Our spirits lifted when we reached I-44 at Big Cabin Oklahoma.  It was partly sunny.  We continued east on I-44, crossed the Missouri state line and stopped at the first Missouri rest area.  It was the first time we had seen real sun in days.  We hoped this would mean no more rain.  At least for a while.

When we reached our day’s destination mid afternoon, the  Springfield/Rout 66 KOA Holiday, the good weather was holding.  After checking in and getting settled, we headed off to the local Home Depot for supplies.

The night before, it rained hard overnight (Durant/Choctaw Casino KOA (blog post)).  In the morning we discovered a huge puddle of water on the counter behind the sink.  We soaked up the water with a towel.  Water kept on coming in.  Linda looked carefully at the sink window and discovered water coming in through the window frame.

While we drove from Durant to Springfield, I thought about our water problem and decided the best immediate solution would be to caulk around the window.  At the local home depot, I bought indoor/outdoor sealant that would cure and be water ready in 30 minutes.  They were right – that was some fast drying caulk.  I got it all around the window.

I heard a train.  It isn’t enough that you can feel the rumble of the straining train engines or the thump-thump of the heavily laden cars as they cross over track seams.  It was the SHOUTING IN YOUR EAR LOUD HORN that really got my attention.  The horn blew loud as the railroad crossing lights flashed and the bell went ding-ding-ding-ding the entire time the train was passing across the road in front of the KOA.  I looked at Google Maps satellite view and discovered that the tracks ran along the entire side of the park.

Like other KOA campgrounds, this one also sold made to order pizza.  We made our order in the office and a friendly park host delivered it to our site while it was still hot.

We ate our pizza outside on the site’s patio/deck at a nice table provided with the site.

After dinner, we walked the dogs and checked out the bathhouses to see if we would use the office one or the satellite one.  We decided on the satellite one as it offered more privacy while bathing.  It is fair to say that the office bathhouse had been recently remodeled and was especially nice and clean.

The park has three dog parks.  One of the dog parks was reserved for three special sites.

Since we weren’t special, we used the other two.  I shouldn’t be surprised.  The dog park with the least amount of poop laying around was the one across from and visible by the office.

Since there hadn’t been any trains come by since the first one in the afternoon, I didn’t really expect any more trains overnight as I went to bed.  As a precaution and to keep our camper cool, we kept the fan on constantly on the air conditioner.   Generally, a running air conditioner can drown out any unwanted campground sounds.

Around 11:30, a BIG TRAIN with LOUD HORNS lumbered past waking me up from a sound sleep.  I easily fell back to sleep.   The another came around 2:00 AM.  It took much longer to get back to sleep.  Then another at 4:50 AM.  Another at 5:20 AM and yet another at 6:20 AM.  I was awake from 4:50 onward.

Would I stay here again?  Yes.  Despite the train noise, the campground is well run and comfortable.  Staff is friendly and warm.  The trees are tall and provide great shade.

Hope to see you on the road ahead!

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