April, 2019
Lake Chicot State Park- This park and lake are very interesting. The lake was formed hundreds of years ago. It was, at one time, an oxbow of the Mississippi River. It was cut off from the river and became a lake- the biggest oxbow lake in North America.
We experienced our first “tornado warning”! The warning was for most of Arkansas, parts or Texas, Louisina and Alabama. The focus was on several counties around us, but fortunately there were no touchdowns anywhere near us. We were camped next to a couple from Arkansas and we asked them about the warning and what to do- they were very laid back about it and were not concerned. That made us feel better, but….we are living in a little tin can that does not need to fly to another state on a whim. We had torrential rain on and off all day, lots of loud, rumbling thunder, some visible lightning strikes and not much wind. The thunder down here is very different than back home- very long deep rumbles, very loud and almost like surround sound. We did watch a funnel drop out of the clouds at one point (miles from us) and suspected it was a potential tornado- it broke up in a few minutes and never reached the ground. So, are we safe here in the south in tornado season? We don’t know, but will be vigilant as best we can.

 
Rhylee is still not back to a night-time sleep schedule…ugh…Clare sleeps in the recliner to re-settle him every time he gets up- about once an hour. It appears he has had another minor stroke- left side again. He doesn’t seem bothered about it, just keeps pluggin along. Headed right to the lake and almost fell in because his back left leg is week, but he didn’t care- gotta taste the lake. He’s not in pain, seems content for the most part, so we just keep gently working with him.
Lake Catherine State Park, Hot Springs AR- Lovely campground of the shores of Lake Catherine- many of the lakes in Arkansas were created by damming up a river.

A nice hike to a waterfall, some geocaching and napping 😦

Hot Springs is an interesting place. The National Park Service owns the dozen or so, turn-of-the-century bathhouses as well as a large chunk of land in the hills. Two of the original bath houses are operated as such, the rest are closed or have shops in them.

Back in the day, it was the “thing” to come to Hot Springs and take in the waters. Most of the bathhouses offered a private tub bath in the waters with cooling rooms, steam boxes and lounging areas. Men and women were separated, of course. The water comes from down deep in the earth and fell as rain over 4000 years ago! It was heated by the earth, not volcanicly like other hot springs and so is pure and does not smell! It is unique and interesting, however rather touristy.
We went to Garvan Woodland Gardens- awesome gardens amidst the woods. We missed the daffodil and tulip bloom, however the azaleas and dogwoods were beautiful.

Lake Dardanelle State Park- another dammed up lake. Across the lake is Nebo Mountain State Park- a crazy, narrow road up the short mountain, only 1200 ft in elevation change, yet some of the turns were 18% grade!

We hiked a rim trail with lovely views of the valleys and “knobs”.

We watched some barges and tugs go through the lock- one can move cargo all the way to Tulsa, OK on the Arkansas River.

Buffalo National River- another one we had never heard of! In the Ozark Moutains, this river is a great place for rafting and canoeing, and some hiking- we hiked to Hideout Hollow Waterfall-

the legend has it that Jesse James and his gang hid here!
Rhylee is STILL not sleeping through the night- yes, much like newborns when you can’t wait for them to sleep all night so you can, but Rhlyee is on the other end of his life and we wonder if we can get his cicadian clock switched back! We bought him a crate to sleep in to contain him a bit, and of course he doesn’t like that (even though he spent 11 years of his life sleeping on one), so we are attempting to train him to sleep in it, but all he does is pant when the lights go down. Oh for a good night’s sleep… for all of us.
Some improvement- walks in the late afternoon and evening and a light next to his crate- and we are getting 4-5 chunks of quiet, which means SLEEP! Hurray.