We drove from just south of St Louis Missouri, to just north of Tulsa today. It was fewer miles than we had planned. We made a few stops that slowed us down but also got us out of our seat and on to our feet a few times. 

First night!

We spent our first night in our 2025 Rockwood Mini Lite 2506FK. We knew we would be comfortable because, after all, we have all our stuff around us! We also love our Ghost Bed mattress. 

Our new bathroom has a sort of night light, under the bathroom sink, and we left that on when we went to bed. It proved to be more light than I liked, so in the middle of the night I found our motion-sensor night light and turned off the bathroom switch. Tonight we may try it again, and this time close the bedroom doors. I know you’ll be on the edge of your seat for an update!

Tony woke up around 6:00. He said he was tempted to snuggle in, but then he remembered that the main reason we got a new trailer is so he could get up before me. So, he tested it out. He made coffee and worked until I got up, about half an hour later. We are really going to love this separation of spaces. 

KOA Eureka Missouri

We stayed at the KOA in Eureka Missouri. We are choosing campgrounds on this trip where we can use the shower house, so we don't have to dewinterize the plumbing in the camper. We are using the toilet, with water added from a Wolverine Tuff Bag. At the end of the trip, we will just have to dump the black tank but not have to fully winterize the trailer again. 

The showers at this KOA were — okay. They weren’t great. The stalls were sort of small. The shower head was on a side wall, and was not adjustable. The water hit the opposite wall fairly high. I almost had to lean against the far wall in order to get the water to reach me. 

We warmed up some food for breakfast and got ourselves ready for another long driving day.

The best fudge comes from Uranus

We were about 100 miles from Uranus Fudge Factory, and that’s a perfect number of miles to drive before I need a pit stop. We took photos with the Mayor of Uranus, who has a head again. His head had been blown away during a bad wind storm earlier this year. He looked proud to be reheaded. 

We headed inside the store for a potty break and bought some fudge. Then we got back on the road.

The Mayor of Uranus is one of the American Giants or Muffler Men that we love to see on this journey. He is an example of one of the newer creations that has been made from the molds created by International Fiberglass in the 1960s.

But first, food

Both of us admitted we really needed food before we could ingest any sugar. I looked at the map and found the Route 66 Diner in St Robert, just a few miles further down the road. We went there and had a terrific — well, brunch I suppose. It was close to 11:00 after all. Tony opted for the chicken fried steak breakfast plate and said it was fantastic. I’ve been fighting the urge to have a burger for a few days, so I gave in to my craving and got a blue cheese burger with house-made potato chips. It was also really delicious. 

More junk food?

Our next stop was when we needed gas. There was a Buc-Ees and although we always find that chaos rather unsettling, we did stop and fill the tank. We headed inside to empty our bladders and fill our coffee cups. 

We had eaten all of our road cashews, so Tony picked up a bad of cashews and a bag of salt and lime peanuts. I couldn’t resist a bag of cinnamon Beaver Nuggets. We laughed at buying more junk food when we already had fudge. I wasn’t hungry, and I still have not opened the Beaver Nuggets, but I’m sure tomorrow that will change.

KOA Claremore Oklahoma

We had intended to drive all the way through Tulsa and perhaps end our day in Sapulpa. I called the campground I found, and the man said they were booked full. So I checked for another option and we ended up staying at a KOA north east of Tulsa for the night. While our butts might thank us tonight, it means more miles tomorrow. 

This KOA is basically right next door (or on the same property, we aren’t really sure) to the Cherokee Casino and Will Rogers Downs racetrack. We got settled in, then decided to walk over to the casino for dinner. Friday and Saturday are BBQ nights. We didn’t order BBQ in the long run. We both got a chicken club sandwich and shared an order of fries.

Today was a day of “not-fast” food. We waited what seemed a long time for both our brunch and our dinner. But, in the long run all the food was really tasty, and worth the wait. 

Why do I gamble?

After we ate, Tony gave me $40 to stay and play the casino games and we walked back to the trailer. I lost the money in about 6.3 seconds. 

I don’t know what happened. My grandma was so lucky at gambling. She could sit for hours and play video poker. She almost always came out ahead. My Aunt Kathy can play Blackjack all night long. My mom and Aunt Margie have pretty good luck also. For me, the lucky gene seems to have skipped a generation. I don’t ever seem to have good luck. I always say that if I could just lose slowly and earn a couple bonus rounds, I’ll be happy. Tonight, I didn’t do any of that. I just lost lickety-split. 

I guess the good news is, I walked back to the trailer before the cold really set in for the night.