Top 10 Museums

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Higgins Armory Museum

Top 10 Tacky Tourist Traps

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Devil's Tower

 

Arkansas - our 30th state

We have now visited three-fifths of the states on our Napkin Dreams trip. Arkansas had the distinction of being number thirty. How many will we get to? Forty, forty-nine, maybe even fifty? Time will tell how far we get!

First year in review

It has been awhile since I, Sunset the Snake gave one of my reports from the road. So since I do not have as much to do I thought I could report on the first year the Martin family has spent on the road. Yes a snake has put together a video, made the map and compiled the stats! If you do not believe this then you're imagination is seriously lacking and I am afraid you may suffer from serpent prejudice! Sorry about the lack of sound on the video, youtube has been having fits accepting the music, but we are trying to replace the sound with an audio swap but youtube is also having fits with that!

So here is the adventure by the numbers:

• We started in Cambridge, IL and ended the year in Pittsburgh, PA.
• We traveled over 35,000 miles between the RV and the vans.
• We visited 22 states
• Over 100 Walmarts and 1 Target
• We replaced eight tires.
• We visited 17 Zoos/Aquariums.
• We lost a total of 7 teeth.
• We explored 49 National Parks.
• We soaked up the sun on 10 different beaches.
• We ate at over 70 unique eateries and 25 different McDonalds and 95 other national or regional restaurant chains! 
• We saw at least 277 different species of animals.
• We toured 27 workplaces.
• We went to 6 different amusement parks.
• We spent time in two different countries.
• We traversed through 42 state parks.
• We stayed at over 120 campgrounds!
• Celebrated 7 birthdays.
• Expanded our horizons in over 40 museums.
• All in 372 days (this is from 9/23/10 - 10/1/11)

more...

Check out the basic path we took on our trip in the first year!

Get your kicks on Route 66

 

 

Sorry, this mpost has been taken down because it is in our book detailing our trip across America!

 

 

Will Rogers Follies

We were treated to a special drama at the Will Rogers Museum!

Great Salt Plains

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Since we camped here we will also do a review on the campground.

Cleanliness - 9 - State Parks keep their grounds tidy!

Bathrooms - 5 - The bathrooms were very outdated. The two showers were

hot but difficult to get set. They did have bars of soap!!

Facility fun - 7 - Nice little playground, lots of walking paths and trails.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Dump station but only two full hook-ups. No pull-throughs, no laundry no propane, but the camp hosts do sell ice! Not many stores nearby either so go well-stocked.

Nearby attractions - 5 - While there is not a lot to do nearby, the State Park and Wildlife Refuge offer lots of opportunities for exploration. There is also a fish hatchery nearby.

Staff - 7 - Met two park rangers who were very cordial.

Natural surroundings - 10 - Next to a the river with bluffs on the other side and the lake nearby. Lots of trees.

Value - 7 - $23 for a night for two nights for full hook-ups.

Roominess - 9 - Hardly anyone there, but the sites were quite nice regardless.

Overall - 8

No such thing as wild Buffalo

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Campground review - Riverside RV Park

Looking for a place to hang low for awhile we found a Passport America campground in Bartelsville, Oklahoma in Riverside Campground.

Cleanliness - 7 - You could tell the owners are trying to keep this place up and improve on it,

Bathrooms - 5 - The bathrooms were clean, but one toilet and shower for men and same for ladies.

Facility fun - 5 - they have a swimming pool and a walking path nearby.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Dump station and lots of pull-throughs full hook-ups with 50 amp service. Laundry but no propane.

Nearby attractions - 5 - There are a few things to do near Bartlesville and Tulsa is less than an hour away.

Staff - 7 - Owner was very chatty.

Natural surroundings - 6 - Next to a small creek, decent amount of trees

Value - 9 - $16 for a night for three night with a Passport America card.

Roominess - 4 - We had plenty of room, but I wouldn't want to be here during peak season.

Overall - 6

Kevin Shutterbug

This is Blake's, er Kevin Shutterbug's, first report from the road! These are sponsored by One Way Street Ministries.

Sucess!

 

Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!

 

Bartlesville and Claremore, Oklahoma

We have spent the last two days quietly recovering from our first Kidology to Go in Locust Grove. After packing up and doing an inventory check and report, we were all tired and ready to just spend some quiet family time together. Sunday afternoon we drove up to Bartlesville (it was on our way and had a Passport America Campground). On the way we stopped in Claremore and visited the Will Rogers Museum. This is a donation based museum ($9 suggested for families) and not only did we learn a little bit more about Will Rogers (did you know that he died in a plan crash in Alaska), they have an entire basement dedicated to kids playing and pretending. Our boys actually had to be given three-minute warning to leave the basement! We all also enjoyed watching oldfootage of Will Rogers doing his roping tricks, and seeing the dioramas of his life.

Then we moved on to Bartlesville where we have visited Keepsake Candle Company, played on an old caboose and found a nifty park to play in. They also have a nice walking path here, along with lots of Buffalo statues brightly painted hanging around town and an interesting piece of architecture called the Price Building

.

Tomorrow we move on to a state park that we are excited about, before moving onto Kansas!

Super Hero Cam

This is a very cute video Blake made at the Action Figure Museum - made from the perspective of a super hero viewing the museum!

Campground review - Road Runner RV Park

We wanted to stay close to Oklahoma city to visit several things in this city. However there were no Passport America or Happy Camper sites close enough, so we resorted to an internet search and found the Road Runner RV Park with easy access to the several interstates that course through Oklahoma City. So while it wasn't the nicest park, it was very convenient for our purposes.

Cleanliness - 7 - It was clean, although in some places it is getting old and run down.

Bathrooms - 6 - There were lots of showers which were roomy and hot. The boys liked the trough style urinal, but Dad wasn't as impressed. No soap by the sinks - what is it with no soap in RV Park bathrooms???

Facility fun - 1 - Nothing here at the park fun to do.

Facility usefulness - 9 - Dump station and some pull-throughs full hook-ups. nice laundry facility with only $1 to wash or dry.

Nearby attractions - 6 - Right in Oklahoma City and nearby suburbs.

Staff - 8 - Met two staff members who were very helpful and friendly.

Natural surroundings - 3 - Very few trees and close to Interstate 35. Nice grass surrounds the sites.

Value - 6 - $31 for a night.

Overall - 5

Braum Family Farm Tour

During our stay in Oklahoma, we just couldn’t pass up the Family Friendly Free-bee of a tour of the Braum Family Farm. Braum’s is a semi-local business that makes some of the best ice cream I have ever eaten. But they only have restaurants within 300 miles of the farm, so they can deliver their products fresh and have their drivers back home in one day. This tour is probably one of the best tours we have taken yet. Make sure you call ahead of time so they can give you the best tour time.
When you arrive at the visitor’s entrance, they will show you a short film explaining the whole farm and factory that produces their yummy ice cream, milk, dairy products and baked goods. Then you get to ride in the tour bus that has a fun black and white spotted “cow” paint job. My boys were struck speechless when they heard the bus start to make mooing sounds. It’s just that kind of a fun place. The farm isn’t really open for tours, but you get to see most of that on the film and they do point out the interesting buildings of the farm on the bus ride. Finally, you arrive at the factory where they make the really important stuff….the ice cream!

The factory is built with an upper level that runs the entire length of the building. All the way through they have windows looking down over the factory floor. As we walked through the window lined hallway and were shown all the different parts of the factory, we were greeted with friendly waves from the employees below. It was so fun to watch them make the ice cream bars that were being covered in chocolate, the Birthday Cake ice cream, and the huge vats of cottage cheese. We even got to peek into the lab where they test the quality of their milk and other products. And our tour guide was so friendly. She made sure that the boys saw all the really interesting parts and understood what they were seeing.
After that, it was back in the bus and we returned to the visitor’s entrance. But, don’t make the mistake of not going back into the building, because there is more inside. They make sure that everyone gets an ice cream bar before they leave, and our guide also made sure that each of the boys got their own Braum’s magnet, stickers and post cards. The boys give the Braum’s tour 5 thumbs up and were even more excited when we decided to stop at a Braum’s for lunch and a gallon of their farm fresh milk. They all agree that Braum’s has the best tasting milk they have ever had. So, I guess you could say we give it 5 milk mustaches up.

Cowboy Museum

We are sorry, but we have removed this post because it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.

 

Action Figure Museum

Only in America could you have an entire museum dedicated to action figures. With over 15,000 toys for boys (OK and some girls too), the Action Figure Museum was a virtual paradise for the gentleman in our home. One section is a diorama with somewhere around a thousand action figures set up in an imaginary bedroom. They have a section dedicated to some of our favs including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Tron.

Our youngest sons loved the dress up area where they could pretend to be Darth Vader, Spider Man or Batman. While the guys in our house loved this place, it was a bit pricey, so mom "sat out" this amazing museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma! Can you believe she skipped seeing the Lone Ranger on a Tauntaun, The Thing cradling Nemo or a Giant T-Rex munching on C3PO! I am not sure I'll ever quite understand girls!!

Other highlights included a Dr. Laura doll, some original Star Wars figures (just like the ones I had), Indiana Jones cereal, a super hero underwear collection and Bat Man Hamburger Helper!

Homemade bridge at Red Rock Canyon Park

Blake and Tanner "built" a bridge across this little creek with a fallen tree. Blake crossed it but fell in and got soaked. Dad had to prove it could be done without a dousing. What a man!

Pops

 

 

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Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial

Sorry, but this post has been deleted because it is a part of our new book called Napkin Dreams!