Altus, AK, Plus Gordonville, TX, Then on to Hooks, TX (Texarkana)

April 22, Wed. We stopped for 1 night in Arewelost, OK, (Altus by Nowhereville)!  We went a bit out of our way to Altus AFB, where they train pilots to fly the big military cargo planes.  We wanted to get our AFB frequent camper book stamped so we could send away for more free nights of camping coupons.  Altus is close to the border of TX  in the corner at the bottom of the east side of the square & just before the state spreads east again along the Red River.  Crossing the upper part of TX was out in wide open country again. Once in OK, we took the back road down to Altus where all you saw was ranch land, big sky, and not much else.  The town itself was a bit old and rundown .  The campground on the base only had 12 sites.  But the fun part was seeing jackrabbits again!  I didn’t take a picture of the site because it was late and a storm was moving in.  There was the possibility of a tornado, so I was really uncomfortable and had a restless night.  Whew, we only got rain. 

The town that would later be named Altus was founded in 1886.  The community was originally a settlement of about 50 people on Bitter Creek that served as a trading post on the Great Western Trail.  Cowboys driving herds northward often stopped to buy buttermilk thus, the town was known locally as "Buttermilk Station."
April 23, Thurs. The next morning was overcast, foggy, and drizzling as we drove down over the border on our way to Outtheresomewhere, TX, (Gordonville by Middleofnowhere)!  We headed to Shepard AFB Recreation Area, again out of our way, to get another stamp for our AFB book.  The recreation area is out on Lake Texoma  and is one of the largest reservoirs in the US plus the 12th largest US Army Corps of Engineers lakes.  Lake Texoma's two main sources are the Red River from the west and Washita River from the north , and situated on the border between Oklahoma and Texas. The recreation area was really shabby and a disappointment.  The water in the lake was just brown and so dirty looking.  But it served our purpose.  Rather ominous looking skies as we parked.

Gee whiz!  More severe storms and threat of tornados!  We wound up staying 2 nights instead of one because of severe storms & tornado threats east of right where we were headed.  Thank goodness we caught the edge of the storms & a tornado shelter was right by our site, SCARY! I was not a happy camper, LITERALLY!  The rain just poured!  So glad we decided to stay put.  We did NOT want to drive in rain and lightening, etc.  That’s one of the perks of being a fulltime RVer, if you don’t like a situation, you can just alter your plans.  Then here was the sky over the lake as the storm moved out!  Awesome! "Red Sky at Morning, Sailor Take Warning, Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight!" 

The next morning was bright and sunny and gave a whole different look to the lake.  So glad we had a good day for travel. 

April 26, Sat.  We drove on a nice highway straight east sort of following the Red River through more of the less traveled areas of TX and saw more and more green and trees!  We saw lots more cattle ranches and horse farms all over the place. We did go through a few small towns that were some of the shabbiest and dirtiest we have seen.  It was a rather pleasant drive on a pretty day and most of the time we had the road to ourselves.  Only another 1 night stay was on tap at Red River Army Depot in Texarkcana, TX (border of TX & AR) at the Elliott Lake Recreation Area.  Boy! What a difference in this pretty blue water lake from our last stop!  We even had a nice paved site instead of grass and dirt, a welcome change.  We are also noticing the hotter days and higher humidity after what we were used to in AZ.  Of course, I had to go exploring and had some company down by the water. 

I  found this cross down by the water, a perfect setting for a little prayer.