Horseshoe Bend Campground, WalMart Museum, Bentonville AR

Saturday, April 13 - Tuesday, April 16, 2024

On Saturday we went to Pea Ridge National Military Park near Garfield, AR.  I have the National Park Passport and like to get as many stamps as I can, so since this was nearby we decided to visit.  I'd never heard of this place before but it was very interesting.  It was a two day battle that began on March 7, 1862.  Missouri was part of the Union and they wanted it to stay that way.  Of course the south wanted it for the Confederacy.  The Union won and Missouri stayed in the Union.  The state was politically neutral throughout the war, although it provided men and supplies to both sides.  At the Visitor Center there is a 30 minute film that explains the battles, as well as a museum with artifacts from the battlefield and the Civil War.  There is also a seven mile tour road with stops and a video you can download that explains what happened at that stop.

Before the first stop there was a marker for where the Trail of Tears ran.

From the East Overlook, Stop #7.

Elkhorn Tavern (stop #8) sat at the intersection of Telegraph Road, Ford Road, and Huntsville Road, and served travelers before the war. It was used as a Union Supply Base until the Confederates captured it and turned it into a field hospital caring for both Union and Confederate soldiers.  Union troops recaptured it and used it as a military telegraph station until Confederate guerrillas burned it in 1863.  The present building is a reconstruction.

This is Huntsville Road that ran in front of the house.

On Sunday we left Ozark Cabins and RV and drove back to Pea Ridge National Military Park.  Our check-in time at the next stop wasn't until 4:00 so we were taking our time.  John rode his Lectric bike along the tour road.  It took him less than 30 minutes to go the seven miles.  We had lunch and then decided to go ahead to our next stop, Horseshoe Bend Campground, CoE park near Rogers, AR.  We are here for four nights (another great deal at $12 night).  What I didn't realize when I made the reservation is that our site only has 50amp electric.  We filled up all the water tanks when we came in and have been doing well.  I've even done a couple of loads of laundry.

We are in site #21 on the peninsula (circled in red near the bottom of the page). It's a very large site with little shade.  I understand that sometimes they close this loop due to flooding.

God has shown the glory of His creation and we've had beautiful sunsets both nights we've been here.

On Monday we went into Bentonville to the Walmart Museum.  The museum had been located in the original Walton store, but they started repairs and realized they would have to do a renovation, so the museum is in another building for the time being.  They give you a scavenger hunt card when you enter and it's really a lot harder than we thought it would be to find everything on the card.

Hologram Sam

Bentonville is experiencing a lot of growth.  There was construction of buildings of all kinds everywhere.  They say it is the mountain biking capital of the world.  There are also biking paths everywhere, through towns and by schools.  I think you could go from Belle Vista to Fayetteville on a bike.  I was told that the Walton grandchildren have a lot to do with building those.  The economy is about the same as Charlotte.

After the museum we had lunch at the Flying Fish.  The fish was really good; I had rainbow trout and John had grouper. 

We've been watching Fixer to Fabulous on HGTV.  They reno houses around Bentonville and Rogers, so it's been fun to see the area.  They owned an old bank building in Centerville and renovated the downstairs into a store with locally made items, and the upstairs into an apartment.  I think we're going to go see that tomorrow, as well as stock up (at Walmart!) before we get to...

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

 

Old Highway 86 Campground, Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, Ozark Cabins & RV, Thorncrown Chapel

 Saturday, April 6 - Friday, April 12, 2024

On Sunday, April 7 we drove to Old Highway 86 Campground in Blue Eye, MO for 4 nights.  It's a CoE park and the back of the trailer looked out over Table Rock Lake.  We had 50amp, water hookup and dump station.  For $12.50 a night it's a great deal!

On April 8 we went to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park.  The weather was wonderful and the park was beautiful!!!  We took the 2-hour tram tour when we first got there.  The 10am tour was full but we saw a couple of other tours that only had two or three people on them.  I guess we all wanted to get the tram tour done in time to have lunch and watch the eclipse. 

Tram

Chapel

Chapel Interior

Dogwood Creek

Covered Bridge built by the Pennsylvania Amish.  No power tools here!

This treehouse was built by Animal Planet's TV show Treehouse Masters.

God's creation is so beautiful!

Part of the tour is the wildlife area.  They have longhorn cattle, bison, and elk in this area, and they all get along together.

A curious little guy!

About the time we were done with lunch the eclipse had started.  We walked over to a clear area and waited.  It wasn't a total eclipse where we were, but it was close.  It was like twilight, but muted.  It got brighter faster than it got dark.  You can see the difference in the sunlight in the previous photos and the one below.

The next day was overcast and was supposed to rain but really didn't.  However, it was cold and rainy the following day and it was nice to stay in under a quilt with a book and a cup of tea in front of the fireplace.

We've had some windy days and Thursday, April 11 was no exception.  We drove on windy and windy roads to Ozark Cabins & RV near Eureka Springs for 3 nights, where we are now. They are a quiet family run campground with cabins and have full hookups, which we haven't had for a while.  Getting lots of laundry done!

Site #1

They allowed us to receive packages so we did an Amazon order for several things, one being the topper awning for the slide and the fabric for a new awning as the old one has holes in it.

This afternoon we went to Thorncrown Chapel near Eureka Springs.  It's a beautiful glass chapel that I've wanted to see ever since I saw a picture of it.  It didn't disappoint.

It is 48 feet tall, contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass.  Since it opened in 1980 over 7,000,000 people have visited.  The architect, E. Fay Jones, was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright.  It's just stunning.  The story of how it came to be is truly very interesting and inspirational, and you can real about it at www.thorncrownchapel.com.  We'll be at this campground until Sunday and then we'll be...

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

On the Road Again!

 Sunday, March 24 - Friday, April 5, 2024

The day finally came - the day we left on our next adventure!  We spent the first night at Pride RV Resort in Waynesville, NC.

On Monday, the 25th we drove to Spring Lake RV Resort in Crossville, TN for two nights.  The manager gave us what she said was their most popular site, #47.  It was beautiful!  There was a pretty fountain on a little lake, a swing to sit in, and outdoor table and chairs. Very nice!

From there we went to Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, TN, site #113.  It backed up to a creek and was quite spacious.  I only reserved it for one night but I could have stayed there a few more nights.

On Thursday, March 28 we spent the night at a Harvest Hosts/Boondockers Welcome at Pleasant Exchange Farms in Tennessee.  We didn't see any lambs but we bought some lamb/pork sausage, although we haven't tried it yet.

Friday we arrived at Village Creek State Park in Wynne, AR for 3 nights, site #53.  It was a beautiful state park with widely spaced sites.  There was a lot to do and John rode his new Lectric e-bike for 13 miles, but he said the bike trails were more suited to mountain bikes.  They also have hiking and horse trails, golf, tennis, and a list of other things to do.  I was happy sitting out and reading a book in the beautiful weather.  The one downside of the park was that there was very spotty cell service.  We could get a text out once in a while, but if you tried to do any internet it wouldn't work.

Moving on we stayed at Brecks RV Park in Batesville, AR for 2 nights, site #44.  It was in town and nothing special, and the view from our back window wasn't all that great, but the manager was really nice and everything worked as it should.  It was really windy there.  John went on the roof to tighten the screws on the solar panels and discovered the passenger side slide topper was hanging on by a couple of threads.  So he took it off and he'll order some more fabric when we get to a place where it can be delivered.  Wouldn't you know he ordered a roll awhile back to do the driver side topper and didn't bring the rest of the roll with him.  The internet service on our phones wasn't very good so we connected to the park wi-fi.  The reason we came here at all was so I could go to Marshall Dry Goods fabric store.  They have a large selection at good prices.  I bought some fabric to make a quilt for the new decor in the 5th wheel.  That was a fun morning!  :-)

Next the cold wind blew us to Lead Hill Campground in Diamond City, AR, site #A01.

I read that we should have two bars cell service, but when we got here it was no better than the state park.  We talked about it and decided that since we were going to be doing more boondocking and might have this problem again to bite the bullet and get a Starlink satellite dish.  Best Buy sells them so we drove to Branson, but they were out of them.  They said the Springfield store had some so we drove up there and got one.  Since we were within a few miles of a TA we went and got fuel, then stopped at a Culver's for lunch.  I thought of going to Lambert's, but we'd been there before and decided to skip it this time. We stopped at College of the Ozarks, a beautiful Christian college, on the way back and toured their campus.  All the full-time students work 15 hours a week to help pay their tuition, and the rest is made up from donors.  That way the students graduate debt free.  The students make things like stained glass, baskets, flour and baking products from the mill, and plants from the greenhouses, as well as other things.  I bought something yesterday and asked the cashier if she liked the college.  She said she went there and liked it so much she came back and works as the manager in the store.

They have a museum at the college with all sorts of antiques.  One of the things they have is the car from The Beverly Hillbillies.  That was fun to see!

We finished driving home and John tried to set up the Starlink without having internet.  He had to drive to the top of the hill and get internet to get the information he needed, then come back and set it up.  He finally got it so now we can check emails, send texts, make and receive phone calls using wi-fi, and make plans for where we want to go next, as well as catching up on the blog.  I have our next two stops planned but will have to check the weather to see where we'll go after that!  They say getting a campsite these days is really hard, but so far I've been able to get us a site.  It may not be the best site in the campground and I take what's available, but that's ok.  Sitting here looking out over the lake is pretty good.

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

To Elkhart and Back - November 19-27, 2023

My dad passed away on October 22,2023.  He had kidney cancer that had spread to his liver, lungs, and bones. He started having bad back pain the middle of August and I took him to the ER in Ballantyne where they did an x-ray and CT scan. After four weeks he didn't get better so I took him back to the ER.  They did a MRI this time and found the cancer. They moved him to the hospital in Charlotte.  They did lots and lots of tests, and to help with the back pain they did radiation. He was in the hospital for a little over three weeks, during which time he celebrated his 96th birthday. There was a large group of family and friends for the party and it was a special time for him.  He left the hospital on Monday, October 9.  He was looking forward to a special dinner at Greenway on the 10th. By this time he was using a walker, and when necessary a wheelchair.  I had home care, home health care, physical therapy and occupational therapy set up for him. The home care nurse, Gloria, brought his meals to his apartment and checked on him several times a day.  He spent a lot of time sleeping. On Sunday, October 15 his legs just wouldn't work and Gloria called 911 and then called me. They took him back to the ER, where they did another CT scan and found the cancer had spread. At this time the doctor said he should be monitored for a couple of days, and hospice was called.  He came home to my house on Wednesday, October 18. We had a hospital bed and had moved some pictures so he would have familiar things around him.  My step-sister, Lisa, flew up from Florida to help us take care of him, so there would be someone with him 24/7.  She will never know how much I appreciate that!  The angels escorted Dad to be with Jesus on Sunday morning, October 22.  We miss him so much but know he's in heaven with Mom and Dorothy, and all his family and friends that have gone on before him.  I didn't mean for this to be so long, but I think it deserves to be told and remembered.

To Elkhart and Back - November 19-27, 2023

We left on Sunday, November 19.  About 15 minutes from home the cargo basket/rack John put on the back of the 5th wheel to add weight and give us extra water broke.  The bracket just sheared off and we were dragging it.  Fortunately a couple on a motorcycle notified us of it.  Vince and Kayleen to the rescue!  They brought the El Camino, loaded it up, took it back home and put it in the garage.  What wonderful friends!  We were light enough this trip we didn't need the extra weight on the back.

About 3:00, just south of exit 14 on I-77 in Virginia, the back right tire on the 5th wheel exploded - BAM!

It sheared the valve stem off on the tire in front of it, so we had two flat tires.  We called FMCA Roadside Assist but they couldn't find two tires, and then they couldn't find a mobile tech to come out and change the tire they couldn't find.  Fortunately about half an hour after the blowout Phillip and his highway safety truck pulled up behind us with his caution lights flashing.  After that people started moving over to the left lane to pass when they could.  John ended up taking the valve stem from the back blown tire and putting it on the front one.  Fortunately it was holding air.  Then Phillip changed the back tire to the spare, which was eight years old.  After three hours on the side of the interstate we drove to a truck stop at exit 14 and spent the night.  John called several tire places between Hillsville and Dayton, OH and couldn't find five new tires (one for a spare).  Then he called Martinez Tire two miles up the road and they got all five in an hour.  We drove over, they put them on, and we were on our way in another hour.  The Lord provides!!

We had about 1-1/2 hours to make up on Monday as we had planned on staying at Tamarack Sunday night.  We made it to Dayton just after dark and had a nice dinner of chicken and noodles with Carolyn and Dale, Cindy's mom's cousin and her husband.  We spent the night in their church parking lot like we always do when visiting them.  It was cold both nights but we stayed warm under the electric blanket.

Tuesday we made it to Elkhart and spent the night on the MorRyde property.  They provide a 50amp hookup so we were able to run the fireplace and space heaters.  The next morning they repacked the wheels, aligned the tires, replaced the brake shoes, and replaced one brake disc and caliper.  They were done by about 10:30 and we drove to the Elkhart 4-H Fairground campground in Goshen for two nights.  They have full hookups so we were very comfortable.  Since we had time we had lunch at Essenhaus Inn restaurant in Middlebury.  We decided we like the Blue Gate Inn better.  On Thursday, Thanksgiving, we had a nice lunch of turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, and cranberry sauce.  Yum!

Friday we headed back south and spent the night at Pastime Park Campground in Plain City, OH.  It's a nice city campground.  We had 50amp and water.

Saturday we drove to Mash Fork Campground in Camp Creek State Park, WV for two nights.  We had full hookups and although it was cold and rainy there we stayed warm.  We were watching the weather and Monday morning the temperature was supposed to drop to below freezing as the day went on.  So we got up about 3:30 in the morning and left.  As I write this on Tuesday, November 28, the temperature there still hasn't gone above freezing and probably won't until tomorrow noon.  We got home about the same time as we normally leave a campground.  We both took a nap that afternoon.  

John says he doesn't much like camping when it's cold, especially when there's no sun for solar.  I like to go just about anytime.

That's it for this year.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1