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

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

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

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

We drove our coach 139 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Moriarty, New Mexico to Tucumcari, New Mexico.

A rare nighttime drive! Our coach was finished being fixed at the end of the day; we could have stayed overnight again, but we were keen to get back on schedule. So we decided to head out, even though we normally avoid driving at night. It helped that we were familiar with the route, having done it (both ways) recently, plus were familiar with the destination RV park, since we stayed there on the way to Albuquerque.

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

Route

An interactive map:

On the road again, back along I-40:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Not sure what that truck on the left is hauling:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Clines Corners truck stop:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Flying C Ranch billboards:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

We stopped at Flying C Ranch again:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Sunset:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Lots of swag:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

DQ for dinner:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Back to our coach:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Sunset reflected in our coach, plus a sliver of moon:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Driving in dusk:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

The cameras weren’t overly useful when driving in the dark:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Going past the rest area where we were stuck for a couple of days:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Arriving at the KOA:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Paladin on the passenger chair:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

In our site:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

West Truck Services Center

We unexpectedly stayed at West Truck Services Center in Moriarty, New Mexico, after getting towed there due to a brake getting stuck on the way from the Balloon Fiesta.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-16
  • Check out: 2023-10-18
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 76-79°F, lows around 38-42°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Some Route 66 highway and freeway noise
  • No train noise

Site:

  • Parking lot, gravel
  • Toad was disconnected as the coach was towed
  • Fairly level; used air leveling
  • Some trash

Utilities:

  • 15 amp power from the shop
  • Water provided from the shop
  • No sewer

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 1-73 Mbps down, 2-17 Mbps up, 65-146 ms ping
  • Verizon: 24 Mbps down, 24 Mbps up, 64 ms ping
  • AT&T: 20 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 64 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Truck repair
  • Diner across the road

An interactive map:

We arrived after they closed, but one of the techs was still there, and provided a power cord and water hose for us, parked out front of the shop:

Our coach

We walked across Route 66 to a truck center:

Truck center across the road

Truck center across the road

We had dinner at Lisa’s Grill, a diner in the truck center:

Lisa's Diner

Menu

Menu

Dinner

Back to our coach:

Our coach

Sunrise the next day:

Sunrise

A tech unstuck our brake, and we moved the coach into the shop for more diagnosis:

Our coach

We went back to the diner for brunch. On the wall, a history of Moriarty:

History of Moriarty

Breakfast

Our tow truck with another customer:

Tow truck

Another tow truck delivered another truck early in the morning:

Tow truck

Our coach getting worked on:

Our coach

See the Braking: Bad blog post for a summary of the breakdown, tow, and repair.

Our stay here was as pleasant as one could expect from a repair situation. It was nice to be able to put out our slides, have power, and a diner across the road. Plus, of course, getting our coach back on the road!