DAY 20 – MARCH 22 – LAKE DISTRICTThe Spring storm is now over and we woke up to clear and sunny skies and the snow was almost all melted through out Oklahoma City. We continued driving on Highway 40 (Route 66) across Oklahoma into Arkansas. We made a stop to take this 'Route 66' photo. It was a bit unnerving, but interesting.
April Fool....Just kidding. The picture was taken at the Oklahoma City Zoo. I just couldn't resist. Actually we left Historic Route 66 somewhere between Oklahoma City and the Arkansas border. We are still on Hwy 40, but the Historic Route 66 turned towards the North and goes through Missouri and ends at Chicago, Illinois.
As we continued on we noticed lots of snow was still on the ground as we entered this state. They probably got the worst of the storm yesterday after we got hit the day before. However, there was no snow when we came into Ft. Smith (not far from the Arkansas state line). The storm had traveled north when leaving the Oklahoma. We stayed overnight in Russellville which is in the Lake District and next to Lake Dardanelle, a state park. This part of Arkansas is hilly with lots of trees. Most of which are now full of white blossoms. Spring is here and it is all quite beautiful. After 6 hours and 269 miles we arrived at Ivy’s Cove RV Retreat in Russellville, AR.
IVY'S COVE RV RETREAT:
This is a very small RV park with only 16 sites. Half of the sites had permanent or long-term residents. However, those trailers looked fairly new and not trashed out like some we have seen. All the sites are pull-thrus with full hook ups including cable TV (with only 12 decent channels) and free WiFi (with easy log on and a strong signal). The interior roads and all the sites are gravel and dirt with a small grassy area between the sites. The sites are long and fairly spacious, making the sites somewhat private. The office is a large brick building that includes the laundry room and bathrooms. The showers are in individual rooms inside the laundry room. Each of those 4 rooms each included a toilet, sink, and shower. They are very clean, almost new, and very private. The owner and manager was on vacation, so a ‘neighbor’ was running the place and that person only showed up to checked us in and then disappeared. It left us with an uncomfortable and unsafe feeling. Did not know what we would do if any problems came up. No one was around to make sure the place was secure. Because of this we rated the place a 3 (1-Yuck, 2-Poor, 3-Fair, 4-Good, 5-Excellent).
After we settled in we only had about 3 hours before it got dark. So we drove nearby to Lake Dardanelle State Park and then spent more time at Petit Jean State Park, 20 miles away in Morrilton. Lake Dardanelle offers fishing and boating and both places have campgrounds and lots of hiking trails. Petit Jean is known for its waterfalls and Petit Jean Mountain. The legend of Petit Jean is the story of a French girl who disguised herself as a boy and secretly accompanied her sweetheart, an early explorer, to the New World and to this mountain.
DAY 21 - MARCH 23 - WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS
Russellville was just an overnight stay. Our next stop is two nights in the Memphis area, both in Arkansas and Tennessee. West Memphis, AR borders Memphis, TN. It was an easy, short drive on Hwy 40 to the border. The skies were clear and it was sunny and warm. After 6 hours and 198 miles we arrived at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, AR.
TOM SAWYER RV PARK:
This RV park is alongside the Mississippi River. The park is closed during the months of April and May because the melting snow (from 1,000+ miles away) causes the river to rise and it covers this park. There are around 76 sites in two sections; one is in the woods under the trees and the other is out in the open along the shore line of the Mississippi River. Our site was right on the shore and at the end of the row, so we had no neighbors on one side. We had a fantastic view of the rushing river. We could sit in front of our trailer and watch the river rush by. We could also watch the barges pushing or pulling their large loads. Even though being so close to the river can feel relaxing and peaceful, it can sure keep you up at night. These barges ran all day and night. During the night when all is still, these barges are quite loud and noisy when they go against the current. I finally had to break down and wear my ear plugs.
The interior roads and sites are all gravel and dirt with grassy areas between the sites. The sites are long and spacious. You are not on top of your neighbor so there is a lot of privacy. The comfort station ‘shacks’ at each section have a laundry room on one side and on the other side are two private rooms each with shower, sink and toilet. The laundry is free
There are full hook ups with free WiFi (easy log on with a strong signal). No cable TV, but you can get quite a few channels with your TV antenna.
After we settled into our RV site, Dave worked on repairing our trailer awning. As we were attaching it to the trailer a woman from New Mexico stopped to help out and to chat. In fact other people who were walking their dogs nearby would also come by and chat during our stay here. Very friendly people stay at this place. The repaired awning is now in place and is as good as new. Now we will have a screen for those sunny, hot days that will be coming soon.
DAY 22 - MARCH 24 - MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
The sun was out this morning and it would be a beautiful, warm day. We headed over the border into Memphis, Tennessee to visit the Memphis Zoo. We were here during our 2005 trip. It was a wonderful zoo and wanted to visit again. And as with the other places we have revisited so far, there were changes and new areas added. The Memphis Zoo covers 70 acres and is home to more than 3,500 animals representing more than 500 species. The entrance area has an Egyptian deco with columns, sphinxes, and hieroglyphics made to represent the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis.
On this day there were three areas where the animals were quite active and playful. Five years ago a new area was built to accommodate a pair of Giant Panda’s that was a gift from Beijing, China. Memphis Zoo is one of four zoos in this country that have these animals. Today one of the Pandas was outside being cute and busily eating his bamboo.
In the Northwest Passage area, the polar bears where very active swimming about and teasing the people at the window viewing them.
And in a new area called the Teton Trek, three grizzly bears were being very playful in the water. Click on arrow to see this one minute video.
It was a very fun day at the zoo.
With what time we had left in the afternoon, we visited The Memphis Pink Palace Museum. The name refers to the pink marble used in the construction of this 36,500 square foot estate in the 1920’s. This estate was to be the home of Clarence Saunders, founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. But he never got the chance to move his family into it. He was forced into bankruptcy in 1923. In 1926 the mansion was donated to the City of Memphis for use as a museum. Most of the museum displays, however, are housed in another building attached to the mansion, including an IMAX theater and a planetarium. There are exhibits about life in Memphis, dinosaurs, birds, mammals, insects, the Civil War and there is a miniature circus that ‘moves’ every half hour.
The parking lot at the Pink Palace were full of blooming trees. In fact we are seeing these trees everywhere now. They are beautiful and the are screaming out to us that SPRING IS HERE....YES!!
Our next destination is to explore more of Tennessee.
TENNESSEE FACTS: After its 1861 secession from the Union, Tennessee is the first Confederate state to reenter in 1866. Tennessee covers 42,244 square miles and has a population of
5,689,283.
State Motto: "Agriculture and Commerce"
State Capital: Nashville
State Wild Flower: Passion Flower
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Animal: Raccoon
State Tree: Tulip Poplar
State Gem: Tennessee River Pearl
State Song: Tennessee by Vivian Rorie
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