Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Camping in The Natural State

 

That’s what I have been doing for the last two weeks. I felt free and unencumbered. Closer to nature. It was…Arkansas.

See, that is their motto. The Natural State. I did not mean to suggest I was camping in my birthday suit, although that would be interesting.

Anyway, after a quick stop at a private park in Tennessee to catch up on chores I hit the road again. Hammer down, heading west.

Clouds

It was shortly after taking that photo that I was praying hard for rain. Yep, I wanted the heaviest downpour possible. Something that would clean off the front of my trailer. I will fill you in on the reason why at the end of this post. I don’t want to ruin your appetite. Yet.

The skies obliged.

Rain 1

Rain 2

The rain followed me through Tennessee and over the Mississippi River into Missouri.

Miss River 1

Miss River 2

Miss River 3

Missouri Sign

It continued into Arkansas and my first stop at Lake Charles State Park.

Arkansas Sign

Rain 4

Lake Charles Sign

There are 61 sites here in three loops and for some reason the numbers start at 25. The first two loops are just water and power while the last has full hookups. The prices are reasonable for a state park system, around $21 for for the former and $30 for the latter. They also don’t slap on any silly non-resident penalties.

I was in site 29.

Lake Charles_029

There was a neat Yurt a few sites from me in number 38.

Lake Charles_038

But all the campers were in the full hookup sites which are closest to the lake. 70 and 72 for example.

Lake Charles_070

Lake Charles_072

Wait, I take that back. Site 53 in the middle loop had some folks. If you don’t need sewer hookups this is the best one.

Lake Charles_053

The lake supposedly has good fishing and there is a trail along the shore.

Lake Charles Boat Ramp and Pier

Lake Charles

Lake Charles Shore Trail

It was foggy the next morning as I drove west to Bull Shoals-White River State Park.

Fog

Bull Shoals White River Sign

Surprisingly, the sun came out as I was setting up camp.

White River Campsite

White River View

This is the number one park in the state, mainly due to the excellent trout fishing in the cold White River below the Bull Shoals Dam.

White River 1

White River 2

I made burgers for dinner and stared at an Earth Roamer.

Burger Dinner

Earthroamer

These rigs are pricey. You won’t get back any change from a $1 million bill. I’ll take one in green.

I made tacos for breakfast before checking out the 102 campsites.

Taco breakfast

The sites come in all flavors.

I liked 3, 5, and 7 in the full hookup loop.

Bull Shoals-White River_003

Bull Shoals-White River_005

Bull Shoals-White River_007

22 was a big pull through next to a field.

Bull Shoals-White River_022

Along the river there are partial hook up sites. 39, 48, and 70 are good examples.

Bull Shoals-White River_039

Bull Shoals-White River_048

Bull Shoals-White River_070

The tent area had some nice spots such as 86 and 88.

Bull Shoals-White River_086

Bull Shoals-White River_088

If you forgot your tent they have something called “rent-a-camp”.

Rent a Camp

If you forgot your rv, they have three of those available.

Rent an RV 3

There is also a store and marina.

Bull Shoals-White River Store

The next morning was sunny and I continued west to Eureka Springs to photograph a KOA Kampground.

I passed over the dam and passed by an unhappy looking cow.

Bull Shoals Dam

Future Tacos

While at the KOA I did some laundry. When your laundry bag grabs you and tosses you out of your chair, well, something had to be done about it.

Laundry

From there it was on to Lake Dardanelle State Park.

Lake Dardanelle Sign

From this point onwards you might notice that my photos look a little different. I had to buy another camera as my old D200 was not fully cooperating anymore and I also picked up a new lens.

I was using a Nikon 18-200 for all the previous pics but I really wanted to go wider so I bought a Nikon 10-24 to go with the new camera, a Nikon D7100.

I set up camp and whipped up a pair of burgers.

Burger 1

Burger 2

The next morning I rambled down the Meadowbrook Nature Trail to the Visitor Center.

Meadowbrook Nature Trail

Lake Dardanelle Visitor Center

This was one amazing Visitor Center.

Inside Visitor Center

There were fish everywhere!

Fish 1

Fish 2

Fish 3

Fish 4

And bees.

Bees

I explored the lakeshore on my way back to my site.

Lake Dardanelle

Past the fishing pier and picnic area.

Lake Dardanelle Fishing Pier

Lake Dardanelle Picnic Area

(Notice that smokestack on the horizon?)

Past the Tournament Pavilion and boat ramp.

Lake Dardanelle Pavillion

Lake Dardanelle Boat Ramp

They were having a fishing tournament while I was there the weekend before last.

Trucks

Past the beach and swimming area. (Loving that wide angle lens!)

Lake Dardanelle Beach

Lake Dardanelle Swim Area

Past the private marina and back to the campground.

Lake Dardanelle Private Marina

Lake Dardanelle Marina

Lake Dardanelle Trail

(Hmm, there’s that smokestack again. Could it be…)

Reactor 2

Why yes it is. A nuclear power plant. Imagine the sunset if that baby blows.

Reactor 3

But they have the safety precautions already ready in place in case of a meltdown.

Evacuation Route

I walked the 73 sites the next day, Sunday, after some of the crowd had left.

Lake Dardanelle Crowds

There is a small loop that juts out into the lake on a peninsula. Sites 13, 15, and 16 are near the tip.

Lake Dardanelle_013

Lake Dardanelle_015

Lake Dardanelle_016

16 is the most popular spot in the campground. The campers had just pulled out before I took that photo.

There are several gorgeous sites near the marina, numbers 36, 38, 40, and 42.

Lake Dardanelle_036

Lake Dardanelle_038

Lake Dardanelle_040

Lake Dardanelle_042

I was in the overflow area, number 62, having not made any reservations. I didn’t know this was a popular time to camp in Arkansas. I thought the campgrounds would be empty.

Lake Dardanelle_062

17 sites are in another area about 12 miles away. Much quieter and less crowded. 75 and 79 are good examples.

Lake Dardanelle_075

Lake Dardanelle_079

Last Monday I drove to Petit Jean, the first state park in Arkansas.

Petit Jean Sign

It is set high up on a rocky plateau.

Entrance Overlook 1

Real high up.

Entrance Overlook 2

I checked out the 123 sites shortly after setting up camp.

Area “A” contains 31 full hookup sites near Lake Bailey. 16 and 19 were good ones.

Petit Jean_016

Petit Jean_019

Areas B, C,, and D are across the road. I was in site 50, which is in area B.

Petit Jean_050

Not much privacy in this area. You will get to know your neighbors. Which is a good thing because mine brought me some peach cobbler cooked in a dutch oven and some delicious pot roast.

Pot Roast

C and D offer much more privacy. I  I liked 61 and 98 mainly because of their decorations.Petit Jean_061

Petit Jean_098

There is a lot going on at this park so I spent last Tuesday exploring.

4 miles east of the campground is Stout’s Point and the grave of Petit Jean.

Stout's Point View 1

Stout's Point Sign

Petit Jean Gravesite

Petit Jean Sign (2)

Interesting story.

Back at the campground I took a gander at Lake Bailey.

Lake Bailey View 1

Lake Bailey View 2

Here you will also find the four yurts, the fishing pier, and the boathouse.

Petit Jean Yurt 1

Petit Jean Fishing Pier

Petit Jean Boathouse

One mile west is the Cedar Falls Overlook Trail.

Cedar Falls Overlook Trail

But alas the falls were dry.

Cedar Falls

It is the most photographed waterfall in the state and in the spring it looks like this sign.

Overlook Sign

A little farther west is Mather Lodge.

Mather Lodge

Inside Mather Lodge

There is a nice view out the back as well as a couple of dozen cabins, some made of wood, some of stone.

View from Mather Lodge

Mather Lodge Wood Cabin

Mather Lodge Rock Cabin

I left early Wednesday morning and stopped again at Stout’s Point hoping the clouds were gone.

They were, and I got a much better view of the Arkansas River below.

Stout's in the Morning

Arkansas River

I kept driving south towards Little Rock and Maumelle Park.

Maumelle Sign

It’s 130 campsites are located at the confluence of the Maumelle and Arkansas rivers. There are 6 loops here with loop E not taking reservations.

So I stayed in E6.

Maumelle_E006

Loops A and B have some sites right on the river. My favorites were A14, A18, B20, B24, B28, and B36.

Maumelle_A014

Maumelle_A018

Maumelle_B020

Maumelle_B024

Maumelle_B028

Maumelle_B036

I made dinner in the dark.

Burger 1 (2)

Burger 2 (2)

I woke up early to catch the sun rising through the mist on the river.

Sunrise

Maumelle Sunrise

Very nice.

Maumelle River

Friday morning I headed towards Hot Springs and Lake Ouachita State Park.

Lake Ouachita Sign

There are 101 sites here on the 40,000 acre lake. 12 are walk in tent sites.

Lake Ouachita Tent Area

The 40 sites in Loop A are full hookup. I liked 4, 6, 21, and 24.

Lake Ouachita_004

Lake Ouachita_006

Lake Ouachita_021

Lake Ouachita_024

Loop B contains tent sites. I was enamored with 54 and 57 which had great views.

Lake Ouachita_054

Lake Ouachita_057

Loop C was closed for remodeling, (I still took pics), and I was in Loop D with the crazy people.

Lake Ouachita Neighbors 2

Just kidding. They were nice folk and we enjoyed a terrific sunset.

Lake Ouachita Neughbors 1

Lake Ouachita Sunset 2

Lake Ouachita Sunset 1

There are only 13 sites in this loop but 91, 92, 93, and 94 have the best views in the park.

Lake Ouachita_091

Lake Ouachita_092

Lake Ouachita_093

Lake Ouachita_094

Saturday morning I took a look at the lake before a day trip to Hot Springs National Park.

Lake Ouachita View 1

Lake Ouachita View 2

There is a beach, a full service marina, and some fancy cabins.

Lake Ouachita Beach

Lake Ouachita Marina Sign

Lake Ouachita Marina

Lake Ouachita Cabins

The National Park was less than 20 miles away.

Hot Springs Sign

There are 40 sites here, half with partial hookups. Of those, I liked 5 and 9.

Hot Springs_005

Hot Springs_009

But the sites I preferred were the basic ones alongside the creek. Here is a view of sites 37-44.

Sites 37-44 Creek View

No reservations are accepted. Sites go for $12 and $24.

Here is a look at the picnic area and the creek.

Hot Springs Picnic Area

Hot Springs Creek View

I passed through the town of Hot Springs on my way back to camp.

Downtown Hot Springs

On Monday I drove 90 miles southwest to White Oak Lake State Park.

White Oak Lake Sign

This is a smaller park with only 45 sites but is very popular. If I had arrived two days earlier on Saturday I would have found it completely full.

They were celebrating Halloween and all the campers decorated their sites and kids came around for candy.

The good weather I had been enjoying the previous 5 days was due to change on Tuesday, so I walked the campground right away.

Sites 9, 11, 12, 15, and 16 are on the shore of this 425 acre lake.

White Oak Lake_009

White Oak Lake_011

White Oak Lake_012

White Oak Lake_015

White Oak Lake_016

The leaves are starting to turn.

White Oak Lake View 1

White Oak Lake View 2

There is also a small marina and fishing pier.

White Oak Lake Marina

White Oak Lake Fishing Pier

But I was digging on the motel for quackers. Can you spot it?

Duck Inn 1

Here is a close up.

Duck Inn 2

Gotta love it.

I am writing this today (Tuesday) with the rain pouring down on my tarp. Tomorrow I will be driving 5 hours west into Texas to visit some state parks I could not check out due to the winter storms last year.

Hopefully the weather will be good because there is one big mountain I have to cross over.

Heller

But I want to leave you with an important trailering tip.

It has to do with roadkill and why I was praying for rain two weeks ago.

The animal was fairly large, maybe a woodchuck, something that size. It was right in the middle of my lane. There was traffic, so I had to drive over it, not swerve into the other lane. But I figured I had plenty of ground clearance. So I lined it up and it would have passed cleanly under my car and trailer except for one thing. The trailer’s safety chains.

Yeah.

I heard a wet thunk followed by a thwap.

I pulled over when I could.

The safety chains had picked up the carcass and flung it upwards. Bloody chunks of fur and meat decorated the Scamp’s front end. Pink ropey intestines were draped about like obscene garlands on a Christmas tree.This was way beyond paper towels. I needed to drive 60 mph through heavy rain before I would even attempt any cleanup and that is why I was so darn happy when the storm hit. Just a few chunks of gristle were still caught in the chains but the trailer was clean.

So pay attention to your ground clearance, fellow campers. Don’t forget about those low hanging chains.

Regards,

Greg

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the great info. I will be visiting Petit Jean for the 4th and will stay in one one of the yurts. Never staid in one before. I'm from Houston Texas and am very excited to see new terrain. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete