April 2  through April 8, 2004

Friday April 2:

It's 57 under the RV at 6AM;  that is warmer than forecast, but no complaints here!  No heat is needed once again.  We decide to stay another day in this pleasant campground on Wright Patman lake.  We bike several loops around the campground roads to reach 6 miles total. There are very pretty areas here.

and although most folks coming here do so to fish, they must enjoy the scenery too.  I spend time getting the website ready to upload.  As Claire prepared to cook, Purry was up to his usual trick of trying to get her attention by pulling the hanging dish towel onto the floor. He somehow got his claw caught in the towel.  Since this "trick" has become quite annoying, we decided to let him extricate himself from this dilemma....His gyrations became so robust that he crossed his right paw under his body...at which time we felt we must rescue him from his foolishness.

That is his RIGHT front claw caught in the towel, with the claw refusing to release until I pushed it out....but I cannot understand why he could not just retract it and let go.....

Saturday April 3:

I was up quite early and found the Internet connection worked well, except the Verizon send mail server would not allow me to access it without a username and password (which I have never been able to get from Verizon).  That is one reason we have the Hotpop account, and it sends mail easily.  Since the net works well here, Claire decided she would like to stay another day.  I like it too, so it is an easy decision.  :-)  I bike down to the gate to renew the campsite once again.  I placed an old muffin fan in the refrigerator and defrosted it, making sure the ice melt water ran to the outside discharge tube as designed.  Claire vacuumed the RV, and as usual collected enough cat hair to cover another cat....  :-)   I finished the net business early, and worked much of the day finishing the web page, and uploading it.  We did take time for another bike ride around the park, and added an extra loop for good measure....  This is a pleasant relaxing place.

Sunday April 4:

Today we must finally take our departure from Texas; it has been fun here, but we expect fun in Arkansas too.  We put the furnace on to shower, as it is a bit cool. Before leaving, I call, and find the gas price at Walmart in Texarkana TX is 6 cents lower than Flying J in Texarkana AR;  I'm not sure I understand what's going on here, but we surely do not need another dump today, so we will overnight in Walmart after visiting the Arkansas info center.  There are more things to restore to traveling location after 3 days in one place, but we leave the campsite before the 2PM checkout time, and dump on the way out.  Our route takes us near New Boston, TX, up near the Red River, so we decide we must drive through there.  We find Old Boston too, as well as just plain Boston.  

If you just GOTTA have 10 acres in Boston, you might try shopping in Texas first...  :-)  There seems to be much more undeveloped land here than in Boston MA, but as the splotches on the windshield show, there might be a few more bugs here too.  We turn east, and pass Red River Army Depot, and Lone Star Army Ammunition plant, located next to each other.  We reach the Walmart in Texarkana TX, and are surprised to find the gas price is 8 cents below the Flying J price...oh well, last chance in Texas, so FILL UP!  The Walmart clerk was unable to find the balance on my shopping card, and convinced me it was zero....even though that somehow did not see right to me.  I put the full amount I wanted for gas on it, then found there had been $15 left on it.  After filling gas I had over $30 on it, and I'm not happy that they have that much sitting interest free......until next gas.  We need to shop, and we'll use the shopping card for that.  We move on to the Arkansas Visitors Info Center, and find it busy yet VERY efficient;  the pleasant informative clerk loads us up with maps and booklets, and we can then select brochures of interest from the racks too.  The Arkansas centers are smaller than the Texas ones, but they get the job done very well and have the info we need.  We find there is a Super Walmart only a few blocks away, and decide to go back there to overnight rather than drive 30 miles further to another Walmart in Hope, AR (birthplace of President Clinton).  We are surprised to find the gas prices here are the same as the Texas Walmart we had just patronized.  I'm not sure why Flying J is no longer competitive with the Walmart prices; they always used to be within a penny....either way.  We decide to shop in the morning.  There is MUCH planning to do, too...

Monday April 5:

The furnace was running at 7AM.  Claire thought I'd put it on…it was left on from Sunday's shower, at daytime high temperature too.  :-((  There goes the nice full charge in the battery!   I planned the 596 mile Arkansas part of the trip through Crater of Diamonds State Park, Hot Springs, Ft Smith, ending with Blanchard Springs Caverns, and on April 16-18th, the Ozark Folk Center State Park.  There are big doings at the Ozark folk center on that opening weekend, and admission is free, so that is a firm date!  We shopped extensively, and emptied the overstuffed Walmart gift card.  Now I KNOW the balance next time I must fill it...  :-)  It is after 1 PM  when we leave for Crater of Diamonds State Park,  50 miles away.  We stop briefly at the visitors center to ask about state park prices, and are assured our Golden Age Passport gives us half price camping in all of them.  We move on and soon cross the Red River.

A special bridge for a pipeline crosses just downstream of the I-30 bridge we cross.  The drive to Crater of Diamonds does not go exactly as the computer routed it; it picked some dirt roads, and we choose the slightly longer route on hard surfaced roads, passing through the small town of Nashville.  

We continue to pick up bugs faster than we can wash the windshield, but in between the blotches this town reminds me of ones I remember from the 1950's.  Crater of Diamonds park is quite nice, offering us camping at $7.25 a night, with $5 additional admission each to the diamond fields.  We decide to watch the short film and look over the information here today, then find our diamonds tomorrow...  :-)  We sign up for two nights in the campground, thinking we'd rather not go too far after tomorrow's "mining"...

 The campground is quite beautiful, and all of us enjoy it.  Dinner is beans, cooked this morning before we departed the Walmart lot..  After dinner we enjoy a walk on the 1.3 mile trail along the banks of the Little Missouri river.

Dusk is upon us when we return, and we feed a few mosquitoes, but the walk is very nice.  I finish the remainder of the dishes after dark, then quickly find bed.

Tuesday April 6:

Today is diamond finding day!  :-)  We retrieved the garden spade stored in the belly of the RV since leaving home, against the possibility we might need it to change a tire (it works just GREAT to lift and maneuver the heavy tire into position to push onto the wheel lugs). I unloaded the bird bath base from our spare bucket.  We might need it to carry earth or gravel...even we do not expect to find more diamonds than will fit in our pockets....  :-))  We paid our admission and saw there was a worker busy plowing the diamond field with a Cat tractor.  

This could be GREAT, exposing diamonds that nobody else had the opportunity to find. We started looking for diamonds.  I walked, Claire sat and dug with spoon.  

It soon became apparent that this was a VERY BIG haystack, with occasional glitters that all turned out to be mica "fools gold".  

All we found that glittered was a  5/8x3/8x1/8 piece of quartz, but at least it proved we COULD find exposed glittering objects in all that soil....

 Even if this WAS diamond, it's size would not be enough to change our lifestyle a lot (that's a ball point pen tip next to it).  :-))  At noontime, we were glad we'd brought the RV to the mine entrance; it was a pleasant place to have lunch and give Purry a short walk.  We went back for another try.  Although it was said the majority of diamonds were found by those using advanced techniques, I was not enthralled at the idea of washing the soil in a screen box, with my hands under water and clothes getting wet.  

I was even less enthralled at the thought of digging a deep hole in this heavy soil that left big clods that needed to be stomped to break them up after plowing.  As a result, it seemed I was most content to "beach comb" the freshly plowed areas of the field looking for newly exposed gems, and Claire was happy sitting in one spot with a knife and spoon searching thoroughly through a freshly turned hill of dirt.  We knew what we were looking for, from displays in the info center.

Looking and finding are not the same however; the last diamond had been found here three days ago, on Saturday, with 50 so far for the year.  A typical year's average is over 600 finds, so we are behind what we would expect for the first quarter, if finds were equally distributed.  I expect the majority of finds are in summer when most folks visit.  The clerk claimed 45,000 to 50,000 people visit each year. This would say the success rate is a bit over 1%, but they also say the finds are heavily concentrated in favor of those using the advanced techniques.  We had fun, and do not regret not finding.....it would not change our life much....unless we found one like the 16 carat gem found in 1974 that is the largest since the state park opened!  :-)   We gained good appreciation for the magnitude of the task, but were still smiling when we quit early for the day, in time to catch the ranger's demonstration of how it is done with screening equipment available for rental.  I still did not think I wanted to spend hours of my time with hands under cold water washing dirt from gravel...so we did it the best way for us!  We returned to the RV  and went back to the campsite.  Before dinner of burritos, I cleaned the bugs off the windshield and front end of the RV....AGAIN!  We took time for another walk along the river, returning earlier (ahead of the mosquitoes) this time.  I reflect a bit on the attraction of "striking it rich";  all the mines I've seen involve very HARD work with uncertain rewards.  I think we've lived a true mining experience today.... I enjoyed it, but I'm also quite content that it did not last longer.   :-)

Wednesday April 7:

Awoke early, just as rain started, 3:50 AM.  It's warmer, temperature under RV 62 degrees.  We had a leisurely morning, showered, and were out of Diamond Crater campground by a few minutes after 1PM, dumping on the way out.  The trip to Hot Springs was pretty, and uneventful.  The drive in Hot Springs was a bit confusing, mainly caused by business and bypass routes being named confusingly on our different maps, and the road signs which we did not understand fully.  We followed a WIDE prefab home through town.  

We lost some of our concern that the lanes were narrow, even if there was little room to avoid scraping some roadside bushes.  We allowed the big guy to "plow" a path for us until he escaped at a traffic light.  We found the National Park visitors center, but it has NO PARKING....  :-(  We had little choice but to continue through town past numerous signs "No Parking, No RVs or Trucks" until we found a stone pile at the edge of town with no restrictive signs.  We parked next to the Tattoo Parlor, and with some trepidation, walked rapidly down town to the visitors center.  The aging grandeur of the town is apparent everywhere.

This elaborate statue runs Hot Springs water continuously to those in need.  The National Park visitors center is in the restored Fordyce Bathhouse.

The lady there suggested the Guelph Gorge campground, and sent us to the city visitors center a few blocks down for parking and bathing info.  The man at the city center said we could park in their lot all day to see the town, if we got there early enough to get one of the 4 RV spots, and recommended the Hot Springs Health Spa for our bathing.  We walked back rapidly, but could not help noticing the restoration taking place at some of the bathhouses.

Here the old Quapaw gets an exterior facelift funded by the National Park Service.  The space will be made available for lease to private businesses under a historic building leasing program the park service sponsors.  A LOT of things have been here a lot longer than we've been alive.....

How long has it been since the demise of the good 10 cent cigar?  :-))  I remember buying 25 cent a gallon gas, but only heard stories about the "used to be" 10 cent cigar...   We found the RV intact, and moved to the campground where we found a spot needing two blocks of leveling, and after three tries found out how to use the machine to pay the $5 fee by credit card.  I just do NOT understand why these things must be so complicated it takes three tries.....WITH seven steps of instructions that turn out to not be exactly right for what WE do.....  :-(  It rained at times during the night, but lightly.  The vents were cracked for ventilation, but not enough to allow rain to enter.  Dinner was Italian soup using the remaining beans.

Thursday April 8:

We awoke to Claire's alarm clock at 7:30 AM, and departed very shortly for the visitors center parking lot without dumping.  We found all RV spots open, so took the most protected one.  A fountain with Hot Springs water was 20 steps away, so we both tried that.  This warm water is delicious, with no distinguishing taste we could discern.  The National Park distributes it, and guarantees its drinking safety, but not any health benefits.  We drink quite a bit of it, and decide to climb the 0.5 mile trail to the summit of the mountain and observation tower before going bathing in the spa.  The steaming decorative fountains scattered throughout the town are a constant source of  wonder, bordering on disbelief for us.

It is so unusual to have unlimited water these days, but unlimited HOT water?  WOW!! The old WW II era military hospital is now the Arkansas Hot Springs Rehabilitation Facility.

It dominates the mountainside looking up from downtown.  The climate here seems very conducive to restoring health, and the beauty of the surroundings can only help.  I imagine quite a few GI's would have preferred to settle here rather than moving on.....  We stop at the Health Spa on the way, and confirm we can use the spa all day, including hot tubs at various temperatures, swimming pool, and steam rooms, for the discounted fee of $12 each.  This spa has co-ed pools, unlike the traditional bath houses which have totally separate men's and women's facilities.  We continue toward the mountain top, finding it more direct to walk directly up the fall line in a drainage ditch than along the hugely switch backed trail.  There is plenty of poison ivy, and some unusual sumac with slender stalks that make me wonder if it is poison sumac...we avoid both.  The lookout "pagoda" at the top of the mountain is attractive, as is the view over the edge.  

The observation tower overlooks all, but the pictures we take from the ground are hazy, so we pass on the $6 tower fee.  

We do find some things of interest in the gift shop at its base, however....  :-)  For the downhill trip back to town we find a trail with few switchbacks, but we do stick to it.  Going up, all up hill paths lead to the top, but going down there are many places to come out, some of which are on the wrong side of the mountain...  :-))  The return trail overlooks the Grand Promenade, built in 1958.

This was intended to provide a place for vacationers to stroll in their finery away from the urban bustle on Central Avenue a mere block away.  Even without fine clothes, this is a beautiful and peaceful place to be.  We stop to see some of the remaining open springs, left that way to satisfy visitors' curiosity.  

You can see the hot water emerge from the rocks and flow along the bright green paths  toward an ever bigger stream fed by other openings further down the hill.  The bright green is a species of algae which thrives in the 140 degree water....  Most such springs have been capped long ago to prevent contamination. Back in town, we have lunch in the RV before proceeding to the spa.  This place is old, and shares the pools with a rehabilitation therapy business.

The smoke stack belongs to the boiler building of the Rehabilitation Center across the next street, and is NOT used to heat the pool water....yes, I asked.  :-)   The spa has the necessary changing rooms, with mandatory hot showers, and lockers (WITH  padlocks and keys) and even a clean towel.  The pools are drained every day at 8:45PM before closing; the hot springs in the area discharge 850,000 gallons of 142 degree water daily, so the only cost for the hot water is the distribution fee the concessionaires must pay the park, with no metering of how much they use.  There is minimal treatment of the water in the pools, as required by Arkansas public health rules,  but I notice no odor or trace of chlorine.  I pick out a hot tub (the warmest) to start, and wait for Claire.  It is a long wait, but finally she appears after spending time in the downstairs swimming pool.  I notice there are steam rooms here also, as we both return downstairs to the swimming pool.  There is a large hot tub here too, with hydrotherapy pumps that can be switched on to create a whirlpool effect...  NICE!!  :-)  This tub is the hottest of all, with the temperature peaking at 108 degrees F in the late afternoon.  Temperature control is manual, with attendants periodically checking the temperature and turning on the hot water which flows in through 3 inch pipes.  I think 108 was a bit hotter than they usually keep it, as many regular patrons said it was too hot.  I found that after 7 minutes my pulse rate exceeded 120, and  I would exit to sit in the cool air and drink some chilled water.  :-)  Claire had enough by 3:30 PM, but I stayed on until 5:30, finishing with a steam bath followed by a cool shower under the waterfall.  I was feeling much like I do after yoga....spaced out, drained, exhausted, yet it's a good exhaustion.  This process must release the toxins in the body much like yoga does.  I managed to remember the way back to the RV, but felt like I was walking inches off the ground....  :-))  Dinner was delicious tuna burritos on whole wheat skins, which Claire had prepared before touring the restored Fordyce Bath House, which serves as the National Park info center and is open to the public.  It was obvious that Claire should drive from our daytime parking space.... and we decided to go to Walmart for the night rather than the NP campground.  After some discussion we decided to alter our plans, and drive directly to Ft Smith tomorrow, with a better chance of good weekend Internet connections than at Toad Suck Ferry Park as previously planned...we will definitely return to Toad Suck Park (where ELSE in the world can you get a Toad Suck Park T shirt?) before leaving the area, but MUST be at the Ozark Folk Center next Friday April 16 for the big opening weekend doings there.  We both found ourselves wanting bed early this night, but found sleep did not come fast.  We both first felt hot, then as the evening progressed I cooled off, and at midnight I closed up the vents.  This lessened the noise a lot, and I slept well until morning.

PLANS: We will leave Ft Smith for the east Monday, traveling first to Toad Suck Ferry Park, then a slight backtrack to scenic Arkansas Rt 7, and northeast to Blanchard Springs caverns, where we have been assured we can get a first come first served camping spot Wednesday through the weekend, to attend the opening festivities at Ozark Folk Center state park and in the nearby town of Mountain View.  We have tickets to a Ralph Stanley concert at the park Saturday night, and there should be plenty of mountain music and activity in the area all weekend.  After that, we will go through a bit of Missouri then on toward Kentucky.  We have plans in middle Virginia May 10th, and will be home by May 21 at the latest.

Happy Bunny Day to all, and as always, ENJOY!  We are...  :-)