Dallas and points north. . .

We left La Grange, Texas, and drove north. We were still trying to stay away from the bad weather. We actually got into a small about of rain and some wind and the wind stayed with us till we arrived at our destination. We drove through Dallas, which we timed so we would not be driving through at rush hour, and continued into Oklahoma where we finally stopped in Durant, Oklahoma, at the Choctaw Indian Casino and campground. The new campground is beautiful and nicely laid out. It is a KOA, which was a surprise. It wasn't quite as expensive as most KOA's, but was very new and very nice.

We did try our hand at the casino and enjoyed our visit. We had dinner at the buffet and when we returned to the motorhome, the wind had died down. We were able to put our slides out which gave us a bit more room.

We left Durant and drove to West Seneca, Oklahoma. We stayed at the Bordertown Casino. They had RV sites in a parking lot, but we had full hookups and were quite comfortable. We camped for $9 for FHU, 50Amp for the first night and nights 2 and 3 are FREE! In addition, they gave us a coupon for buy one/get one free dinner in their restaurant. While we were there, they advertised their $2 breakfast. The next morning we went over for that. We got 2 eggs, any style, hash browns, choice of toast or biscuits/gravy and sausage patty, links or bacon. FOR $2! Can you believe it? We each got a doggie bag and took half of it home. There were many more casinos in this area and we spent another day driving around to other casinos. Most gave us free money to play so we parlayed that into some cash for us.

We took a little side trip over to Neosho, Missouri. There were supposed to be murals in town there, but we couldn't find any. What we did find was a fish hatchery. Not just any fish hatchery, though. Neosho NFH was established in 1888 and is the oldest operating Federal fish hatchery in the country. The hatchery raises pallid sturgeon (Federally endangered) for recovery efforts in the lower Missouri River and rainbow trout for stocking in Lake Taneycomo. The hatchery also supports conservation of the Federally endangered Ozark cavefish and restoration of native mussels. We could see some fish in the aquariums, but the ponds made for difficult viewing. We did feed the trout in one pond and got a good look at some of them.

After our two nights there, we decided to move on. We drove up to Cuba, Missouri. We visited a couple of wineries and I stocked up on some luscious wines. Cuba is famous for its murals which are painted on the buildings in town. They are quite good and imaginative, telling a story about different eras in the town's history. There are pictures of early residents, famous visitors, and murals depicting life in by-gone eras. They were fun to find and photograph, although some had cars parked in front of them making it a bit difficult.

We have had to keep a close eye on the weather as we head toward Indiana. The weather this time of year is volatile and there have been many storms forecast. We are watching and timing our departure/driving/arrival times to miss the worst of the weather.

Till next time. . .

Dale