Gainesville, Texas to Lonoke, Arkansas

Our Location: 

Walmart, Lonoke, Arkansas

I slept like the dead last night, I never heard a sound until 6 am CDT. It was so quiet at the Walmart and when I looked outside I noticed only 3 other rigs in the lot. It was a bit crisp but not bad probably somewhere around 45F/7C, but that is a guess. 

Greener and greener as we drove along east....

 

We were both out of bed and starting to pack up the inside of the Igloo by 7:10 AM. We were both looking forward to getting on the road.  I think we are both looking forward to a less wind prone area for a while. We were on the road by 7:35 AM. 

 

Some more green, and of course water as well...

Our plans had us leaving Texas and stopping in Benton, AR for the night. Benton is just west of Little Rock. That would be close to 300 miles/482 km for the day. A bit further than we're used to driving or than we like to drive. However Arkansas isn't too friendly when it comes to quick overnights stays, or maybe it's just the Arkansas Walmart's but either way, the ones that will allow you to park overnight are few and far between, and you can only park at a rest area if it's an emergency (such as truckers being due for sleep according to their log books).  The skies were blue, the temps cool and the road was good, we of course were still going east on US 82. It goes down to a two lane highway with a few passing lanes but traffic backed up behind us as the speed limit was still 70 mph/112 km. We pulled off a few times to let folks pass but also to stretch and just get out of the Dogsled. 

Some of the views on the roads today....

We passed a number of small towns and wide spots in the road. The drive was scenic and interesting. The grass is so green, the trees are leafing out, and there are blossoms everywhere. Gone are the flat lands and in view are more of the types of scenes we're used to with rolling farm land, sweeping valleys with houses perched atop the hills at the far end. Less sky and more vegetation. Did I mention how green it is? Did I mention the grass? Green Grass? We also noted some daffodils along the way but failed to get pictures. Interesting little towns with interesting little names, the advertisements and gimmicks are smart, cute and attention getting. The road was good, a bit rough here and there with one very rough patch (which I mention later), but overall everything was good.

More views while on the road......those planes, one is landing at, and one took off from Clinton International Airport in Little Rock, AR.

 

At noon we left Texas in the rear view mirror and headed into Arkansas. Two hours put us at the outskirts of Little Rock, a bit past Benton, our original stop. We instead opted to drive the extra 50 miles/80 km to Lonoke, Arkansas. Benton is on the west of Little Rock and Lonoke is on the east. We now do not have to concern ourselves with morning rush hour. So a total today of 352 miles/566 km, it took us 7 hours to drive including 3 stops of approx 10 minutes each. We consumed approx 27 gallons of fuel. We traveled on US 82 East, I-30 East, I-440 East, I-40 East. All good roads EXCEPT about 5 miles not far into ARKANSAS where I-40 was horrendous, I thought for sure certain we had two flat tires. The thumps, bangs and herky-jerky of the Igloo had me thinking something was seriously wrong. I was about to pull off to check (which I dislike doing on the Interstate) when I noticed the big rig in front of me slowing down as quickly as I was, as I slowed down I also noticed the noises and movements were less. I pulled over a bit but still kept moving and as soon as my tires were a bit out of the regular groove the noise pretty much went away. Then we came to a bridge and the noise went away completely, only to return once we were back on the pavement. Worry over, it's the roadway. After that little stretch the rest of the drive was good once again. 

Some things we noticed a place called Ta Molly's, a large cow indicating a ranch, the lights/chrome twinkling at us from the billboard, the hundreds of Razors at the Suzuki dealer, the boot, and horse atop their high posts, that plane sitting in the middle of the field, the starburst at the fire works store and the Family Dollar in the middle of no where.

We scampered into Walmart to ask about overnight parking as there were no campers of any kind in the lot but it was full to overflowing with big rigs. It is the first time I've ever been asked if I'm in an RV or a big truck. When I said RV the lady said 'absolutely you may park overnight.' So I'm thinking come dark the big rigs will be out of here and gone. I even noticed a police car making the rounds of the lot about an hour after we arrived. We did a quick 'lunch' shop in the store before coming back and setting up the Igloo for the night. After lunch we headed back into the store to pay for our  nights parking as last night we shopped only for the dry products we wanted, and saved the produce for today. Kind of makes me feel like I'm paying for staying, if you know what I mean. 

 

Love the Blossom, Texas ball. The small towns and of course Texarkana just at the Texas/Arkansas state line....

Back outside we put away the groceries and finally sat down to rest. I had called my dad earlier to say we'd made it and were safely tucked away for the night. He was happy to hear from us and although we usually talk for about 15 minutes, my brother Rick was there so it was a quick chat. 

Some of the place names we noted today. You can even get to Atlanta, Georgia from Texas!!!  That would be Paris, Texas as well.

So tomorrow will be an easy day for us, less than 200 miles/321 km to our destination of Big Buck Resort in Tennessee. Even though the weather looks like rain ahead for many, many days we'll still enjoy our time there. We have a few things to do while in the area and hopefully the rain won't be too constant or heavy and we'll be able to get outside and enjoy some spring weather. 

Water towers from Texarkana, TX and Arkadelphia, AR. We have arrived in Arkansas, and of course passed through Emmet and Little Rock today as well.

After that it was time to edit the pictures Riley had taken today through our streaked windshield. So please forgive the streaks and splotches in the pictures.  That completed, time to write this post. As I write it is still warm and sunny, we have the big door open and the time is 6:40 pm CDT. It's actually pretty quiet with the door open, not too many vehicles going past. The noisiest part of the whole time we've been here is the big rig beside us with his engine running. We're hoping he wakes up soon and moves on. Not a refrigeration truck so it's just to keep the noise from bothering him while he sleeps and he's been here since we arrived. We had limited options of places to park as the entire front end of the lot was lined with big rigs, parked side by side and this was the only open slot available at the time. Many have moved out since we've been here, a few more have pulled in but also at least 2 more RV's are here, another 5'er like us, and a big Class A. I'm sure there will be more as we very close to I-40. 

We passed over the Arkansas River today. It's very large and seems to be a pretty busy river.

So on that note, thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop a comment. 

I know this picture is in one of the collages but I just love this house up there on the hill. It's huge and the trees give it a very nice overall feel. The cattle down front give it a sense of peace and contentment. The green is starting to show more and more and I'll bet with the spring rains that green is like a royal carpet in front of the house.

Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

Deb

 

The thunder roared, the lightning flashed......

Our Location: Walmart, Conway, Arkansas

We roled out of Big Buck Resort in Hornsby, Tn this morning at 8:30 am. The skies looked threatening as they have for the last number of days but considering the rain didn’t really fall we weren’t convinced it would rain today either. We were mistaken. ~laugh~ It rained and rained hard at times. The lightning was wild, mostly chain but very close by. The thunder was deafening at times. At one point we actually seen sparks flying from a direct hit on a hydro/phone pole. Then we would drive out of it, the skies would clear and the temps would go back up only to drive 10 miles and start the whole thing all over again. It was an interesting morning. 

 

Canada Day parade in South Baymouth, Ontario. Hillybilly riding lawn mower.

The temps this morning at Big Buck were just about the 70F mark, which is about 17/18 C for those Canadians back home. We went from there down to about 65F, then back up again to the 70F mark and the roller coaster continued off and on for the morning. As we neared our destination of Conway, Arkansas we hit the big number of 82F, which is about 24/25C with high humidity. After we parked for the night we had a bit of rain, a bit of sun, and some more clouds. A mixed bag to be sure. ~laugh~

 

South Baymouth Canada Day Parade.

The drive was interesting as we’ve never been this far past the Mississippi River so it’s all new to us. We couldn’t see the Mississippi due to the heavy rain and spray from vehicles around us, but believe me, we crossed it. ~laugh~ My first impression of Arkansas was flat. There didn’t appear to be anything but flat land for about the first 15 to 20 minutes or so, then we gradually found some hills to add a bit of flare to the landscape. I must say the roads weren’t too bad, not the best either but probably average for the amount of traffic that they carry.  An interesting note is the ‘truck parking’ areas they have along the Interstate. No facilities of any kind but places to pull over and park your truck for a sleep, a walk, etc. Great idea!!

 

 

Rainbows in the morning sunshine mist along Rogers Creek

We stopped at a rest stop near Forrest City, Arkansas and it’s the strangest one I’ve seen. The truck/trailer/rv parking is along the side of the lane that passes through the area behind the rest stop. It’s lined with NO PARKING signs and yet there is no yard to park in, just side of the road parking. The cars had individual spots marked and plenty of spots as well in there portion of the rest area. We followed a wide load tractor trailer with two escort vehicles into this rest area and found it interesting that he couldn’t make it between two of the big rigs parked on the corner, he had to ask one of them to move forward so he could get through. Even then it was touch and go for a bit until he cleared the back end of one truck. Weirdest parking lot I’ve ever seen for a rest stop. We pulled in, got out to stretch our legs and got caught in the rain on the way back to the Dogsled. ~laugh~ Figures doesn’t it? Didn’t look like rain when we started out walking, but oh well. We aren’t made of sugar, we won’t melt. 

 

 

Early morning walk along Leeson's Bay. See the mist rising?

I was surprised that the interstate didn’t go thru Little Rock, but around it instead. Great idea of course, they should all be like that. I can say that I was a little disappointed in not getting to see any of Little Rock but there is always another time. The traffic moves quickly here, the speed limit is 70 mph and it seems as if everyone is going at least 10 to 15 over that. Pretty much like a blur when they fly past. ~laugh~ 

 

 

Looking up Rogers Creek in the morning mist.

Our journey today took us approximately 225 miles closer to Arizona. We were about 5 hours including stops and slow downs reaching Conway just before 2 pm. Excellent Walmart here, we are parked to the side of the lot with the trucks in the NO TRUCK PARKING zone. RV’s are welcome but trucks are not, even though it appears they park here anyway. We used the Dave Ward Exit, which is Exit 129A. It was a pretty straight run from the interstate for about 4 miles to the Walmart. As we’re driving along the street heading this way, an SUV beside us pulls up and the lady driver waves and waves, huge smile on her face. So we naturally smile and wave back, thinking “Hmmmm wonder what’s up.” We manage to get to the next light at the same time, I put my window down, the passenger window on her vehicle goes down and she hollers over,” I’m from Canada too, nice to see you here. Hope you enjoy your travels.” And she’s gone. ~laugh~ How funny is that? We had a good chuckle. 

 

 

Lilac's near my dad's house.

So there you have our travel day, exciting, interesting, and a bit eventful with the lightning, but fun anyway. We are resting comfortably here in our little tucked in space between a couple of trucks. So far we are the only Rv’ers here. I think that will change as the night goes on. We slipped into the Great Clips for haircuts earlier this evening, so now we can say we are lighter as we both had a lot of hair chopped off. ~laugh~ I’m still not sure I like mine, the natural curl and the humidity are making it curl in the wrong direction of course. ~laugh~ Aw well, it’s just hair. 

 

 

Flowers in bloom at the Tennessee welcome center. 

I hope you enjoyed your visit, a few more random pics tonight, then I’ll be back on track with the pics as well. Too tired to edit any we took today.

On that note, thanks for stopping by, until next time….be safe…take care….