as well as our first destination for the day, the freeway-spanning McDonalds in Vinita!

That's it!  It really does span the entire turnpike

The Will Rogers Statue inside the building - he's big around here

Inside the structure - this is the Eastbound side, heading toward Joplin

You can barely see Aubie's nose poking out behind the truck with the dark cab.

I always think our rig is large, but it's doesn't compare at all with these monsters.

Looking down on the freeway from inside

With second breakfast accomplished, it was back on the road!  We crossed into Missouri, then stopped for lunch at the rest area near Conway; in our travel trailer adventuring over the past few years, we've become quite the rest area critics, and this one was fantastic - ample grass for strolling the girls, clean tables and facilities, and easy parking.  Pulling in, we even parked behind the rig belonging to our campsite neighbors from Tulsa!

Missouri is state number five on this trip!

I just noticed the sidewalk even has lane markings, like on the road

Keeping an eye on Dad

Bea, whatcha doin' under there?

(The answer is "eating things she shouldn't" - this dog is a canine garbage disposal)

As we drew nearer to our home for the night, at the KOA St. Louis West, we kept seeing signs for a spot in nearby St. Robert called the Uranus Fudge Factory.  They kept getting funnier and funnier as we got closer, bearing slogans like, "The Best Fudge Comes from Uranus" and "We Are Having Big Fun in Uranus."  While we weren't able to stop, we fully appreciate that they really leaned in on the whole thing.

Side bar time - as it turns out, we aren't the only family members moving to the Lexington area right now.  Michael and Kate, our extended cousins, as well as and brother and sister-in-law to our KY realtor, Scott, just moved from San Jose, California to Lex, and they also passed the Uranus Fudge Factory on their drive, stopping to pick up souvenirs.  Clearly, we are all related - that Fryar blood wouldn't let us pass something this special without appropriately noting it, obviously.

Before too long, we were pulling off the freeway and into our home for the night.  As always, check in was speedy and friendly, and we found our site without issue (B16, which had just electric and water hookups - this was our most expensive stay by far, so we did without a sewer spot here - there is a dump station on site).  We set everything up and were settling in when we heard this horrible sound - like a baby screaming or something - only to realize it was our neighbor's Boxer saying hello to everyone.

You really need sound for this

Bea wants to know what the heck that sound is!

Also, please note the extreme close quarters of this shot - that's right - the slide is broken again!

It stayed broken for the rest of the trip - it still is, in fact - but at least it was working in Amarillo,

where we spent the whole day indoors because of the rain.  That would have been rough without the extra space.

Making BLTs for dinner with the amazing bacon from the Swan Brothers Dairy store.

Campfire time!

Yes, I know it's still light, but I don't stay up much past dark any longer.

After dinner, we lounged around the campfire for a bit, and eventually retired inside to watch the first episode of Fallout on Amazon Prime before falling asleep.  Tomorrow, we'd explore St. Louis!

Later!

Amy