Yeah, it's coming...

Joan just checked weather radar.  Yep, looks like we're gonna get wet, again...

We'll have everything but the utilities put away before bed.  Looks like the rain will get here in the middle of the night.  Can't say I like the look of that system just west of us, and the moist air heading up from the Gulf.

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Izzy went for a nice long walk this evening.  She really wanted to jump up that wall, but her mean ol' CatDaddy wouldn't let her...

That is a long cat.

In alert mode...

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Wonder what difference the jacks make on the motorhome?  I mentioned in the previous post that the front wheels were off the ground - here is the view from the back...

The jacks have the motorhome level... no jacks on the cargo trailer.

The boyhood home of Bill Clinton...

Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It reminds me of the sign I used to see on the bride & groom's car at weddings in the Black Hills back in the 70s and 80s: "Hot Springs tonight, Deadwood tomorrow."  It was funny the first 40 or 50 times I saw it.  ;-)

We are planning for some time in Branson, but decided to take our time, instead of going nearly 350 miles from Texarkana.

Izzy lounged in the front window while we had breakfast (she had already eaten)...

The traffic was light when we hit the road at 9:00 this morning...

It wasn't long before we left Texas and entered Arkansas.  We stopped at the Arkansas Visitors Center at the rest area...

Can you pick out the Aspect amongst the big rigs?  The lady at the Visitors Center loaded us up with all kinds of books about Arkansas.  We decided to stop early and spend a night in Hot Springs; haven't been there before.

The traffic picked up a bit as we rolled...

We turned off the Interstate onto Scenic Byway Highway 7.  The lady in the Visitors Center said, "Some people with RVs find that road scary - I think it is a very pretty drive."  Didn't seem too scary...

Pretty scenery along the way, including lakefront properties...

I didn't know there were so many large lakes in this state.  The only time the road seemed scary was when we rolled into Hot Springs... obviously the newer part of town, with malls and restaurants... but it seemed like they were trying to make 5 lanes in the space for 4.  Checking my mirrors, the cargo trailer tires were touching the lane lines on both sides... yeah, this is narrow.

We got off on a loop, and drove to the KOA... a steep hill leading to the entrance... first gear.  I pulled up to the office just before noon, went inside to see if they had a site.  Yep.  "Mr. Vick will escort you to your site."

We wound around the trees, and Mr. Vick took us to a site where we could easily unload the scooters.  Not real long, not particularly level, but it works...

Look close, the front wheels are off the ground - you can see light under the front tire on the far side; the little bush is obscuring that on the passenger side.

We rode a side road that took us to an intersection that said, "Hot Springs National Park Historic District"... sounds interesting.

The National Park surrounds the town, with a Park Headquarters right in town.  We rode around a bit to get a feel for the place...

Decided to have lunch before it got too late...

The parking lot was packed, but we got seated right away.  With bellies full, we took the scoots to the historic part of town.

Nothing says "historic" like t-shirt shops.  There are plenty of historic buildings here, mostly hotels and bath-houses.

After walking the main drag, we decided to check out the Promenade Walk up the hillside.  On the way to that walk, we saw people filling water jugs with the "healing water."  Mr. Vick at the KOA told us to take some water with us - "It makes great coffee or tea!"

The Promenade Walk...

An interesting feature along the walk: use your cell phone to get a "guided tour"...

A pretty view from the higher perspective of that walk...

A narrower walk above the Promenade...

A pretty hillside - the tanks you can barely see are "spring collection tanks", used to hold water from the hot springs...

Water flowing from one of the springs...

Back down to the main drag and the buildings and touristy stuff...

We weren't the only ones on two wheels - lots of Harleys and other cruisers...

Joan said, "Like a mini Sturgis."  Real mini.  From there, we rode some twisty roads for a while, before heading back to the RV.  At the Visitors Center, there was a brochure for riding motorcycles in the Hot Springs and Eureka Springs areas... smart.

We have been to Eureka Springs several times (the first time by motorcycles back in the early 80s).  Hot Springs is a much larger version of that; this is a definite tourist destination area.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way - plenty to do here.

Checking weather, we planned to head for Mountain Home or Mountain View tomorrow.  Checking weather again, it looks like the rain is moving in earlier than originally predicted.  Sounds like we will be driving in the rain tomorrow... no point in staying in the rain in either of those two places - part of the draw is the folk music played outside in the square.  So, we may be changing the plan, yet again.

For those who are keeping track...

The tally is as follows...

4 armadillos
4 raccoons
3 possums
2 turtles
1 incredibly stupid wild turkey with a death wish

And a bunch of carrion of indeterminate species.  Which reminds me of a joke: did you hear about the vulture who was checking in at the airline ticket counter?  The agent asked, "Do you have any bags to check?"  and he replied, "Just these two carrion."  (rimshot)

We were passed 3 times on a double yellow centerline.
We were passed twice on the shoulder on a two lane road.

Around 9.5 miles per gallon; no wind, using the air conditioner (got to 93º at the warmest today), keeping it around 60 mph when possible, and some hills.

Yep, we're still in Texas.

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Last night about 9:00 a storm rolled in - thunder, lightning, rain, and wind.  Nothing that I would consider severe, though.  This morning, we were up early to check weather along our route.  It looked like departing around 8:30 would put us on the front end of one line of storms, which we should drive out of... then probably see the tapering down of another line of storms further north of us... and, hopefully, be in the clear after that.  If we wait, it is going to get ugly again before it gets better.

Decisions.  We decided to get a bit wet on departure, with the hope that we'd get north ahead of the heavier stuff.  Sometimes a plan works.  Nice to have decent weather radar.

Little Izzy was up early, too...

"We're gonna drive all day, aren't we?"  She is very intuitive.

The motorhome looked pretty yesterday, when we were done cleaning it.  Kinda spotty when we were ready to head out...

Joan squeegeed off the side windows...

The rain had let up just before we were ready to roll.  That didn't last long.  We stopped for fuel under an overhang...

Wet roads as we rolled northeast...

But, the sky was looking lighter ahead - and really dark behind us...

We drove in the rain for about an hour and a half, then saw some blue sky...

As planned, we stayed off the Interstates.  I like to drive 55 to 60 mph with the motorhome.  In Texas, however, even the two lane roads have 70 mph speed limits.  I had to pick up the pace now and then to not be a road hazard.  (see the: "passing on a double yellow and being passed on the shoulder" stuff above)

The wild turkey mentioned above threw himself right in front of us - there was a "Thud!" not a "Crack!"  And feathers went every which-way.  The pickup truck following too close behind us went right over the top of the carcass.  I was hoping it was the bumper and not the grill that took the impact.  We were in a area with very narrow shoulders - no place to pull over and check.

With our length, we were able to stop for lunch at a small picnic area...

We were tired of fast food - Joan made sandwiches, Izzy got to have lunch, too, while we were stopped.  Nice pace.  Oh, and the grill was unscathed.

Going through some of the small towns along the way, we had the occasional "low overhead"...

No sweat with our shorter height in the Aspect.  And, a few interesting curves along the way...

"Rumor spreadin' 'round.  In that Texas town.  'Bout that shack outside LaGrange..."

50 Bonus Points if you said:  ZZ Top.  Yeah, that "little ol' band from Texas."

I hadn't seen this road sign before...

Cross the railroad tracks on the side road while pulling a trailer at your own risk... don't blame us if you get high-centered, we put up a sign.

Kind of an "international day"... we drove through Palestine, but bypassed Paris.  Lexington, Jacksonville, and Atlanta... yeah, still in Texas.

Joan found us a Passport America park that wasn't in any of the books, yet...

She does a great job of double checking the GPS routes, and finding us good stops along the way.  Lots of standing water, but that made for lots of greenery...

We pulled into the PA park south of Texarkana about 5:30.  No one at the office, so we did a night registration, then picked a site.  Calling ahead, we found out that they have paved roads and hard packed gravel sites... so we knew we wouldn't be in the mud.  It's a decent park, obviously new enough that it hasn't made it into the guidebooks, yet.

While I was setting up, the guy in the motorhome next to us asked if I registered.  "I did the night registration - it said to come pay in the morning."

"I take care of things when the manager isn't here.  You get all set up and I'll meet you in the office in about 15 minutes."

"Works for me."

We're in site B-25.  I said to the guy, "Wow, same as my age!"

He looked at me and said, "You're 25?"

"Looks like I had a hard life, huh?"  No change in expression.  Tough crowd.  "No, I'm a bit older than that."

He asked, "How old do you think I am?"

Being the polite guy I am, I said, "Oh, 64, maybe 65?"

"89!"

I pretended to be surprised.  ;-)  I had to help him make change.  I'm guessing he's legit - he did have a key to the office.

Should be quiet here - 95 spaces, and only 20 or so are occupied.

Joan is making supper, and I'm ready for an adult beverage.