Ardmore was a suggestion from Doug of LearntoRV fame and man, was it a great suggestion.

First off, I’m learning that I know nothing about these United States of ours. I had NO idea there are mountains in Oklahoma. Okay, they’re mountains like Rib Mountain is a mountain, but my mental image of Oklahoma is flat and windy with zero hills, much less hills that qualify in some books as mountains.

Secondly, I learned pretty quickly that what you look for in a campsite is a lot different from what you look for in an RV site (we’ll revisit this in Cedar Breaks – it could almost be considered foreshadowing!). Cozy, private sites surrounded by lovely trees are great for tent camping – far less so when you’re maneuvering a forty-foot house. What’s attractive in an RV site is a bit of space (unlike The Doldrums), ease of access, cleanliness and a general sense of friendliness from the staff and other RVers.

Man, By the Lake had this in spades. This place is brand-new, and a lot of care was clearly put into its planning and design. It’s easy to get to, and the office has a large parking area for checking in – you’d think this would be a no-brainer but alas. The owners were cheerful, friendly and genuinely interested in making our stay pleasant.

We were leery of a third travel day, particularly as the drive from Kansas through Oklahoma was windy and Matt’s neck and back could use a break. We checked if we could stay another day and I’m so glad we could. By the Lake hit all the checkboxes and then some – the shower/laundry building (which is built to safe room standards in case of tornadoes) was immaculate. At first I thought the water was particularly hard because I couldn’t get my hair to lather, but it was because my hair was that freaking filthy. I came out of that shower feeling like a human again.

Also, the dog area was huge by RV park standards. Matt got to throw the ball with the atlatl and Wembley actually got to do some real running. Even Rutger ran but then seemed confused as to why exactly he was doing it. Tiny, tiny dog brain.

There seemed to be a lot of contractors staying at the far end of the park – I think this probably is the RV park version of going to the diner with a parking lot full of semis.

All in all, a wonderful RV park experience. It’s our new standard (which probably means jack-all in that it was only the fifth one we’ve ever stayed in).