We left Claremore on October 22nd and headed south to I-40 and then east. After 288 miles we were camped at Downtown Riverside RV Park in North Little Rock, AR.
Yes, the hookups are on the wrong side.
This place is on the Arkansas River across from Little Rock. If we came for a longer stay we would be tempted to pay for one of the river front campsites.
About 1AM the 20% chance of thunderstorms became 100% and it was a bit more of a noise and light show than we expected. After about a couple hours the thunder and lightning stopped and it just rained, hard.
We thought we were going to have an easy day but one of the jack pads came off the leveling jacks and it took us a while to figure out how to fix it. Bill definitely strained something and could feel the effects for days. It is no fun getting older and not recovering as fast from injuries.
Finally we were on our way, heading 133 miles east to Tom Sawyer's RV Park in West Memphis, AR, just across the Mississippi River from Memphis, TN.
What is that water to the left?
It is the Mississippi River. The other side of the river is Memphis, Tennessee.
We had heard about this campground for years and were finally here. We wanted to get our mail since it had ballots in it, so we were staying a week. We could spend some quality time in Memphis.
Here is our first barge photo:
A while after we were set up Jane and John came in for one night. Bill had met John in Anchorage on July 27, 2006. The four of us had such a great time getting to know each other that we ended up having an impromptu dinner together of our various leftovers. We will definitely keep in touch.
The next day, the 24th, was a beautiful day so we headed into Memphis.
Photos and video from our first day in Memphis
More barges going by in the late afternoon.
October 25th we had a very nice New Orleans meal at Deja Vu in Memphis and then headed for Sun Studio.
October 25th photos from Sun Studio
We still had time after the tour so we went back to Beale Street and looked around. Here is W.C. Handy's home.
Once we got to our car we saw the Nina and Pinta leaving on the river and took some photos. They were using engines and were quite fast. We last saw these replicas in Alabama in March 2010.
Video of the Nina and Pinta (1.50MB WMV)
Photos of videos from October 26th seeing The Peabody Ducks and Gibson Guitar Factory
Another barge coming by after we got back from Memphis.
Bill walked around the campground. That is one large fishing lure.
Looking at the area where we are camped.
A view of how we are camped.
October 28th we took a scenic drive back to Forrest City, AR, where we had lunch at the Old Sawmill. Then we drove south, crossed into Mississippi and came back north
October 28th sunset walk with Evita on the riverbank.
October 29th a very long barge went by close to the shore and it took three photos to show it all.
We really enjoyed our week here.
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