42 - A Camping we will go!

So, we left Chicago and continued our somewhat southerly journey and headed to St. Louis.  About halfway there, we stopped at a rest area to heat up some lunch and started reading the signs about Route 66.  We'd forgotten about it.  I guess we should have done a little more research before we took off but we were still enjoying not having too much of an agenda. 

As we got closer to St. Louis, we found a few of the old Route 66 attractions, including the world's largest ketchup bottle and the Chain of Rocks Bridge.  The ketchup bottle wasn't that exciting but we loved the bridge which spans one mile to cross the mighty Mississippi River.  It's been closed to cars since 1970 but opened again in 1999 to pedestrians and bicycles.  The views were amazing and it was the perfect way to stretch our legs.   The bridge gets its name from the rock shoals that form the rapids below which would definitely impede any boat traffic.  However, the rapidly moving water provided a great source of water for the city.  So, these adorable castle-like structures were built to house water intake pumps.  I was completely fascinated at the idea of getting out to one of these and just thought they looked so adorable. 

 

We left the bridge and drove around to get a view of the huge locks that allow the boat traffic to navigate the river and found the town Alton, IL.  We were fascinated by an intricate mural that - what are the odds - happened to be adjacent to a local brewery!  

The next morning, we headed over to East St. Louis where we were looking for the Gateway Geyser.  The Geyer is touted as a must-see fountain whose backdrop is the St. Louis Arch.  We found the park and the fountain but unfortunately, the fountain was only operational once a day and it was hours later than we were willing to wait.  Still the view of The Arch was pretty cool!

Next, we headed over for a firsthand view of famous structure.  We were able to walk around but we were trying to social distance and reservations were required anyway, so we didn’t go up.  Besides, separately and years ago we’d both previously been up, so we were happy to just explore from terra firma.

We left The Arch, rode through town some and then headed over to see Grant’s Farm.  Grant’s Farm is home to the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses.  I’d been there years ago with my parents and sisters but Pedro had never seen it.  We found a great park just outside of town where we had another picnic lunch and then jumped on our bikes.  The park was part of a citywide paved bike path that ran right beside Grant’s Farm.  It was perfect!   A few of the horses were visible but the farm was closed to visitors.  Still, the bike ride was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.

Now, we needed to decide where to go next.  We knew we wanted to head to Arkansas where we’d hoped to do some camping and kayaking.  Our former tenants, Nathan and Whitney – their adorable daughter Elle (who was actually born in our rental house) – had given us a few ideas of places to visit in their home state.  In the interest of time and because the water level was reportedly low in the northern rivers, we decided to take the interstate towards Memphis, TN and then head into middle Arkansas.

Once again, we crossed back over the Mississippi River and we were in downtown Memphis, TN.  We parked the car and jumped on the bikes.  We found a great farmer’s market, rode along the river and found some amazing bar-b-que.  We also rode down deserted Beale Street.  We'd been to Memphis together years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the music and partying along this famous street, so it was really interesting to see it deserted.  We thoroughly enjoyed our short visit in the land of the Delta Blues.

Next, we headed to Little Rock, AR.  The capital city’s downtown was located on the Arkansas River.  After checking out the local brewery, we jumped on the bikes and took the bike path which ran along and over the river.  We also wound our way through a gorgeous sculpture park full of interesting art works.

The next morning, we headed over to the Big Dam Bridge.   Touted as the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge in North America, this bridge spans over the Arkansas river and atop the Murray Lock and Dam.   We followed the bike trail a few miles on both sides of the river and then got back in our car went searching for a spot to have lunch and launch our kayaks

 

We didn't have to drive far when we found a park and boat ramp near Lake Hamilton.  We found a great spot to heat up some leftover for lunch and launch our kayaks.  The water was absolutely perfect after a morning of biking and I enjoyed swimming alongside my kayak.  

We packed up and headed over to the campground adjacent to the Ouachita River.  We found a great campsite near the boat ramp and enjoyed our first night of camping out since before we were married - 25 plus years.   Everything was perfect!  We had the campground mostly to ourselves and we slept soundly as we enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature.  The next morning, we again launched the kayaks.  I went exploring the shorelines full of fascinating rocks and crystals while Pedro tried in vain to catch us some fresh fish for lunch.   

Next, we packed up our campsite and headed towards Hot Springs, AR.  What an absolutely adorable town!  The main street is lined with wonderful former bath houses from the golden days of hot springs medical bathing.  A couple of these are still operational – well at least were pre-COVID-19 – as modern-day spas but the one that got our attention was the one that had been converted into a brewery.   They kept all of the old architecture so the scenery was as great and as the beer.

Next, we explored the National Park – again as much as we could due to Covid-19 closures.  The national park is located completely in the middle of the town and we were able to walk several paths meandering around the streams of 140◦ natural spring water (yes, we tried to touch it) and climb up a couple flights of steps for views of town.  Another thing we loved were the various water fountains located throughout town where anyone was free to collect their own spring water.  Luckily, we had a couple of empty water jugs that we were able to fill up.  A park ranger told us that she knows people who regularly travel over 100 miles to collect the spring water as it’s still believed to have restorative properties.  We can’t comment on the medicinal value of the water but once it cooled enough for us to try, we did enjoy the slight mineral taste.

After touring town, we found our next campsite at nearby Lake Kathryn.   We got a great campsite (again mostly to ourselves) and enjoyed our newly purchased wine with our picnic dinner.   The next morning, we used our leftover chicken to make chicken and pancakes (we didn't have a waffle iron) for breakfast.  We were impressed with our inventiveness.  In addition to being on the lake, our campsite was also surrounded by some great hiking areas so we enjoyed checking out more of Arkansas’ natural beauty.   

We packed up and headed to Daisy State Park on Greeson Lake for another night of camping.  This was probably our favorite campsite of the trip.  The lake was smaller but the campsites were beautifully nestled into the woods and we again had the place mostly to ourselves.  The camp store sold bundles of wood for a camp fire so we loved that too.  We were also able to enjoy a great sunset and a walk around the lake.  Another reason we loved it so much was that Pedro managed to catch us breakfast within just a few steps of our campsite.  All in all, it was a completely perfect camping experience.

The next morning, we decided to head to the Caddo River for some kayaking.   We found an outfitter who picked us up down river and brought our kayaks back to the car.  This ended up being my absolute favorite kayaking excursion to date (despite the fact that I flipped my kayak over twice).  As we meandered down the clear water, navigated the rapids (some of us better than others), we made some new friends and Pedro caught us another fish.  This was such a great experience and we loved everything about this river.

After we finished our run down the Caddo River, we continued south and were able to get the last campsite in a campground that was primarily for RV’s.  It was very nice and comfortable but not as much fun as being in the woods.  We did meet some very nice neighbors and Pedro cooked our catch du jour for an amazing breakfast the next morning.  We definitely weren’t slumming it. 

 

Nathan and Whitney had also told us about the Crater of Diamonds State Park.  Touted as the of the very few places in the world where the public can hunt for diamonds and keep your finds.  Reluctantly, we decided to skip the park as (again, COVID-19) they were not renting any digging equipment.  Apparently the only two things we didn’t have in the car were the kitchen sink and diamond digging apparatus. 

So, we left Arkansas and drove into Louisiana and continued onto Natchez, Mississippi.  We are both fans of many of the Greg Isles' fiction books which are set in the town.  Natchez was a cute little town and we found a great picnic area downtown for lunch but decided to continue on.  At this point, we both needed to catch up with some work so we decided that if you have to be based in one place for a few days, might as well make it someplace where we can explore in our free time.  So, we headed to New Orleans.

We found a great house in the heart of everything and minutes by bike or nearby streetcar to everything.  Our host even allowed us park in the gated driveway and put our bikes in his shed (plus he had two of the most adorable dogs that we also got to love on as much as we wanted).    We rode our bikes everywhere – on both sides of the river – and managed to find some great food including the amazing etouffee’ Pedro whipped up at home.  We also kayaked a nearby tidal creek called Bayou St. John which awarded us views of the city and meandered around some pretty neighborhoods.  While we didn't do much partying, we still loved seeing the sites and were able to find some great music.    As always, we loved visiting this city and hope to get back again.

Since we'd gone almost as far south as we could, we started heading east until we reached Mobile, AL.  We’d only been to Mobile once before and very briefly so we thought it would fun to have a day or so to look around.  We found a great park with many tributes to the Mardi Gras.  Mobile claims to have the oldest continual Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.  Maybe someday, we'll join the party.  Since we were there at a much quieter time, we mostly rode our bikes around town and sought out some fabulous seafood.  

Continuing on, we decided again to avoid the interstate and took the back roads towards Gulf State Park on our quest to find someplace fun to ride bikes.  We found the park and the bike paths looked great but the weather was not cooperating so we kept going.  We drove through several adorable beachside towns just enjoying the scenery.  At this point, the weather forecast called for rain in our area for the next few days. That and the fact that Julie and Dude – my sister and brother-in-law – were staying in Rockledge for a few days was all the incentive we (i.e., MaryAnn) needed.  So, we decided to head back there so we could spend a few days with them.   We arrived pretty late that night but still Julie had left us homemade fudge (much better than silly old mints) on our pillows.

As we mentioned before, we had happily agreed to house and cat sit for Janice and Rick in Cocoa Beach for a month while they went on their adventures.  Since they were taking Bentley with them when they left, we talked him into spending a few days with us while we were in town.

After Julie and Dude left, we still had a couple of days before we were scheduled to be in Cocoa Beach so we headed back to the west coast for kayaking in a couple of Florida’s natural springs that we’d plan to visit earlier.  Our first stop was Weeki Wachee Springs.  While the famous mermaid park was temporarily closed, they were still operating the kayak launch area.  We enjoyed the 6-mile run down the stream and were happy to catch the shuttle bus back to our car.   The water was amazingly clear and the scenery was gorgeous.  We saw a small manatee, lots of birds and turtles and Pedro caught a fish (too small to keep but he still had fun).  This too was one of my favorite kayaking trips and we will definitely go back!

The next day, we headed to the Rainbow River.  This river too is an amazingly clear spring fed river.  We caught a shuttle up river and paddled against the current until we reached the mouth of the river before floating/paddling back down.  My mom loved dragonflies and I was excited when a few of them landed on me.  We were also able to catch sight of a group of otters seemingly playing in the water.  I tried so hard to get a picture but they were not very cooperative.  Pedro, however, did manage to catch a perfect largemouth bass for our dinner so we were set.  We continued on the entire length of the river and were fascinated when we reached the end of the spring fed river. We looked into the water and saw the definitive line of the crystal-clear spring water meeting the tannin-stained water of the Withlacoochee.  It wasn’t quite oil and water but it was really close.  I forgot to take any pictures but it was really fascinating to see.  This also meant the end of the line as we approached the spot where we put in.

Finally, it was time to head over to Cocoa Beach so we could hang out at Janice and Rick’s with little miss Jeep!!  We’ll fill you in on that.

 Until next post!