Travel from Guymon, Oklahoma to Tucumcari, New Mexico

We drove our coach 165 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Guymon, Oklahoma to Tucumcari, New Mexico.

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

Route

An interactive map:

The drive-in screen as we depart the RV park:

Drive-in screen

Leaving the campground

Oversize load:

Oversize load

Welcome to Texas:

Welcome to Texas

A very long train:

Long train

Big cowboy:

Big cowboy

We stopped at a basic rest area for a bathroom break:

Rest area

Rest area

Seeing triple; three seemingly identical tractors driving down the road:

Seeing triple

Railway crossing:

Railway crossing

A mural in Dalhart:

Mural

Tatty Texas flag:

Tatty Texas flag

Dalhart:

Dalhart

We passed several feed lots; miles of smelly cattle:

Feed lot

I thought this was a clever idea: the start of a passing lane is marked with a dotted line, encouraging people to move right. More places should do this:

Passing lane

More farm equipment:

Farm equipment

Long straght road:

Long straght road

Fun with the phone zoom, making it look like we’re about to drive off a cliff:

Fun with zoom

We stopped for lunch at a picnic area; “watch for rattlesnakes”:

Watch for rattlesnakes

Paladin was enjoying a box:

Paladin in a box

A rail bridge by the picnic area:

Rail bridge

Our coach:

Our coach

Our coach

I got out to plug the 360 camera into a battery pack, since it was about to run out of power:

360 camera and battery pack

(On the passenger seat in that picture you can see stuff used for hooking up the truck to the coach.)

More fun with zoom:

More fun with zoom

Entering Mountain time zone:

Entering Mountain Time

We were in Mountain time, then had a couple of weeks in Central time, and now back to Mountain for a week, before returning to Central until the end of the year, when we’ll enter Eastern. Such fun.

Welcome to New Mexico, our third state today:

Welcome to New Mexico

Nara Vista, a rather run-down town:

Nara Vista

Bard, ditto:

Nara Vista

Paladin asleep in his safe spot:

Paladin in his safe spot

Lots of long straight roads on this trip:

Long straight road

More fun with zoom:

More fun with zoom

Canadian River?!

Canadian River

Tucumcari Mountain, the inspiration for Radiator Cap mountain in the Cars movie:

Tucumcari Mountain

Our destination:

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our site:

Our site

Corral Drive-In RV Park

We stayed at Corral Drive-In RV Park in Guymon, Oklahoma. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice RV park, other than the highway and train noise.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-01
  • Check out: 2023-10-06
  • 5 nights

Weather:

  • Rain, thunderstorm, partly cloudy
  • High temps ranging between 70-81°F, lows around 49-62°F
  • Lots of wind, gusts up to 32 MPH most days

Noise:

  • Nearby highway noise
  • Nearby train noise (with lots of horns)
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #36, pull through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Somewhat level, a little side-to-side slope
  • Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 30 feet wide
  • This was an end site, with horseshoe pits next to it
  • Medium-sized trees
  • No picnic table (but available upon request)
  • No fire pit
  • A few bottlecap-sized bits of trash in the site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 42 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipe and a 2-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 237-282 Mbps down, 35-60 Mbps up, 67-260 ms ping
  • Verizon: 2-4 Mbps down, 10-14 Mbps up, 115 ms ping
  • AT&T: 95 Mbps down, 52 Mbps up, 49 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: 10-13 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 4 ms ping

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster by entrance
  • Package delivery to office
  • An old (discontinued) drive-in movie screen

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful campground with a retro vibe

This campground was a great place to stop while traveling the Oklahoma panhandle. The sites are long and well-spaced, the utilities are in good working order, and everything is lovingly cared for. The vintage playground (and movie screen) from its previous life as a drive-in is a great touch we really enjoyed. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The only drawback is the road and train noise at all hours, so be prepared with earplugs or white noise if you’re a light sleeper. We camped at Corral Drive-In RV Park in a Motorhome.

The map:

Map

I don’t usually post the RV park rules, but these were amusingly worded:

Rules

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Horseshoe pits next to our site:

Horseshoe pits next to our site

Another new state, so after our first night we could add another sticker to our coach, completing a column. It looks like we’ve visited over half the country geographically, but only 17 of 50 states; the east coast has much smaller states:

States stickers

Inside, the board for stickers and pins is also filling up:

Stickers board

Stickers board

There were several days of thunderstorms during the first half of our stay here:

Thunderstorms

An unpleasant midnight wakeup:

Thunderstorms

The entrance:

Entrance

Bowling ball garden:

Bowling ball garden

Office:

Office

Office

Vintage movie projector:

Vintage projector

Vintage projector

Vintage projector

Projection house:

Projection house

Movie screen and ancient playground:

Movie screen

Movie screen

Movie screen

Playground

Behind the screen:

Behind the screen

Car shell:

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Car shell

Behind the screen

Old truck:

Old truck

Horse statue:

Horse statue

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

A weird one: a truck with hay bales and an Airstream trailer. Taking their hay on vacation?

Other sites

The movie screen again:

The movie screen again

We’d be happy to stay here again, but best suited for a couple of nights, due to the road and train noise.

Travel from Scott City, Kansas to Guymon, Oklahoma

We drove our coach 163 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Scott City, Kansas to Guymon, Oklahoma.

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

Route

An interactive map:

Our coach by the lake, before hooking up our truck:

Our coach

Toaded:

Toaded

Our coach and lake

We stopped by the dumpsters to take out the trash on the way out:

Trash

Departing the park:

Departing park

Paladin in his safe space next to the passenger chair:

Paladin in his safe space

Scott City:

Scott City

A clever idea to use the water tower as a cell tower:

Scott City

There were lots of oversize load trucks on this route, including several with really long wind turbine blades:

Wind turbine blade on a truck

Wind turbine blade on a truck

And other things:

Oversize load

A brief bathroom stop (using the bathroom in our coach, of course):

Bathroom stop

More wind turbine blades and farm equipment:

Wind turbine blade on a truck

Oversize load

Wind turbine blade on a truck

Presumably a radar sphere:

Radar sphere

Another one:

Wind turbine blade on a truck

A lunch stop at a Subway at a gas station:

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Lunch stop

Another oversize load:

Oversize load

Paladin in his safe spot:

Paladin in his safe spot

A pedestrian bridge in the ironically named Liberal, Kansas:

Pedestrian bridge in Liberal

Liberal

Oklahoma state line, and some roadworks:

Oklahoma state line

Oklahoma sign:

Oklahoma sign

This water tower reminded me of the famous Warner Bros one:

Water tower

Hooker, Oklahoma (the Wikipedia article says the motto is “It’s a location, not a vocation”):

Hooker

Guymon, Oklahoma:

Guymon

Half the main road through town closed for roadworks:

Road closed

Our destination:

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Our destination

Replacing fridge drawer cover

It’s said that an RV is a rolling earthquake, as things bounce around while driving down the road. Every time we open the fridge for the first time after (or during) a drive, we are careful to do so slowly, in case anything fell, like this occasion:

Fallen items in fridge

Heavy stuff like that OJ and wine landing on the cover of the bottom drawer in the fridge cracked it down the middle:

Cracked fridge drawer cover

I temporarily patched it with glue:

Cracked fridge drawer cover

But that obviously wasn’t a very satisfactory solution. Fortunately, I was able to find the replacement part on Amazon:

Replacement part

Which was trivial to swap out:

Replaced fridge drawer cover

Much better!

Kansas rocks

While staying at Lake Scott State Park, we took a drive around some local scenery, including Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork, Monument Rocks, Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, and Lake Scott itself, including an El Cuartelejo pueblo.

An interactive map of our route:

We started heading south from our campsite, visiting the El Cuartelejo pueblo, the northernmost and easternmost pueblo in the country:

Monument

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

 El Cuartelejo pueblo

DAR marker

Steele House museum:

Steele House museum

Steele House museum

Road

Monument of the Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork, the site of the last battle between Indians and the United States Army in the state of Kansas:

Monument

Battle Canyon:

Battle Canyon

Battle Canyon

Battle Canyon

An interesting canyon along the road:

Road

Monument Rocks, some impressive chalk formations:

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park:

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

We walked along the quarter mile overlook trail, instead of the longer trail, since it was almost 100°F:

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Little Pyramids rocks:

Little Pyramids

Back to Lake Scott State Park; here’s the lake overflow area (it is an artificial lake):

Lake Scott State Park

A view across the lake towards our campground:

Lake Scott State Park

A peek of the rear of our coach:

Our coach

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

An interesting drive. Who knew Kansas had such scenery?!

Circle Drive Campground, Lake Scott State Park

We stayed in the Circle Drive Campground of Lake Scott State Park near Scott City, Kansas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A pleasant oasis by a lake.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-09-26
  • Check out: 2023-10-01
  • 5 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 86-93°F, lows around 55-68°F
  • Some wind most days, gusts up to 37 MPH

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise; more so when it filled up more on the weekend

Site:

  • #40, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
  • Somewhat level, a little side-to-side slope
  • Gravel driveway about 55 feet long by about 8 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 40 feet wide
  • Big trees
  • Picnic table
  • Some minor trash in the site
  • Lots of biting flies and gnats

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 50 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Too recessed sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 7-101 Mbps down, 5-10 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 27 Mbps down, 11-21 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 31 Mbps down, 16-25 Mbps up, 65 ms ping, unreliable
  • AT&T: no or negligible service
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Lake
  • Garbage dumpsters in central (inconvenient) location
  • Historic park

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Hidden oasis in the prairie

This park is a hidden gem amongst the rolling prairie of western Kansas. The lake was lovely, and there was plenty to see and do in the area. We had a back-in site close to the water in the Circle Drive campground with full hookups, which was a definite bonus. The only downside to our stay was the multitude of biting insects, so come prepared with repellent. We would definitely stay here again. We camped at Lake Scott State Park in a Motorhome.

No paper map; here’s an interactive map; we were in the Circle Drive Campground:

Some side-to-side slope before leveling:

Slope

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Picnic table and our griddle:

Picnic table and griddle

We added Kansas to the state stickers on our coach:

Added Kansas to state stickers

A playground behind our site (a little distance away):

Playground

A smoker at a picnic area:

Smoker at picnic area

U-shaped picnic table:

U-shaped picnic table

The lake:

Lake

Lake selfie

Lake

Lake

Beach House, closed for the season:

Beach House

Lake

Swimming beach:

Swimming beach

Swimming beach

Sunset:

Sunset

Old playground:

Old playground

Old playground

Sunset

Docks:

Docks

Lake

Lake

Tent area:

Tent area

Lake

Monument

Lake

Tent area

Tent area

“Even good dogs must be on a leash”:

Even good dogs must be on a leash

Self-pay station and map:

Self-pay station

Map

Other sites

Full moon:

Full moon

A nice state park (and very affordable). We’d be happy to stay here again.

Travel from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas

We drove our coach 209 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas.

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

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops:

Sunrise:

Sunrise

Leaving the campground:

Leaving the campground

Spaceship water tower across the highway:

Spaceship water tower

Lots of fields of corn:

Lots of fields of corn

Old car store:

Old car store

Silos:

Silos

Not sure what this was? Perhaps for grain loading?

Not sure what this was?

Tractor:

Tractor

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Truck with hay bales:

Truck with hay bales

More silos:

More silos

We stopped in a large gravel area at this gas station for a bathroom break:

Bathroom stop

Zoomed highway:

Zoomed highway

Welcome to Kansas:

Welcome to Kansas

Zoomed view of the highway, emphasizing some big dips:

Zoomed view of the highway, emphasizing some big dips

Paladin mostly asleep:

Paladin asleep

Fuel and lunch stop:

Fuel and lunch stop

Fuel

Almost 90 gallons for $412; we saved $47 on this fuel up via our Open Roads discount card:

Almost 90 gallons for $412; we saved $47 on this fuel up via our Open Roads discount card

We then parked:

Parked

And had some tasty IHOP breakfasts for lunch:

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

IHOP for lunch

An unusual thing; the napkin-wrapped silverware came with a straw; haven’t seen that before:

Straw with silverware and napkin

Paladin asleep again:

Paladin asleep

Cornfield and pump jack; two great tastes that taste great together:

Corn and pump jack

Paladin asleep yet again:

Paladin asleep

Wind turbine blade:

Wind turbine blade

Large farm equipment:

Large farm equipment

Lake Scott State Park:

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Lake Scott State Park

Our site:

Our site

Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA Journey

We stayed at Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA Journey in Ogallala, Nebraska. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A campground that recently became a KOA. A Journey, i.e. high turnover of people passing through. We were in a new section without any landscaping.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-09-24
  • Check out: 2023-09-26
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 77-82°F, lows around 45-49°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Somewhat distant highway noise
  • Train noise with horns
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #46, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Somewhat level, slight side-to-side slope
  • Gravel site about 70 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • No grass or trees on these sites, some on other sites
  • Picnic table
  • Mostly clean site; a couple of minor bits of trash

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located at the rear of the site
  • 40 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 40-77 Mbps down, 1-5 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 20-30 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Closed pool
  • Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop along I-80

We stayed two nights; the $40 rate is after using $50 in KOA rewards. $65/night would have been a bit much for what it is. The newer section of the park is pretty much a gravel parking lot, which is fine for a short stay. If staying longer, I’d look at the patio sites in the front part of the park. The staff were very friendly and helpful and escorted us to our site, which is always a nice touch. Close enough to I-80 to be convenient, but it’s far enough away that you don’t get a lot of noise. We camped at Ogallala Tri-Trails KOA in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

An interactive map (our section is not in the satellite image as of this writing):

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Jenn has started taking a photo of the leveling panel as the coach starts lowering the jacks; this shows that the site was level front-to-back, but unlevel side-to-side:

Leveling

After our first night in Nebraska, we could add another sticker to the states map on the side of our coach:

States map

The entrance:

Entrance

Office:

Office

They have several decorations like this old cart:

Decoration

Dog park:

Dog park

Playground:

Playground

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Laundry:

Laundry

The pool was closed for the season (despite highs in the 80’s; arbitrary season closures are stupid):

Pool

Pool

A very nice skoolie (school bus conversion); fancier than most skoolies:

Skoolie

Skoolie

Other sites; when I walked around, there were only two short-term guests in the campground, two long-term stays, and two staff RVs; later, many of the sites filled up; typical for a Journey park, with high turnover:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Solar panels behind the campground:

Solar panels behind campground

A spaceship water tower across highway from campground:

Spaceship water tower across highway from campground

A basic KOA; fine for a couple of days stay.