After a quick layover in West Monroe, Louisiana we headed north to Little Rock, Arkansas. One would think we were back on the Al-Can Highway (again), as the roads on this stretch of our journey were in dire need of repairs, even though there were signs indicating "road work ahead"! The roads were not as rough as Mississippi thank goodness but enough so that it made for an uncomfortable drive for about 25 miles, at least! For our fellow RVers, that would be LA Hwy 165 North and LA Hwy 45 North. I must add, however, that LA Hwy 45 North appears to be a nice, smooth drive, and you feel comfortable getting up to speed, but don't let it fool you, as it becomes a bumpity-bump ride for about 5 additional miles, at least! The road turns for the worse when the speed limit changes from 65 to 55.
As much as it might appear that I constantly complain about the roads, this is what actually makes life on the road interesting! You never know what obstacle you will be dealt with and it keeps you on your feet! It is never boring!
One of the challenges of driving on the country 2-lane or 4-lane highways is not having real "rest areas" to stop in, stretch, check the RV, and have a bite to eat. We literally have to figure out where the RV will fit and can we pull in and out safely; all this as we travel with the traffic or slower depending on who is driving (I tend to pull back a bit on these types of roads). We were lucky this afternoon to finally find a place and were very thankful it was a Saturday and the lot was empty albeit for the John Deere tractors and tractor trailers! Perfect for us though and well needed!
We are settled in at Little Rock for 3 nights. We are in the city-owned "Downtown Riverside RV Park", which is literally along the banks of the Arkansas River. There are no barges or river traffic at the moment because the river is running quite fast due to the snow melting northward. We are not in any danger, so they say, and have been told if the river starts to rise we will have plenty of time to get out of here! There are no concerns here, and I wasn't planning on taking a dip!
I have to say though that this park reminds me of a campground we stayed in during our trip to Alaska ... Destruction Bay. I will post a photo of Destruction Bay along with a photo of this park so you can see what I mean. This, again, is a no-frills type of park but it is crowded with RV club rally members, back-to-back for the entire month of May. We were actually very fortunate to get a spot here, even if we are in the back lot. We can't complain, especially at $10.60 per night for Passport America members!
The park has a walking bridge to the Clinton Presidential Library. I'm not sure if we're going to venture across the walking bridge to visit the library or just walk across the bridge. I have taken a photo from here so that might suffice!
The walking bridge, as well as the driving bridge, are beautifully lit up at night in red, white, and blue lighting. I will try to capture a nighttime photo if possible because it is truly a lovely sight.
Tonight we went to the Arkansas Traveler's minor league baseball affiliate of the California Angels. We have a friend in Port St. Lucie who used to play for this team; unfortunately, he did not make it to the majors, as most of these young guys do not. We rooted for the home team but it was not enough. They lost 5-4 to the Tulsa Drillers. There is another game tomorrow and hopefully Mother Nature will be kind to us and not ruin the day with rain, lightning, or thunder! Just as we arrived this afternoon the heavens opened up and gave us a good bath on more than one occasion. But, the weather cleared in time for us to enjoy the baseball game. It was actually a perfect night to do so!
Here some photos from today's journey. Again, click on a photo to see them in big screen mode!
See what I mean?
I wasn't sure if this photo would come out, but look at the "Drive Thru" sign! This is in a thatched roofed building, open air!
The roads aren't all that horrible and we actually like driving on 2-lane roads, in the country. We keep looking for some type of wildlife but nothing to this point, not even a deer, dead or alive!
Our personal rest area!
Downtown Riverside RV Park! You can see the current of the Arkansas River and how high the water is.
Our spot - no lot #, just a spot!
Destruction Bay, Yukon - same type of lot - except I will take those mountains any day over the Arkansas River!
The Clinton Presidential Library.
Another view of our back lot spot!
Little Rock, Arkansas
Fritz had to take a nap - he was exhausted from all the bumpity-bumps today!
Jake - he loves laying on the dash when we're parked.
Home of the Arkansas Travelers
The guy on the left is a local news anchor (for the life of me I don't recall what his name is) and the guy on the right is D.J. Williams, a free agent with the NFL, a Little Rock native. He has played with the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and most recently The Tampa Bay Bucs.
D. J. Williams
My zoomed in action shot of the day.
When the officials walked on the field, I mentioned to Thom that these guys get younger and younger but then added that we are getting older and older that's why they look so young! By the way, Thom said this crew did a great job with rotations (for all you officials out there).
For those who know us, we always walk the ballparks, to get a different view. This was our first time to this stadium and look forward to tomorrow's game, and perhaps returning in the future.
My crazy husband!
Until next blog ...
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