September 28, 2014 Dodge City, KS to Core of Engineers Campground at Tullahasse, OK

What we thought would be a quiet spot to camp last night was anything but that! It turned out that every trucker heading to Dodge City must know about this place and several pulled in and out throughout the night. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but many of them were “refer” trucks who kept their large generators running to keep the refrigeration running. Oh, and did I mention there was a train track less than a mile south of the park … and the trains blast their horn before they come to the road??? When the alarm went off at 7 this morning, neither of us felt very rested. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise, however, so that helped ease the short night.
We stopped for breakfast near Mullinville, Kansas where a local metal works artist has made several political statements with his art. They line the highway for at least 1/2 mile!


In Wichita, KS we stopped at Exploration Point, which is located on the Arkansas River. There is a great river walk and a great opportunity for Penny to swim! The water below the spillway was actually too shallow in most spots for her to swim, but she had a great time splashing across the water to chase after sticks.

We continued our walk and crossed the river to see the Veteran’s Memorial Park. It was interesting to see the flags flown over the US, memorials to all branches of the service, and the brick sidewalk commemorating veteran’s from Wichita. Each brick was engraved with their names and dates of service.
Near another bridge is a sculpture of “The Keeper of the Plains,” created by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin.

After a nice walk, we were back on the road. We passed several oil derricks and fields being plowed.

We also drove on several toll roads across Kansas and Oklahoma. I’m not sure if the funds keep the roads in better shape or not, but we contributed on small amount of money to the cause.

The camping area at Tullahassee is really quite nice. It is located on a lake with pretty level sites – and it is FREE!

We visited with the host and then Penny got to chase the tennis ball. When she decided she was too hot, she took off for the lake. Unfortunately, where she went in, the lake did not have a good in-out area and she couldn’t get back on the shore. Tobey and I had to make a mad dash through the brambles and stickers to help haul her out! We finally got her out and back on the leash and headed to the boat ramp for easier access. She chased her tennis ball a few times out and swam back before we hosed her off! She immediately rolled in the grass and we had to repeat the process!

We loaded back up in the RV and drove back to Hwy. 69 to Baker’s Fish House for dinner. We shared a fried catfish dinner and order of their famous onion rings. It was pretty good, but we have both had our share of fried foods for a while!

After we got back to our campsite, we took a walk around the loop. Tobey spotted a Sand Hill Crane on the shore. It was really cool to watch when it took off and flew across the lake!


The sunset was less dramatic tonight, but still quite beautiful.

We are back in the RV settling in for the night. Tobey spotted some fireflies outside the window which is something we don’t see in Colorado. The crickets and frogs are chirping and the cows from the neighboring farm are mooing. We are hoping for a much more restful night!