Day 63 – We took a morning bike ride because rain was threatening and we wanted to make sure we fit it in. We rode thru the loops of the campground and over to one of the dams built nearby. Our first priority of the day, though, was to find a place to get a large sheet of Plexiglass out here in the middle of almost nowhere. Rob located all the hardware stores/home stores in a 50 mile radius of the campground and started making phone calls. We found a store in Stuttgart, AR, about an hour away. We fed the girls and headed out, traveling through farmlands (rice is a major crop here) on small roads by tiny towns. We discovered that Stuttgart, AR is a decent-sized city and rice is KING.
Apparently Stuttgart, AR is famous for rice production and duck hunting
Stedman’s Ace Hardware in Stuttgart was located in an old section of what appeared to be a very historic town. There were village squares, small old homes, a prairie museum, an old donut shop, a poor area, etc., all intermingled between the rice industrial buildings. Trust us, you can find anything you need at Stedman’s Ace Hardware, and we not only got our large sheet of Plexiglass but some more duct tape, a hide-a-key (so that we’ll never be locked out again), a plexiglass file and a plexiglass cutter (all so Rob could shape the window to fit it tightly back into its frame), and silcone glue. Of course, as a reward for our long drive and the shopping, we had to stop for coffee and donuts at the old donut shop, a classic place where the locals were hanging out. A long conversation ensued with then wanting to know where we were from and where we were staying (“Did y’all take a drive on the dirt road to see the dam and locks?” And after seeing our car with the kayaks on top, “Oh y’all got them kayaks. D’ya know there’s gators in that Lake? You better watch out fer them”, stopping to watch our reaction of horror, but alas we weren’t appropriately frightened. “Y’all know they come out at night, dontcha?” We’re still not frightened. LOL, therefore we move on to other topics. “So that’s a drive for ya; why’re you here?” So Rob proceeds to tell them the story of our broken window, and yes, “You can get anything you want at Stedman’s Ace Hardware”, they repeat. And we were told that we should stop by the Prairie Museum because it has an original, old tractor there. LOL.) We kid you not, these people in these southern towns are absolutely charming!
The sky was darkening, and we were less concerned about the timeline on the replacement window because the glue we found was supposed to dry in less than 12 hours. It needed to be completely dry before we traveled again. On the way home from Stuttgart, we found that dirt road the man in the donut shop mentioned and followed it around part of the Lake, stopping at parks to take pictures of the locks and dams. We saw a VERY large bird fly overhead, then another, then another. We found that there were 30 to 50 migrating white pelicans, hanging out below the dam. They were huge and have up to a 9-1/2 foot wingspan, according to the Peterson Field Guide.
Background: The campground was owned, operated, & built by the Army Corps of Engineers. The area is really beautiful. The project which led to the campground being built was huge; the land was on the Arkansas River Navigation System (ARNS) and the Corps built dams, locks, and canals to support the System. Merrisach Lake was formed from one of those dams and it’s known for its fishing. There are roads and parks along the ARNS.
We couldn’t put it off for any longer and returned to our campsite just as the rain started. We had to put out the awning so Rob could work on the door in the rain. Rob cut the window to a rectangular shape and then had to round the corners to fit the frame. He glued it in with silicone glue and we hoped for the best; time would tell. The glue dried in just a few hours and the next test would be when we drove to Missouri tomorrow. The Plexiglass looked as good as the original window and we had light coming through again. End of Week Nine.
All fixed with temporary plexiglass replacement window
Merrisach Lake Recreational Area, 148 Merrisach Lake Lane, Tichnor, AR 72166, (870) 548-2291 “https://www.recreation.gov/camping/merrisach-lake/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=71291″. Wonderful campground, not expensive, large sites, (details can be found in today’s and yesterday’s posts). We will definitely come back here again! And stay in Loop D. Boating, hiking, peace & quiet, biking trails around the Lake, dams & parks.
But we know that Rob is the best handy man!!!