The spring time represents renewal and rebirth which is evident all around us in nature. A wonderful time of year and one we spent part of in one of our favorite states.
Current Status – Where is Shamy?
But first up where in the world are we these days. Well it turns out back to our home state of Indiana where we begin our travels four years ago. We are currently enjoying family time with son, daughter-in-law, our sweet grandson (who will turn 1 on June 18th), and the grand puppies! Who we have had lots of sleepovers with in the RV – missed having a dog around. When we arrived both of their dogs looked for Josie, they miss their friend as well.
We will be in Indianapolis for about a month. During which time we have a wedding to attend, Ryker’s first birthday, and time to visit family and friends before heading to lower and upper Michigan for the summer.
Arkansas: The Natural State
This time around marked our third visit to the natural state and I can see why it is called that. What a beauty it is. We split our time between our two favorites – Big Fir and Sam’s Throne, spending a week and a half at each before venturing on to a new stop, Land Between the Lakes. Which we loved. It will be added to the rotation for sure, especially given it’s close proximity to Indianapolis.
During our stay at Big Fir we spent a lot of time out on the water. This time exploring most of the western half of Lake Ouachita. In the past, the wind has prevented us from getting out on the kayaks much. Now with both a gas and electric motor we enjoyed several days on the water. Needless to say we showed up in Indiana with nice tans.
When we arrived the area had some flooding which was evident with part of our spot under water as opposed to last year when more land space was available. The water receded during our stay and more land was visible as you can see from the second photo. The electric campground up the road was completely closed due to flooding.
During our stay they did a controlled burn, it was still smoldering from the water. Time spent in the hammock, a trip to Hot Springs, and a few windy days on the lake rounded out our wonderful stay.
While at Sam’s Throne it was the rainy spring season but we found some dry days to explore and hike.
Camping at Sam’s Throne is a perk in itself as there is excellent hiking right from your campsite. The views are spectacular. It is quiet and dark making for the ultimate camping in the woods experience.
We always make it a point to hike out to Sam’s Throne while we are here. The hike and the views never get old. Plus it’s nice to reconnect with a familiar favorite.
To reach the top of Sam’s Throne there are some rock scrambles to navigate (the second photo is the final rock scramble to the top) but the views are worth it.
The hike below the cliffs is just as scenic with rock walls towering overhead. This is certainly a favorite camping and hiking spot for us.
However, be mindful when driving in to this spot, especially for those driving an RV. The road coming in from the north is very steep and crooked. We always take the south route in our RV. We saw a gal in a very similar size and type of RV taking the north route out. You could smell her brakes and we both thought wow she is a brave one to go that route. The photo pictured below is just one of many switchbacks and there are warning signs in both directions.
During our stay we explored some new places as we did last year. This is a place to continue coming back to as there are so many places to explore with many more on the list.
Round Top Mountain is located near the small town of Jasper. Our expectations were on the low side only because there are so many amazing places in the Ozarks. However, the hike was better than expected with some nice views of the valley and town below. This is also the site of a B-25 crash, although not much remains from the crash itself.
Bonus, Shane stumbled upon a Geo Cache at the top located at the end of rock outcropping. We signed the log book to acknowledge our find. I managed to overcome my fear of heights (for a short time) to join him on the outcropping.
And finally we made it over to a new section of the Ozarks where we found even more stunning beauty.
A campground and section of the Buffalo National River with high bluffs towering over the river. The Steel Creek Campground is not recommended for RV’s and is a popular launch spot for the Buffalo National River.
The Lost Valley trail was quite a gem. Even better than expected. We went a few days after it rained making it all the more beautiful. Waterfalls cascading over rocks. Water flowing through the natural bridge, which is normally dry except after some good rain. Plus a cave with a waterfall inside the cave. Shane was brave enough to go all the way in whereas I felt the claustrophobia kicking in and did not venture all the way to the waterfall.
This is one we will return to in the future. Something to note, no pets allowed. However, we did see some people with their well behaved dogs. I personally love the rule breakers, as I am one myself. 🙂
Last but certainly not least, Hawksbill Crag. This one was on our list last year but we ran out of time. A fairly easy to moderate hike but the views – wow! The photos do not do it justice. And yes we packed a couple of Arkansas beers to enjoy along with our nice view.
In the bottom photo, that’s me sitting on the Hawksbill Crag. You can see I am nowhere near the edge but while on it I felt like I was. My fear of heights kept me at a very safe distance from the edge.
The best pizza and spring flowers rounded out our time in the Ozarks.
The Jasper Pizza Company has the most delicious pizza. With the freshest ingredients their salads are also a delight along with homemade dressings. A must visit if you are in the area. They ran out of pizza dough and had to close early on a Saturday evening, a testament to their popularity. We returned for lunch during the week and enjoyed the hell out of their pie!
Pro Tip: Always Carry a Spare Tire for the RV
This winter was particularly a tough one in regards to tires. When it was all said and done we replaced all of the tires on the Jeep and two tires on the RV.
On our way down to Florida we had an incident, operator error, that necessitated the need for two new front tires on the Jeep. In addition to losing a wheel and tire on the back of the Jeep while towing it down the highway in North Carolina, the same day! That was a fun day. Driving along and suddenly a guy in a semi-truck pulls up next to us waving at us to pull over. We pull over and he stops to tell us we lost our wheel and tire about a mile back. Lucky for us there was a tow and repair shop just a few miles away. After driving the RV to them they had our Jeep towed back and fixed up in no time and the price was very reasonable.
Eddie, the Jeep got new shoes all around after that fun. Then we promptly had to replace one after a fluke puncture. Seriously, this was the winter of tire issues!
Then while in Florida we had a tire that needed to be replaced on the RV, however we failed to purchase a spare tire, simply slipped our minds. This oversight would come back to bite us.
After our New Orleans trip we were headed to Fort Worth, Texas to visit Shane’s aunt and uncle. However, less than two hours into our travel day the RV had a flat. No spare! The closest tire shop was 45 minutes away. We managed to find the two new tires that fit the RV right before they closed. After a 2 hour round trip drive and losing another 2 hours of finding tires and changing tires we decided to scrap the Texas visit. After a 6 + hour “travel” day with only 2 hours of actual driving we ended up spending the night in the nicest welcome center parking lot in Louisiana.
Moral of the story – always, always, always carry a spare for your RV. Otherwise wherever you have a flat you are stuck with your RV until you get another. We lucked out and were able to find tires but it cost us a lot of time. Making that travel day not so pleasant. We also lucked out with the exit we took to pull over and check the vibration we felt from the tire going flat. It happened to be a gas station with truck parking in the back. Lucky for us our RV did not have to set on the side of the highway during our trek to get tires.
I wanted to highlight this not so fun part of full time RV life. We do have a lot of fun as is evident from all the pictures I share on here. However, this lifestyle is not without its rough days. But we would not trade this life even on those off days. Our motto on the tough travel days – “work the problem”. Credit for that one goes to “The Martian”.
A Short Video Highlight From Arkansas
Enjoy a little taste of the views from Sam’s Throne and Hawksbill Crag.
Ralphie and Eddie are getting quite the sticker collection! Ralphie’s front door is officially full. Eddie still has some space to fill.
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