Unhooked and nearly unhinged

Bottom line: We are safe and sound in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. But for a time I wasn’t sure we would get there today. So I’m going to start today’s blog post near the end of the trip and we’ll go back and wrap up the earlier parts of the day after.

A cotton field in North Arkansas

We frequently use OnStar to help us get to our next destination. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is flawless and we arrive in good order. Everything went well today, including some strange directions that led us off I-40 when it looked like a bad idea, but the OnStar directions led us around a major construction project that likely would have delayed us for some time.

So when we got to within the last five miles of the journey the OnStar directions told me to turn left on Stevens Street, go 1.7 miles and then turn on Washington Street, which was where Murfreesboro RV Park, our final destination was located.

As we approached Stevens Street it looked like a narrow, barely paved, farm road, but I turned down the road with my 33-foot trailer right behind me. The further we drove down the road the narrower it got until about a mile in we saw a sign: “Dead End – No Turn Around.” Not exactly what I wanted to see.

Our new campsite

It was déjà vu all over again as I remembered a similar incident  - on a much wider street – in San Leon, Texas last winter. That time I had to back the trailer nearly ¼-mile, but this time I was already a mile down this road.

So I began backing up and noticed a nice house with a big circular driveway and no one home. So I went for it and successfully got the trailer turned in the opposite direction and back on the main road where we contacted both the RV Park and OnStar for better directions.

With that scare out of the way we arrived at the park and were warmly greeted by Alberta who assigned us Space 4, which turned out to be a very nice spot with a view out the back. Over the last five years I’ve gained a lot of confidence backing this big boat and so it doesn’t unnerve me anymore when I have to maneuver the trailer into a back in spot.

The park office and shower house

The park is small, but neat, there are only 14 spaces, but they are wide and well maintained. And with our arrival and a pop up camper a few minutes behind us, totally full.

OK, so let’s start at the beginning. We arose early at Grizzly’s RV Park, packed the trailer and made it road worthy (especially remembering to lower the four foot antenna on the roof) and started our next leg of the journey.

We had a slow but steady climb from Blytheville to West Memphis, which put our gas consumption on the “whirlpool” setting. OK, it wasn’t quite that bad, but we only averaged about 8 mph instead of our usual 10-11 mpg when we are pulling the trailer. Fortunately, gas prices here are just over $3 a gallon, which is still too high, but better than at home.

Our rolling rest stop

At one point we passed a motel with a name “Z Motel” that we couldn’t decide if it was cute or stupid. You get to decide.

Most of the day was on Interstates, but the last 45 miles was on a two lane, winding road through the back country of Arkansas, including a neck whipping passage of Antoine, population 156. We decided that the line at the polling place tomorrow would not likely be very long.

Also twice today we used our rolling rest stop for a call of nature that just couldn’t wait. We’ve done it rarely before, but it’s always nice to know that in addition to being a 33-foot suitcase, the trailer can serve as a mobile outhouse when needed.

Downtown Murfreesboro

We also passed a number of lumber yards and unfortunately were passed by a number of large, quick moving lumber trucks on the narrow road. Mostly they took their half out of the middle, which made it a little unnerving at times.

One thing we don’t have here at Murfreesboro RV Park is television. Without satellite, there is basically one very fuzzy station we can get and so far they have been replaying high school football games. So election day, for us, will be completely quiet, kind of a refreshing break we think.

The park does offer free DVDs to watch and we may take advantage of that tomorrow night.

We do have Internet – Free Internet – which so far has been working fairly well. In the past we have found that free Internet is pretty much worth what you pay for it, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.

We're getting a second color tour down south

So with the trailer leveled, the water and sewer hooked up we decided to head back to the cute little town of Murfreesboro that we passed through after our adventure on Stevens Street.

We did a little window shopping at the local stores and found everyone very friendly and helpful even if they all sound just a little bit like President Clinton.

As you can probably imagine, the Arkansas Razorbacks are the big story around here and when a man spotted my Michigan State sweatshirt we both began talking about our common bond – John L. Smith, the current Arkansas coach and the former Michigan State coach.

“I think John L. Smith is cramming two seasons into one,” the man told me. “His first season and his last one.”  I told him I felt his pain as John L. hadn’t done much for MSU either.

Joan liked this dragon at a motel

A number of local folks recommended we eat at a local Mexican restaurant – Los Agaves – and they were not wrong. We really enjoyed our fajitas.

One little fact we weren’t aware of when we came here is that we are camping in a dry county. So Joan, who really enjoys a glass of wine with dinner, had to settle for Diet Coke. The manager of the RV park told us that you could drive to Arkadelphia – which is about 40 miles away – to buy liquor.

Tomorrow the park manager is going to loan us some diamond collecting equipment so we won’t have to rent or buy screens, hand shovels or other tools when we go the Crater of the Diamonds Park to seek our fortune in diamonds.

Now a little confession: This version is the second version of today’s story. The first one, which was Pulitzer quality, somehow evaporated into Cyberspace when I hit the wrong button. So I’ve tried to recreate the masterpiece that I wrote earlier tonight here, but I fear it has fallen quite short.

If I remember any of the wonderful gems I previously wrote I will return and add them here at a later time.

Dinner at Los Agaves

Mileage out: 30107

Time out: 8:25 a.m.








Mileage in: 30406

Time in: 2:45 p.m.