Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday

We stayed at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A last-minute change to get us back on track with our scheduled stops after the brake issue.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-21
  • Check out: 2023-10-22
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Cloudy
  • High temp 86°F, low 58°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Distant freeway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #B24, pull through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Fairly level; used air leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 85 feet long by about 13 feet wide
  • Garden between sites about 20 feet wide
  • Big trees
  • Stamped concrete patio about 30 by 12 feet
  • Fire pit, Adirondack chairs, patio table and chairs, propane grill on patio
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 40 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Didn’t use sewer, since just one night, but was fairly conveniently located

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 39 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 6-9 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 83-95 Mbps down, 7-10 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster by entrance
  • Closed pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice wooded campground close to I-40

This was a last-minute change of plans along our travel on I-40, and we were happy to get a patio site for our one night. We could relax and have dinner outside without all the fuss of unpacking everything. Very nice patio on terraced sites, which is needed to accommodate the very hilly terrain of the park. Check-in was quick and easy, and they guided us to our site. Some of the interior roads could use a little TLC, and there are some tight turns for a big rig, but we managed. It’s convenient to I-40 but far enough away that there is minimal road noise. We enjoyed the park-like atmosphere and would happily stay here again. We camped at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

A nice patio:

Patio

Patio

Patio

We actually used the propane grill:

Grill

Burger and beans

Our downhill neighbor had an interesting setup, with a big rig to tow their fiver, and a smart car on the back:

Neighbor

Neighbor

Neighbor

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Closed pool:

Closed pool

Cabin:

Cabin

Bath House:

Bath House

Mmm, a sewage lagoon:

Sewage lagoon

Dog park:

Dog park

Quite a nice campground; I’d be happy to stay longer in the future.

Travel from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma

We drove our coach 284 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route

An interactive map:

Departing the RV park:

Departing the RV park

Texas likes to have frontage roads with onramps to freeways, which is actually a good system:

Texas service road with onramps to freeway

I-40:

I-40

Cadillac Ranch:

Cadillac Ranch

RV Ranch:

RV Ranch

Amarillo overpass, with boots in the name:

Amarillo overpass

The Big Texan Steak Ranch:

The Big Texan Steak Ranch

VW Slug Bug Ranch:

VW Slug Bug Ranch

VW Slug Bug Ranch

Big cross:

Big cross

Leaning water tower of Texas:

Leaning water tower of Texas

Old building:

Old building

Wind turbines in a row:

Wind turbines in a row

Wind turbines in a row

Rest area:

Rest area

The rest area on the other side of the freeway had an underground shelter:

Rest area

Cotton field:

Cotton field

Welcome to Oklahoma:

Welcome to Oklahoma

Welcome to Oklahoma

Dinosaur:

Dinosaur

Our coach at the rest area:

Our coach at rest area

Elk City:

Elk City

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

A stop at Cherokee Trading Post:

Truck stop

Cherokee Trading Post

Cherokee Trading Post

Super-relaxed Paladin:

Paladin

Oklahoma City:

Oklahoma

Interesting bridge art:

Interesting bridge art

Interesting building:

Interesting building

Air Force One:

Air Force One

Air Force water towers:

Air Force water towers

Our destination, the KOA entrance:

KOA entrance

Koi pond:

Koi pond

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Guided to our site

Cadillac Ranch

We visited a famous roadside attraction, Cadillac Ranch, an art installation of ten Cadillac cars, buried nose-first in the ground since 1974, in Amarillo, Texas.

Graffiti on the road:

Graffiti on the road

They sell spray paint and merch; people are allowed and encouraged to spray on the cars:

Spray paint and merch

Approaching Cadillac Ranch:

Cadillac Ranch

Lots of people when we visited:

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

A fun roadside attraction.

Oasis RV Resort & Cottages

We stayed at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages in Amarillo, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A couple of nights in Texas on our journey east.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-19
  • Check out: 2023-10-21
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 83-88°F, lows around 53-59°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Some freeway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #17, pull through, concrete
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Fairly level
  • Asphalt driveway with concrete pad, about 80 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Gravel between sites about 15 feet wide
  • Some trees
  • Picnic table on small concrete patio, about 13 feet by 6 feet
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 55 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 30-36 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
  • Verizon: 6 Mbps down, 7-12 Mbps up, 155 ms ping
  • AT&T: 58-80 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters (no garbage pickup, so not really a resort in my book)
  • Closed pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop off I-40 in Amarillo

We needed a short stay while traveling through the Texas panhandle, and this place was perfect for that. It’s a large park with long, wide (mostly) pull-through sites. There are concrete pads perfectly placed if you’re a motorhome with tow, but not quite right if you pull a fifth wheel or trailer. So many places have it the other way around, so it was a nice change for us to be able to park in the optimal spot. Close to I-40, but not much noise. Disappointing that they close the pool seasonally regardless of what the actual weather is doing, and also that they are a “resort” and don’t offer trash pickup, which is the bare minimum to be a “resort,” IMHO. We camped at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages Amarillo in a Motorhome.

The map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Outdoor cat:

Outdoor cat

Outdoor cat

Cabins:

Cabins

Bathrooms and tornado shelters:

Bathrooms and tornado shelters

Office:

Office

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch:

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

Travel from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas

We drove our coach 99 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route

An interactive map:

Leaving the campground (and taking out the trash):

Leaving campground

Heading to I-40 east:

Heading to I-40 east

I-40:

I-40

Leaving New Mexico:

Leaving New Mexico

Texas state line:

Texas state line

Entering Central Time Zone:

Entering Central Time Zone

Welcome to Texas:

Welcome to Texas

Rest stop:

Rest stop

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

$321 of diesel:

Fuel

Roadworks blocked our access to the campground; we had to detour through the Loves truck stop:

Roadworks

And duck between cones:

Duck between cones

Our destination:

Our destination

Oasis RV:

Oasis RV

Oasis RV

Our site:

Our site

Merry Christmas; New Orleans Celebration in the Oaks

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, or Happy Holidays!

To mark the occasion, here’s a post out of sequence. We stayed in New Orleans around Thanksgiving this year, and while there attended the New Orleans City Park’s Celebration in the Oaks holiday lights. The blog posts about New Orleans aren’t scheduled to be published until February (yes, I’m rather behind; we do things faster than I can post about them!). But I figured I could bring this one forward to a more appropriate time.

This holiday celebration has driving and walking options; we did both. Here’s a map of the routes:

Map

We started with the driving portion, where one drives along roads in the park that have holiday light decorations:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

A timelapse video from my 360 camera of the drive:

We then parked at the mini golf in the park, and played a round (Jenn won):

Mini golf

Mini golf

Mini golf

Mini golf

Mini golf

Then proceeded to the walking part, wandering around the New Orleans Botanical Garden and environs, with lots of holiday lights:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Greenhouse

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Jenn reaching for a star:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

A cute narrated Cajun Night Before Christmas story, with synchronized lights: 

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

An amusing New Orleans variation of 12 Days of Christmas:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Model trains:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Amusement park rides were also included, but we didn’t participate in any (considered the train, but it was full, and the carousel, but didn’t want to wait):

Holiday lights

It is a nice historical carousel, though:

Carousel

Carousel

Carousel

Attractions

Holiday lights

A fun festive evening. Always interesting to see local variations of holiday lights.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Tucumcari KOA Journey again

We stayed (again) at Tucumcari / Route 66 KOA Journey in Tucumcari, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)

We still hate buddy sites, but needed to stop here to pick up a package that was delivered after we left, so figured we might as well stay one night.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-18
  • Check out: 2023-10-19
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temp 76°F, low 47°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Nearby freeway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #37, pull through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Fairly level; used air leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 65 feet long by about 10 feet wide
  • Buddy grass about 20 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 7 feet wide
  • Some trees
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • Did I mention buddy site! Do not like.
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power didn’t work; used 30 amp instead, conveniently located
  • We notified the office in the morning, and they promptly came to investigate the power issue
  • 65 PSI water, fairly conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 38-43 Mbps down, 3-8 Mbps up, 96-134 ms ping
  • Verizon: 0.05-0.3 Mbps down, 0.5-5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 83-95 Mbps down, 7-10 Mbps up, 32-61 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster by entrance
  • Package delivery to site
  • Cooked breakfast delivery to site (didn’t use this time)

Our review on Campground Reviews (from our previous visit):

Buddy sites, nuff said

This is an older KOA with new owners who are working on improvements. I see a lot of potential and will stay here again because it’s just so convenient to I-40, but the rates are a bit much for what it is currently. The staff here are all fantastic. Friendly, helpful, and on the ball when you report an issue. And who could argue with cooked breakfast brought right to your door? However, the biggest drawback is that most of the sites are buddy sites. They have nice, new concrete “patio” sites at the back of the park but ruined it by having them all be buddies. I cannot overstate how much I dislike buddy sites. We camped at Tucumcari KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Kix on 66 was very tasty and has that whole Route 66 retro vibe going on.

An interactive map:

Our site, facing another site:

Map

We usually make sure we arrive before dark, but this was an exception; we decided to travel at night rather than stay at the truck service center another night, mainly to help catch up with our scheduled travels. Our coach on arrival:

Our coach

Our site in the morning:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

This was the first time we’d had a sewer hookup since we were here the previous time, before the Balloon Fiesta — 11 days. We did get a water top-up at the truck center, which was good as it was down to about 20%. After all that time, our gray tank was up to 67% and black to 83%, not too bad:

Tank levels

(We have since purchased a water bladder and sewer tote tank, and accessories, which will alleviate concerns about dry camping in the future.)

Other sites; the place was pretty full when we arrived, but emptied out early in the morning:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites