Friday, October 5, 2012

The Oklahoma Dilemma!

Goal was to visit one of my campers from my host job in Colorado and then kayak Tenkiller Lake  (maybe it’s the name KILL HER?).  Oh well… got to see Bev anyway. .. and Loyd… and meet their little grandson, Holt.

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Saw these deer as I left Bev’s place…

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Weather was turning and I headed on out the same day for Tenkiller Lake. I was not happy with the Tenkiller Lake spot I was directed to in Oklahoma and am heading out to find a spot I like better. I need rural, not urban locations to enjoy my kayaking.  I am not sure what bothered me about the area… maybe if the sun had been out I would have felt differently.

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I found another spot on Tenkiller Lake that I thought would work for me... but was still uncomfortable. Lots of trailer parks, permanent camps at commercial campgrounds along the lake shores, small churches of every variety all over the place (more numerous than homes and I always wonder WHO the congregations are!!! Where do they come from???  How can such a sparse neighborhood support so many churches???)  And llama farms, goat farms, shacks and mansions… all mixed together.  A bit too motley even for me… the most motley kayaker of them all.

My schedule was blown away by the storms two years ago and I had to skip these states and now I'm determined to finish my goal of kayaking all the lower 48 states this trip. I have other goals to move on to. I can't keep coming back here hoping for good weather. If I have to do a cold wet windy paddle... I will. I’m prepared for it... but GREY doesn't make for very good photos.

Most of my kayaking locations, I just run into... so I'm running a bit n.e. of here... toward the corners of MO and AR and hopeful will have OK, MO and AR all done in the next few days.  Might even treat myself to a show in Branson MO.

Moved on to Sallisaw OK and will try the Robert S Kerr Reservoir when the weather clears up. Safely parked at a Wal-Mart with a casino and a truck stop nearby. There was nothing back there by Tenkiller and I felt very uneasy in that area. You know what they tell us... if you have that feeling ... LEAVE.  It feels safe here... and it might be a day or two... so I can work on projects and have my needs met without having to drive great distances.

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We will see what tomorrow brings.  I did stop at a yard sale and found a very nice coffee table book on Hawaii (which will be my 50th state) for only $1.

Who is Swankie?

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Anywhere, USA, Full-Time USA traveler, United States
In 2006, I was shopping for a wheelchair. By 2007, I had new knees, better health and by 2008 a kayak. In Aug 2013, I kayaked my 49th state, Alaska, at the Holgate Glacier and in May 2014, I kayaked Hawaii, my 50th state, to celebrate my 70th Birthday and the finale to the wonderful adventure of Kayaking America? Next up... Solo Hiking the Arizona Trail, 820 miles? Maybe. Still healing from shoulder and trying to decide.

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