Boomer! Sooner!
There, I got it out of the way.
Today we are talking about a no-frills place to stay in Norman that’s a short drive from the beautiful campus of University of Oklahoma. Norman is a college centered town that loves their Sooners. Our son is working on his PhD in Meteorology there and we always enjoy our visits with him. Most are weekend trips where we fly, but when we drive we have the perfect place to camp your Boomer Sooner trips.
He actually finished his Masters in December a couple of years ago. The graduation ceremony was the exact same day, an hour after and 1,000 miles away from where our younger son graduated with his Bachelors. We already knew Jeff would be continuing on to his PhD so we attended Kevin’s graduation and sent our nephew to be chief cheerleader for Jeff. Later we found out that all December candidates could walk again in May and Jeff was a good sport walking again for us to see and cheer. This trip was a graduation loop of sorts as our nephew was graduating from SMU the next weekend.
Now all we had to do was find an RV Park close to campus. I wasn’t opposed to camping at the local Walmart. I kid, I was totally opposed to it as I am not a fan of the chain. Lucky for me overnight parking isn’t allowed at Norman Walmart locations. Staying at Lake Thunderbird was too far for my liking, I didn’t want to spend a lot of time driving back and forth to town. I wanted to be able to spend as much time as possible with Jeff.
The closest option was the Cleveland County Fairgrounds, only two miles from campus. The website states that it’s a first come place to stay and I was a bit worried about driving 1,014 miles only to be turned away. I figured graduation week would be high demand so I called. The lady I talked to couldn’t have been nicer. Yes, graduation usually means a spike in campers but by spike she meant 4 or 5 and assured me we’d be fine. She was right. We pulled in and there were plenty of spaces open. Mark’s parents were camping with us and we wanted two spaces together with 50 amp but that wasn’t possible so we had one coach in between us. No biggie as that coach was empty for our entire visit.
Like I said above, this is a no-frills space which was perfect for us as we weren’t going to be spending tons of time there. There are 51 full hook-up back-in spaces that are tucked in along the perimeter fence that include both 30 and 50 amp. We were in space 5 and were close enough to the office building for a good WiFi signal.
We stopped on our way back from an FMCA rally and saw big changes! They’ve added 29 concrete pad back-in spaces!
The fairgrounds are a hub of activity. The Cleveland County Master Garden is on site at the end of the row we camped in. Every morning different people came to tend to the plants. They have tours on Saturday mornings from April to the end of September but we missed it with the graduation activities. It would have been fun to walk through.
If craft fairs and flea markets are your thing, you’re in luck as we were treated to both during our stay.
Mark had planned vacation for our time in Norman but had to make an emergency trip to one of his facilities so I was on my own for two nights before Mark’s parents arrived. May is prime time for big Oklahoma storms and as luck would have it, I got to experience a big thunderstorm while there. We get some whoppers during our monsoon season in Arizona but holy cow, did it rain hard! Jeff made dinner for the two of us and our phones were buzzing with storm watches and alerts. I was a bit nervous and actually scared of a tornado. Jeff assured me as only a meteorologist son can that it was going to be okay. The storms were strong but not showing any signs of tornadic activity and well, since that’s what his Masters was on, I completely trusted him. He was ready to head to the NWC (National Weather Center) so I headed back to the RV with our Marlee dog. Before we left he told me the hospital across the street was also a de facto storm shelter, in that they wouldn’t turn anyone away. Okay, I like that. Then he told me I should drive and not run there because if there was a tornado close the hail could be as big as baseballs and would knock me out. Um, no. I don’t like that.
I got back to the RV before the rain and gave Marlee her last walk of the night. I was worried about the slide toppers in the wind so I pulled in three slides, leaving she smaller rear slide open so Marlee still had enough room for her bed. We were positioned to the wind perfectly as the storm was coming from behind me. Yeah, no getting hit by the wind broadside. Jeff was a good son and kept me updated on what to expect via text. He was totally in his element at the NWC. Secretly I wanted to be there with him, to be a fly on the wall and watch him do his thing.
The wind ended up not being that bad, we’ve definitely had worse. But the rain, oh wow did it rain, hard. I had the volume on the bedroom TV at 50 just to hear it over the rain pounding on the roof. Marlee does not like storms at all. She would peek her head up and look at me like, “What are you going to do about this?” The storm lasted an hour or so then we both knocked off for the night. I know Marlee was glad the rain stopped. I fully expected nothing but puddles the next morning. I was shocked to see none as I walked Marlee.
If you want a fancy pool, on site restaurant and fancy amenities, this is not your place. But, if you’re looking for a clean, safe place to stay close to all things OU, then this is perfect. We wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again, in fact we will be there for Jeff’s PhD graduation. I’m sure if you’re anywhere in Oklahoma on that day, you’ll hear this momma cheer with reckless abandon at his accomplishment.