A Trip to the Great Plains to
Attend FMCA Convention

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Spring 2001
Page 5

Sunday 4-1

This was another morning of getting up and around at a leisurely pace. We even took time to have breakfast in a small room behind the campground office. After our morning meal it was time to prepare for entering the FMCA convention. We were only 70 miles away, so it was going to be our shortest drive on this trip.


Breaking camp — we will enter the FMCA convention

I put the FMCA placard and our caravan sign in the windshield of our motorhome. Now it was time to break camp and get back on the road. We had planned to stop at the Cherokee Trading Post, but we had dallied around long enough before getting underway that we decided to visit the trading post on our return to California.

The Cherokee Trading Post is located just west of El Reno Oklahoma which is the home town of our friend Archie. So, just after passing the trading post, I called Archie on the cell phone to tell him where we were. We had short but fun conversation as I drove along I-40 describing the scenery I was seeing.

It wasn’t long until the water tower of Yukon, Oklahoma came into view on the north side of the highway. The water tank stands out because of the proud statements painted on the tower. First the sign exclaims, "You’ll Yukon." On the other side of the water tower is another sign that states with pride, "Home of Garth Brooks and The Millers." Below that is a sign that expresses pride in some local sports teams that had won state championships.


Passing the hometown of Garth Brooks - Yukon

Shortly after passing Yukon we began to look for the exit from I-40 that would ultimately take us to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, the location of the FMCA convention. We followed the path described in our FMCA packet. From the time we left the Interstate Highway it took only 20 minutes until we were parked in our campsites on the fairgrounds.

That 20 minute period of time includes about ten minutes of waiting in line while a place was being found for us. It seems that it rained a few days earlier. Some of the places where motorhomes had been parked turned to mud. So, new parking was found for the motorhomes that had been in the muddy areas. The places found for them were the places where we would have parked. The result of all this was that some of the motorhomes that arrived on the first day were now out at the edge of the fairgrounds.


FMCA parking volunteer directing Kevin into his "campsite"

A place was found for us, so we followed the pilot car to what would be our campsite for the next four days. We were very surprised to find that our campsites were very close in. We were positioned only a few yards from one of the fairground gates. Our parking area was originally intended for the motorhomes of the vendors. This put us closer than most people who came in on the first day.


Getting set up in our campsite

A nice feature of our camping area was the fact that we were with the first rigs in, so we were parked next to the fence that separated the parking lot from the fairgrounds. This meant that there were no motorhomes in front of us as there were on other conventions. Also, due to a mistake on the part of the parking staff, we had a large space between our motorhomes and those across the road from us. This was the most room we’ve ever had around us at any FMCA convention.


We had a large amount of room behind our camp area

Between the front of our motorhomes and the fence was a grassy strip that provided a great place to have an evening barbecue. It was like having our very own picnic area and we put it to good use during our stay. Our campsite was level enough that I didn’t have to use leveling blocks.

After getting set up we all went into the fairgrounds to get familiarized with the layout of the area. There were two tram lines that came through the gate nearby our campsites. This made it very easy for us to catch a tram into the fairgrounds. Likewise, it made for a very short walk from the tram stop to our motorhomes. The trams were actually touring buses, very fancy touring buses with nice cushy seats, televisions, and great air conditioning. That would prove to be very nice as the weather became hotter and more humid.


Old warbirds made by Boeing Aircraft Co.

Inside the fairgrounds we came across a display that looked very familiar to me. There were three large military airplanes on pylons on display just above a walkway. I’m guessing the aircraft were a about twenty feet or less off the ground. One airplane was a B-47 bomber and a second plane was a B-52, both of which I remember from my childhood in Wichita. Both of these type of planes would take off from the McConnell Air Force Base and Boeing Aircraft company ascending over the house where I lived.

We all walked around the motorhome display area while the display sections were being setup. Kevin wanted to find out where his favorite motorhome would be on display. We also located the seminar buildings and the information center. Nothing would be open until the next day when the information center would be open to sign up for classes and the motorhome show would open in the afternoon. So, with nothing open yet, we returned to our motorhomes for our evening meal.


Square dancers doing their thing

After dinner we planned to go to the arena for some entertainment. It was square dance night with a nationally known square dance caller. By the time we arrived at the arena the dancing was well underway. We had a wide choice of seats with good views of the floor below. It was full of square dancers going through the usual motions of "DO-SI-DOs" and "ALLEMANDE LEFTs." After the entertainment we flowed with the crowd to the tram stop to catch a ride back to our camping area.

It had been a very full day, so we all retired to our RVs to get some sleep.


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