2015 RV Adventures - Part 1

On our westward trek, we were going to be near West Monroe, Louisiana, so we figured we'd check out the town's claim to fame: The Duck Commander Warehouse, as featured on the TV show "Duck Dynasty". Perhaps we'd get lucky and have a Robertson siting. Well, the visit wasn't all it was quacked up to be. Not only was there nary a Robertson to be seen, the only part of the building open to the public was the gift shop. Most of the products offered, including entry-level duck calls, were made in China!

Nothing to see here!

The West Monroe visit wasn't a total bust, because the town has a beautiful park (Kiroli Park) that includes a very large, really nice dog park. Kiko had a great time romping around there.

Good boy, Kiko!

Our next big stop was Oklahoma City. We found a highly-rated RV park in the north side of town, the Twin Fountains RV Resort, that actually lived up to its billing. It was downright luxurious, and truly deserved to have the word "resort" in its name. There really were two fountains adorning the front of the main building!

Oklahoma City has two "who'd've thought there was such a thing" museums.

The first was the National Banjo Museum. If you have an interest in the banjo, be sure to add the National Banjo Museum to your must-visit list. Oh Susanna!

In downtown Oklahoma City

Some mighty fancy banjos are on display

Steve Martin's heaven

The second was the National Cowboy Museum. Yee-haw, little dogies!

Lots of interesting things to see here

A really sweet find just down the road from the Twin Fountains RV Park was Braum's. Forget the hamburgers, this is an ice cream shop on a grand scale. A zillion flavors and toppings galore! Fresh and delicious. Want to take some home? Yep, they're got a giant freezer section. Too bad we have a tiny RV freezer. If you're counting calories or worried about your cholesterol, don't come anywhere near this place!

Mmmmm!

About 30 miles to the north of Oklahoma City lies Guthrie. (Interesting fact for Jeopardy fans: Guthrie was the first capital of Oklahoma.) It is here that we attended the First Capital Stampede Rodeo (aptly named). Sure, bull riding is a tough way to earn a living, but so is bronc riding. Play this short video clip I took, and you'll see why.

Hey pal, this ain't my first... Oh wait, it WAS my first rodeo! We had a great time. Oklahoma's O.K.!

By the way, lest you think after the Shuttlecraft tire fiasco that our trip was a bed of roses, think again! Three days after our departure from Fort Myers, I noticed that all of our truck's tires had small cracks in the sidewalls. HOW COULD THIS BE?? The tires were only two years old and have rolled only 24,000 miles (and not all of that was towing an RV). They've been properly inflated and rotated twice. Were the cracks cosmetic, or a prelude to a potential blowout? The tire experts couldn't say for sure.

Tires are guaranteed to work properly until they fail, so I decided to err on the side of caution by replacing all the tires on the fourth day of our trip. Who can put a price on safety? The tire dealer sure can, to the tune of $1,500!

Westward ho!