November 1, 2023 Travel to Millwood Lake in Arkansas

Happy November Everyone!

We were up and out early this morning because we had a long day ahead of us.

It was quite chilly and there was frost..  BRRRR..

Past the clock in Hernando Square:

And heading to Memphis – The traffic – OH MY!

Into Tennessee:

Pass the Mississippi Pyramid Landmark – that is now Bass Pro Shop.  I have pictures of this landmark every time we went this way – LOL!:

Crossing the Mississippi Bridge:

Into Arkansas:

Oh! the Mighty Mississippi – we are officially in the West:

And the landscape flattens out:

But the traffic continues:

Past farms:

And granaries:

Many lakes and rivers:

A slight area with no traffic – and lots of trees lining the highway:

AHHHH!  We are off the interstate.  Nice two lane roads lined with trees:

Past cows:

Past horses:

Past goats:

And we landed!

We are staying at Beard’s Bluff Park on Millwood Lake (near Ashdown, Arkansas).  I was able to get a site on the lake for two nights (we are blessed!).  Oh the view!

The view from our little patio:

This is also an Army Corp of Engineers Park.  With our Senior Access Pass, it is only $7.50/night!  Water and electric is included – WOW!  We love the ACOE Parks.  Very reasonable in beautiful settings!

Notice all the water in the lake – it is very full!  Once we set up, we took a ride around the dam – will have pictures tomorrow.  We also checked out Ashdown.  Small, cute town.

The sunset was beautiful as well as the glow after the sunset!

 

We will do a little more exploring tomorrow so stay tuned and enjoy today!

A side note on phone and internet.  We both have Verizon cell phones and can do a hot spot when necessary.  We also have a MiFi from AT&T that is used exclusively for internet.

The last three places we camped, we had internet thru the MiFi but no cell service or Verizon internet.  Very strange because we never had that problem before.

For those of you who are FMCA members, we have the AT&T MiFi thru them – reasonable rate and unlimited data.  (If I could get a good booster for my home/property, I think I would get another just for home.)

So we have been able to get texts over the past week but phone calls when we get into town.   Just an FYI.

Until tomorrow….

 

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  332 Miles (Long Day)

Mississippi: Wheeler Road; US-51; TN-304; I-55  

Tennessee: I-55; I-40

Arkansas: I-40; I-440; I-30; US-278; AR-73; AR-355; AR-32

October 27–October 31, 2023 Hernando Point in Mississippi

We had a long travel day today so we were on the road pretty early.

Still a few hills and valleys:

COTTON!: – I was so excited to see the field.  It looked like fluffy snow:

Traffic, Traffic, and more traffic – my Andy did an Awesome Job Driving!:

Into Mississippi:

Off the interstate, heading to the park.

It was a long day of travel.  We made it here late afternoon and it was HOT AND HUMID.  We are in the south – LOL!

Even used the AC for three days!

We are staying at Hernando Point Campground on Arkabutla Lake near Hernando, MS.  We are about 40 miles south of Memphis.  But such a difference in scenery.

Our site:

Very spacious:

However, there is no lake – just a river.  I will have more pictures below.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled:  346 Miles (Long Day)

Routes Traveled:

Tennessee: US-321; US-441; I-40; US-127; US-70; TN-53; I-40; I-840; I-40; I-240;

Mississippi: I-240; I-55; TN-304; US-51; Wheeler Road

We had planned on spending three nights here and then heading west.  However, there was a big storm coming thru on Monday that was bringing rain, flooding and colder weather.  A few of the places we planned to stay had snow in the forecast.

SOOO, I spent Saturday rearranging our trip to go on a more southerly route and booked two more nights here.  Thank God we are able to change our plans.  I usually only make reservations for a week or so out so if we feel like doing something different, we have that ability. (Yes, I know..I am taking a chance but there is always a Walmart to overnight!)

On Sunday, we decided to take a little road trip to see the area and maybe even find the dam.

I love these signs…

The first time we saw this sign was at the end of a 5 mile gravel road.  It sat near the top of the levee so we stopped!  I got out to follow the road to see if the campground was still there.  It was and we continued.  What a hoot!

I wrote about it here: https://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-9-2007-travel-thru-illinois-part-2.html

Then we saw this sign.  Now beyond that SHOULD be the lake:

And here is the boat launch – Yikees!

No lake here:

Another marina area and the beach:

The Arkabutla Dam was constructed after 1942 to help in flood control of the Lower Mississippi Delta Region.

But.. On May 10, 2023, the United States Army Corps of Engineers warned residents to stay away from the reservoir as "potential breach conditions" had been found at the dam.  A “sinkhole” developed near the outlet on the south side of the dam.  At that time, the lake was at 228’ and they were trying to get it down to 210-feet.

The lake is very low now because although some emergency repairs were done, it is not complete.

We did find the dam and surprising we were able to drive across it – strange????

The dam:

Arkabutla Lake:

“In 1942, the U.S. Government moved the town of Coldwater and approximately 700 residents, at a cost of $250,000, to its present location 1-mile (1.6 km) south of the original site. Today a monument dedicated to the old town of Coldwater, which was flooded and submerged by creation of the dam and reservoir, stands just west of the Coldwater exit off Interstate 55. A few remnants of the old town are visible, but a majority of the site remains underwater year round.”

We could not find the monument or the town. 

A sad piece of news since the lake has been lowered:

“Officials report that “widespread looting” of Native American burial objects, disturbance and desecration of human remains and theft of artifacts happened in the overnight hours between June 12-15, 2023.”

As of now, they have not found the artifacts taken or who desecrated the site.

Another boat launch – sad.

I could not find any information on if or when the dam will be repaired. 

On our way back, we found these two beautiful creatures:

Love the look – LOL!

It was a nice day out!

That night the clouds rolled in and the rain started.  It continued to rain thru Monday and the temps started to dip.

Friday was air conditioning and Monday was heaters.  What a change.

Monday, we finished our laundry and Tuesday resupplied.

I am glad we had more down time especially with having to rearrange our schedule.  But I am ready for warmer temperatures.

So tomorrow we continue our travels west and south.  Arkansas and Texas had the same storm but forecast is for warming temperatures this weekend so that is where we are heading.

 

 

January 28-31, 2022 Travel and Stay at Rainbow Plantation, Alabama

Before I start, I want to thank my friend Jan who let us know that those flooded fields were crawfish farms.  After we saw the nets, we thought it was some type of fish or ??.  Thank you Jan.

--

On January 28, we packed up to head east. We wanted to dump our tanks after being parked for four nights but there was a “gentleman” who parked his truck and boat trailer in front of the dump station where there were big “No Parking “ signs.  Oh well, some people just……

Anyway, we headed east and decided to stay on I-10 until our stop.  There were many bridges, swamps, bays, rivers, and lakes:

This is the famous Atchafalaya Basin Bridge that goes for 18 miles over swamps, rivers and lakes.

If you look in the center of the picture you will see the water and the highway is on both sides:

To me, this bridge is fascinating and I cannot imagine what it was like building with the swamps all around (and the mosquitos and other creatures that hang out in the swamps – Yikees).

Anyway, here is a little information from the internet:

“The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, also known as the Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges in the U.S. state of Louisiana between Baton Rouge and Lafayette which carries Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin. With a total length of 96,095 feet (29,290 m; 18 mi; 29 km), it is the 3rd longest bridge in the US, the 2nd longest on the interstate system, and fourteenth-longest in the world by total length.

The bridge was opened to the public in 1973, construction was said to have begun in 1971. At the time of its completion, it was the second longest bridge in the United States, behind the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge. The bridge includes two exits: one for Whiskey Bay (Louisiana Highway 975) and another for Butte La Rose (LA 3177). While the bridges run parallel for most of their length, they merge when crossing the Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel and the Atchafalaya River. The average daily traffic count is (as of 2015) 30,420 vehicles.

Accidents occur frequently near the two river crossings as both are very narrow and lack shoulders. Accidents along the bridge can be problematic as the Atchafalaya Basin is sparsely inhabited. In 1999, Governor Mike Foster lowered the speed limit on the bridge from 70 to 60 mph (115 to 95 km/h). In 2003, the Louisiana Legislature enacted new traffic regulations for the bridge. The speed limit for 18-wheelers was lowered to 55 mph and they must remain in the right lane while crossing the bridge.”

Our journey took us across the Mississippi River (so we are now officially back in the east):

We are staying at the Slidell Elks Lodge in Slidell, Louisiana.  What a beautiful park with water and electricity and a dump station on site.  We met with the caretaker and then went to the lodge to have a few drinks and dinner.  I will definitely keep this on our list for a sightseeing spot in the future.

Their picnic area:

Firepits, wood, and a pond behind the RV sites:

I just love the moss hanging from the tree as well as the size of these trees:

On January 29, we continued our journey east into Mississippi:

Beautiful roads:

More bridges and bays:

Check out these homes:

We decided to do more of the scenic route (US90) along the coast.  Beautiful white sands:

That is an American flag in the center of the photo:

We stopped at a pullout and had lunch.  Here was our view:

We continued on to Alabama:

Thru Mobile:

Under Mobile:

And out to a bridge over the bay:

We landed at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale.  It is an Escapees Park with beautiful trees:

It has been a while since we were here.  Sunday night was their ice cream social so, of course, we went.  It is so nice to see the parks back to doing events.  They did their social a little different.  Instead of scooping from containers, they had a variety of individual bars.  Nice!

So we stayed here for two full days and three nights. One day was laundry day – oh my, we had so much since we had not done it in a while.  Everyone loves the Escapee Parks for their laundry and price.  But if you have a lot, it is better to go to town and get it done.  (BTW, The Foley Laundromat is pretty good and they have an attendant. Plus their big washers are not too bad in price.)  While I was getting that done, Andy took the car to get an oil change.  Back home we had to rearrange again. (Stuff keeps falling while we travel!!  We will get it yet!)

And the second day was trying to find places to stay until February 6th when we will be on our lot in Wauchula, Florida. For those who know me, I just HATE making reservations. I want the ability to stay if I want to or go if I want to but sheesh, in the past few years that has changed.  So now I do a week or so at a time and so far so good.  Thank God for Elks and Moose Lodges.

Our last night here, we ate the the famous Lamberts, Home of the Throwed Roll.  Their rolls are wonderful! (https://throwedrolls.com/lamberts-cafe-iii/)

These are our travel stats for January 28-29, 2022.

January 28th:

Louisiana: Lorrain Road; SR101; I10; I12; Northshore Blvd; US190; SR433; Elks Road

Miles Traveled: 208 Miles

Louisiana: Elks Road; SR433; US190; I-10

Mississippi: I-10; US90; I10;

Alabama: I-10; SR59;  US90; CR55; CR32; Long Road; CR28; Rainbow Plantation

Miles Traveled: 172 Miles

Tomorrow we continue to Florida so stay tuned and enjoy today.