Stillwater,OK to Jackson, TN

Thurs, June 12—Stillwater to Jackson, TN—559 miles;  Parkers Crossroads RV Park & CG

We packed the car and were off at 8 am. We spent the majority of our day on the Cherokee TPK (75 mph) and Interstate 40 (70 mph)—not the best routes for a road trip, but the purpose of our trip was both vacation and to visit our older brothers, plus we were limited for time, Sarah wanting to travel home before the 4th of July.

We were twice stuck for long periods (over 3 hours total) in non- or slow-moving traffic. The second time, Sarah needed to go to the bathroom, but even going between the car doors was out as there was a semi high above our rear bumper. Couldn’t get out and head for the trees as we were in the midst of construction in the middle of the four-lane highway and on a bridge for a part of that. We entertained ourselves by thinking up ingenious inventions for women stuck in such a situation. We could never determine why the traffic jam as there appeared to be no accident, merging bottleneck, construction, or other reason for the standstills.

We had few other than fast food choices of places to eat off the Interstate, so we ate at Cracker

Barrel—hot turkey and “dead” green beans. A first time for Sarah and a last time for both of us. Cracker Barrel seemed almost like Stuckey’s whose signs one saw every mile or two on the way south in the east when I lived there.

We’d planned to get out of the car and take walks often, but the rest areas were few and far between and not good areas for walking, thus we were stuck in the car for far too long.

After a long frustrating day, we arrived at our cabin after 7 pm. Mike, one of the brothers who ran the RV Park and cabins checked us in though it was after hours. He explained that he had made up the cabin to the best of his ability as his chamberperson had been hit by a semi and killed that morning. Mike also told us about the cabin’s TV, air-conditioning, fridge, and microwave. We were thrilled that our cabin would have such amenities for such a bargain price. The only downside, we thought, was that the campground bathroom and showers were at some distance from the cabin. 

Sarah at our rest stop snack break

After getting us registered, Mike hopped into a golf cart and led us past all the RV’s and to our cabin, one of two that sat in the middle of the RV’s and close to each other. What a disappointment. The cabin was tiny and crammed with a log-railed double bed and a set of log bunks, all of which equipped with thin, dirty mattresses and odd stained bedding. The small refrigerator sat on the floor under a small table. Piled on it were the microwave and TV. A moldy AC unit rattled low on the wall near this “appliance tower.” There were no screens on the windows and when we parted the curtains we found ourselves hemmed in by large, RVs.

But, it was late by this time and we were exhausted, so we made the best of it. We were in bed nearly after we arrived, as soon as we’d brushed our teeth and visited the distant bathrooms. We both slept in the double bed, first putting the bunk mattresses under the double bed mattress. However Sarah’s side of the bed was like sleeping in a hole, and we both had a poor night, our sleep interrupted each time one of us had to get up to go to the bathroom. Since the campground bathrooms were a golf-cart’s ride away, we climbed over each other and out of the bed to use a small plastic wastebasket lined with a plastic bag.