We left Union in mid-September with temperatures near
80. Thirty-three days and 3,725 miles later
we returned to one beautiful fall day before a 32 degree night foretold of the
coming of winter.
The majority of our time on this trip was spent in Texas
with stops in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. Typically we try to find state or local parks
or U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (COE) campgrounds because they tend to offer
more space at a reasonable cost. Last
season we discovered that many cities and towns often have municipal RV parks. Sometimes location demands a commercial RV
park. Each type has pluses and minuses
but each fulfilled a niche in our travels.
Most days on the road we set a leisurely pace - 225 to
250 miles. On one occasion, because we
had a specific destination in mind, we only travelled 80 miles and only once,
on our final day, did we cover slightly less than 350 miles. We have found that we like to stay three to
seven days in a location since frequently as we wander we discover fun,
interesting places we didn’t know existed such as the oldest operating cotton
gin in the United States or the first place that Coca-Cola was bottled. (No, it wasn’t Atlanta! We’ll tell you about both of these in future Road
Stories.) We usually get out
sight-seeing by 9:30 and meander back in by 4:00 or 5:00. Sophie, the little white dog, likes to get
out and explore at our stopovers. So many
new things to sniff and so many places to “mark” as her territory. But whether you cover 80 or 250 miles in a
day, you still need a place to lay your head at night. The three of us would like to share some of
our stopovers.
Many locations have cabins that can be rented if you aren’t
RV’ing and the parks are inviting places to just visit for a day. As always, our comments reflect personal
experiences at a specific time.
$ $10
to $20 / night $$ $21 to $35 / night $$$
$36 or higher / night
Craighead Forest Park Jonesboro, Arkansas
http://www.jonesboro.org/parks/parks/craighead.html
City park $ Full hook-ups
available
What a delightful surprise as this city park rivals many
state parks. The sites are very spacious
with asphalt pads. There are huge century-old shade trees and there is a quiet
serene feeling. Lake view sites are
available. Bathrooms, showers and
laundry areas are extremely clean. The
on-site hosts were very friendly and helpful.
This is the only park we have ever seen where they tell you it is okay
to drain gray water tanks directly onto the ground. The only drawback is that reservations are
NOT taken but you can call ahead and the office will tell you how busy the park
typically is during a specific time period.
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| Craighead Forest Park is a pristine setting |
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| Setting up in Craighead Forest Park |
Downtown Riverside
RV Park North
Little Rock, Arkansas
http://www.northlittlerockriversidervpark.com/
City park $$ Full
hook-ups available
The city of North Little Rock took an old industrial
property and transformed it into a gated, urban RV park - think parking lot
with full hook-ups. While neat and clean,
the park itself is not much on ambience, though being right on the bank of the Arkansas
River raises its stature. But it is all
location, location, location. This park
is within walking distance of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library
and Museum and the restaurants and activities of both Little Rock and North
Little Rock. Two former railroad bridges
that span the Arkansas River have been turned into very attractive pedestrian
walkways. A new lighting system has
recently been installed on the bridge that connects directly to the library
grounds. On the Saturday afternoon that we
were there, sailboats glided on the river while a band played in the center of the
other bridge. Downtown Riverside RV Park
is a very convenient location if you want to visit the Clinton Library. You don’t even need to unhook.
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| A view of the park from the pedestrian bridge |
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Looking south across the pedestrian bridge with
the Clinton Library at the end |
Crater of Diamonds
State Park Murfressboro,
Arkansas
http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/
State park $$ Full
hook-ups available
Sites are spacious but can be very hilly although we were
lucky enough to get one that was pretty much level. Interior
roads are paved and the pads are concrete. The facilities and laundry areas are
very clean. There are huge old pine
trees standing guard. Convenience to the diamond fields a key factor; you can
walk or drive there, but it is a several-mile drive to town.
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| Camp sites are very nice, but can be hilly |
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| The diamond fields in Crater of Diamonds State Park |
Hank’s Creek Campground
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir Jasper, Texas
http://www.samrayburn.com/camping--hanks-creek-park/94
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $$ Water
and electric hook-ups, dump station available
A nice place once you get there. Do not follow the GPS coordinates…at
least the ones we had! Mike is much more
likely to listen to Jill (OK, so we are one of the crazies that have named
their GPS) than to me. He claims this is
because she is right 99% of the time and my percentages are not nearly that
good. Off we drive down a narrow gravel
road hemmed in by huge overhanging trees that made the day look like dusk even
though it was a bright Texas afternoon, with NO possibility of turning
around. After an hour we make a phone
call to a park ranger who tells us he doesn’t have the foggiest notion where we
are. He says to call back when we find
any road or street names. We finally
come across several houses in need of a bit of paint. Mike stops the truck in the road. We take up the entire road. Mike hops out
and disappears around the back of the first house to get some information. To Sophie and me, waiting in the truck,
moments seem like hours. I’m taking in
the art work in the front yard. It consists of a large wooden “T” framework,
presumably for Texas. Two upside down
football helmets, painted red and used as planters, hang one on each arm of the
“T” while a piece of wood painted to represent the Texas flag is
attached to the middle of the
structure. The most disconcerting feature
is the skull of a long horn cow - not just the horns, the entire scull – prominently
situated at the foot of the structure. As
I’m beginning to hear banjo music playing in my head, Mike reappears followed
by six little shoeless and shirtless boys wearing blue jean shorts, who are accompanied
by eight dogs. The dogs all appear to be
the offspring of a Dachshund and a Doberman Pinscher. Various combinations of the two breeds have
evidenced themselves in every possible combination of legs, heads, and tails. Mike tells me that according to the lady of
the house we are nowhere near a lake or reservoir. So we are going to turn around…. a feat of
magic is the only way I can imagine getting
a ¾ ton truck and 35 feet of RV
repositioned with only inches to spare on each side. We are going to have to use the narrow
gravel strip next to the house to accomplish this maneuver. By this time the little boys have scampered
off - apparently we are really boring - but the dogs have remained and are
intent on throwing themselves underneath our tires. Sophie and I are yelping as Mike assures me
that the dogs are quite capable of taking care of themselves. About this time it is evident that I’ll need
to get out and remove the iron rod that marks the water main shut-off valve so
Mike can back across it to extricate the truck and RV from our current
situation. Thanks to Mike’s driving
expertise he manages to get us out without a maimed dog or a dent. After another two hours and an extra 70 miles
we locate the park and our site. Oh, the park? Nice
place, lake view with shade trees.
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| A nice spot to camp, once you find the place |
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| Sam Rayburn Lake - Hank's Creek campground |
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| Wildlife at Sam Rayburn Lake |
Nails Creek
Campground - Lake Somerville State Park Somerville,
Texas
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/lake-somerville
State park $ Water
and electric hook-ups, dump station available
Equine facilities available at some campsites
This state park is twenty-five minutes from the Round
Top/Warrenton Antique Festival area and forty-five minutes to the George H. W.
Bush (#41) Presidential Library and Museum at College Station. It is also close enough to Washington-on-the-Brazos
State Historic Site, where Texas declared its independence from Mexico and
formed a new nation, the Republic of Texas, to spend an afternoon exploring
that area. Nails Creek is a good place
to get away from the crowds. There is a
lot of wildlife in the park; we saw at least 8 to 10 deer each day. Due to the drought in the area this past year
the lake level is very low and the Nails Creek boat ramp is presently closed. There are no laundry facilities in the
park. A major plus for horse lovers: There are sections in the park that offer horse
corrals at individual camp sites and there are over 20 miles of trails.
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| Set up at Nails Creek campground |
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| Corral in the equestrian camping area at Nails Creek |
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With the lake at record low level due to the summer's drought,
, the "no swimming" sign near the boat ramp is kind of redundant |
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| Even with a drought, there is beauty in the park |
Texana Park and Campground Edna, Texas
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/lake-texana
While it is still technically a state park, the area is
now managed by the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority $$
Water and
electric hook-ups, dump station available
Nice level sites with lake view. Do note that the park hands out maps and
signs are posted that indicate areas frequented by venomous snakes. It is a good
idea to keep alert. While we didn’t see
any snakes, we saw an abundance of deer, including the only buck we saw with
antlers anywhere in our travels, and at least 3 or 4 armadillos.
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| Front gate at the park |
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| Our camp site at Texana State Park |
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| This big buck didn't stir as we walked by and took his picture |
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| Deer in abundance at Texana State Park |
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Everything is big in Texas. Look at the size of the
mushrooms compared to Sophie |
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| Spanish moss hanging in the trees. It is really neither Spanish nor moss |
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| A view of the lake at Texana State Park |
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| Enough said! |
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| OK, if you didn't believe the first sign.... |
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| This " 'dillo" was right across the road from our site |
A final note:
Texas state parks all charge a daily use fee of approximately $3 or $4
per person per day or sometimes a “per vehicle” entrance fee (we never figured
out just how the fees were determined) OR for $70 you can buy a one-year pass
that gives you unlimited entrance to the parks and a 50% discount on up to four
nights of camping.
We’ll be highlighting the commercial campgrounds where we
stayed in the next edition of Road Stories.
