April 30, 2023

It is hard to believe we have been on the road for a month and a day! In today’s post, I plan to reflect and review the campgrounds we have encountered west of the Mighty Mississippi. So far there have been two but by the end of the day there will be three and then onto one more outside of Texarkana on our way to visit family outside of Fort Worth.

First encounter with Arkansas National Forests was an after dark arrival at Cove Lake along the Magazine Mountain scenic road. Magazine is touted as the highest peak in AR at 2,753. It was a damp evening and very dark – Rob set up our tent and we hunkered down. Restless night for me – just could not get comfy. We headed out to get a better charge first thing in the morning and stumbled onto another state sponsored part – Spadra. We reserved two nights and plugged in at our site along the Arkansas River.

There are two boat ramps here at Spadra and the fish were jumping out of the water all day!

The Trail of Tears transverse nine states! Jackson was president when the Indian Removal Act was signed in 1830. There were several Native American Nations impacted but the major ones included Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole.

The woodsman collecting firewood – he’s a master fire builder!

Rob is almost fully recovered from his bout with vertigo, so on Saturday he road over 20 miles, exploring the area.

Next stop Hot Springs! We are taking the rural route – I say that like we have a choice – HA! You can’t get there from here is too true around here. It feels good to be off the busy truck route US 40 for sure.

I will check in after our time in Hot Springs and fill y’all in on our arrival in Texas. For now, keeping the rubber side down, Julie and Rob