DALE BUMPERS WHITE RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, OR REALLY, THE ARKANSAS FLOOD.
Day 177 – We were up by 7:10 this morning, 40 degrees and sunny. There were lots of birds out & the kitties were all excited. Rob went out to take pictures, but the birds were quite skittish, and most were having no part of it. Then when the cats were back to relaxing on the heated pads, they were not skittish, and he got some pictures of them.
Dark-Eyed Junco, Merrisach Lake Park, Tichnor, AR
Java
Gracie
We left around 9 a.m. and drove northeast for almost an hour to the Visitor’s Center at Dale Bumpers White River NWR. This Refuge is huge on the map & it wasn’t obvious which roads were accessible to vehicles, We wanted to get information on where to hike, what could be found on the Refuge, & if there was an Auto Tour route. The NWR is over 160,000 acres; there are North and South Units. The biggest draw at this Refuge is hunting, followed by fishing, & we figured that was why the map didn’t show an obvious Auto Tour route.
As we approached the Refuge boundary miles before the Visitor’s Center, we noticed flooded lands on both sides of the road. One person was even launching a boat there at the side of the road. We remembered what the campground host had said about record amounts of rain during the entire month of February. The Visitor’s Center was closed when we got there – no explanation – just a note on the door that they were closed today (they are usually open Monday through Friday). We decided to try to find a couple of roads on the map in the lower part of the North Unit. Drove by where it was supposed to be, no road there. So we went to the east side of the South Unit and took that road. Flooding, big-time on both sides, then we got to a very small community, flooded. The houses not on stilts were partly under water. There was a campground – closed – under water. The road was under water at that point and we turned around. Now that we saw what kind of condition the area was in, we realized that the road going north had probably been under water. We drove back to the Visitor’s Center, stopping at the north road to get a picture of it – what was left of the road.
White River NWR, St. Charles, AR
Flooded campground, White River NWR, St. Charles, AR
Flooded road, White River NWR, St. Charles, AR
We drove back south beyond the Visitor’s Center to see if we could get anywhere on that road. No, flooded out. Then we parked at the Visitor’s Center and took a hike on the Upland Trail. At this point, we decided to give up on the NWR & headed back for almost an hour towards the campground (which is near the southwestern edge of this large Refuge). The campground host had told us that a good kayaking place was two roads south of the campground and with this flooding, we wanted to see what it looked like. Yep, you could launch a boat there, right off the road, and the fields and woods were flooded. It would be totally strange to kayak in the woods in a field. We ate our lunch there, then turned around & went back to a flooded dam & lock to get a picture of that (Norrell Lock & Dam – Lock 1). It was eerie. Dams & locks are supposed to be controlling the water flow. This is what happens when there’s so much water that they can no longer control it.
Flooded road at Norrell Lock and Dam, Arkansas River
Flooded Norrell Lock and Dam, Arkansas River
We decidcd to drive drive where we KNEW we’d find some birds – the other side of the Arkansas River at a dam (Wilbur D Mills Dam) we went to last April when we stayed here. We were shocked at how high the water was. Yet, the White Pelicans that live there were still swimming around below the dam, rough water or not. Then we drove back to the RV.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
The high earlier had been 67 degrees & sunny, a beautiful day. By the time we got back to the campground around 2 p.m., it was only 56 degrees, still sunny, but quite windy. We’d intended to take a bike ride, but the wind gusts were high – maybe later or tomorrow morning? The Lake water surrounding the campground (and controlled by Lock & Dam #2) was high and very rough, which sounds nice as it splashes on shore, but I wouldn’t want to be out in it.
Well, no bike riding. The wind gusts got worse; it’s 8 p.m. and it’s still gusting away. We did manage to do a little research in advance to plan where we’ll be staying for the next several nights. The Mississippi River is flooding and at least one of the places we’d planned on staying is currently closed. So we needed to find some alternatives. A good use of our time. Tomorrow we move on again.