For quite a while after coming back from our trip Ed and I have been wanting to return back to Arkansas; actually, Bull Shoals. Ed and I fell in love with the natural beauty of the place, enjoyed the quiet, the crispness. Plus, the trip in August left one thing unfulfilled; the spotting of an eagle. Only way to do this was to return to Bull Shoals during the winter, betweeen our winter breaks from school.
This time, we did a little more planning. At Bull Shoals they have stationary RV's that you can rent for a pretty reasonable fee. During the fall I reserved one for three days, Dec 29th, 30th and the 31st, leaving Bull Shoals on Jan 1, 2009. So with that done, and Macaroni firmly on our dashboard, Ed and I left Sunday to stay overnight in Ruston Louisiana, then to jump off to Bull Shoals the next day.
Monday, Jan 29th.
Leaving for Bull Shoals at 8am, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up victuals to consume at Bull Shoals. The RV had everything we needed, including pots, pans, cleaning materials, all we needed to bring were linens for the beds, towels, and our personal effects. Plus, we had the advantage of a helpful device, a TomTom, loaned to me by my Dad. I had planned the trip on it, noting something interesting; it had us making a detour through a different area, actually bending south in some areas before finally bending north to Bull Shoals. However, I noted that the route shaved 38 miles off the travel time. Instead of going to Harrison, it had us going through a very rural area. Ed and I decided we'd take the chance and trust the TomTom.
I was suprised; the TomTom was very useful. I came to rely on it, especially in areas I had not seen before. However, there was one occurance I relied on it too much.
We made great time getting through Arkansas, until we were to take hwy 65 north from I-40. Ed's glasses had lost a screw and I needed to get a repair kit, so we got off in Conway Arkansas to go to the local Target. Unfortunately, they didn't have the repair kit I needed with extra screws (incredible), so I had to put it off. Getting back on the Interstate required going though a hairy furball of traffic, taking about 15 minutes, but finally we got on hwy 65. Gassing up required us to cross traffic, an even hairier furball. Getting back on the highway was even hairier, and we couldn't go left due to the heavy traffic. However, on having to go with the traffic to find a place to turn around brought us right to a Walmart that did have the repair kit I needed. Gassed up, with repair kit in hand, we went.
Hwy 65 runs north-south through Arkansas through fairly hilly country. To the west of us was hwy 7, the crazy highway we went through the heart of the Ozarks. However we only had 600 foot dropoffs here versus the 1000 foot dropoffs on hwy 7, plus the dropoffs on hwy 65 had guardrails.
Trusting the TomTom we decided to take the alternate route. We're glad we did. The scenery was beautiful, the views were interesting. Certain sections had us driving by granite bluffs 100 feet high, with the obligatory "falling rocks" signs. The road was very windey, causing me to slow to 30-40 during the trip, but who cares? We were along for the ride, and enjoyed it.
The Buffalo River. A favorite place for kayakers and canoeists, this river cuts though the Ozarks and has rises and falls that satisfy the weekend tuber and the competitive kayaker alike. On either side of the bridge the granite cliffs desend 50 feet to the river below. To the right you can pull over and go down to the river bed to dip your canoe in.
Ed and I got our funnies on this; coming from Marion County Mississippi to Marion County Arkansas. The thought of four seasons in Marion County Mississippi would be funny if it didn't snow two weeks ago in Columbia!
Made it to Bull Shoals. To the left is the lake, and is about 200 feet higher than the other side of the lake to the right. We were camping to the right. The lake on the right will lower and raise water by as much as five feet, depending on the need to send water through the generators. It's a hydroelectric dam with an enormous power station on on the other side of the lake.
Finally making it the RV, we were happily suprised; it was everything we could hope. The RV had a stove, a microwave, a TV with dish network, two full size beds, and was as comfortable as we could hope for. Plus, it had a deck and a working gas grill. I fired up the grill, made some hot dogs, and Ed and I relaxed while getting ready for the next day.
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