BIG LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
Day 181 – We were up by 7:15 a.m. this morning. There are no trees to hang our outdoor temperature thermometer on, so we don’t know what the temperature was. Cloudy, though, and it was pretty windy last night. We left around 9 a.m. for Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge, about 18 miles from our campground.
Day 180 – We were up at 7:15 this morning, 32 degrees, partly cloudy. It was not a good day. Do you ever have one of those days where things just seem to go wrong, no matter what you do? It was one of those days.
143 miles
WAPANOCCA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, AND STILL MORE FLOODING.
Day 179 – This is an amazing State Park – HUUUGE, as Bernie would say. We drove through it today. 7,000 acres. Big enough so that everything is spread out. Like its own city. Someone has really thought this out.
Day 178 – It was windy all night, shaking the RV, but this morning when we got up, it’d calmed down somewhat. 35 degrees & sunny. We hate having to leave Merrisach. This was a great campground last year & it is still one of our favorites. We’d like to come back for a stay longer than two nights next time.
129 miles
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
ARKANSAS, SPRING IS STARTING TO ARRIVE.
Day 176 – Beginning of Week 26. We got up at 8 a.m. this morning, 49 degrees and still raining off & on. We departed at 10:30 a.m., heading southeast to Merrisach Lake near Tichnor, AR – a campground we stayed at in 2017. But first we stopped at the health food store in Russellville and got some supplies.
191 miles
HOLLA BEND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
Day 175 – It started raining during the night and continued raining on & off for most of the day, We were up at 7:35 & 8:10 a.m., 44 degrees, light rain. A group of black vultures flew in and held court right in front of the RV. The cats were aghast.
Black Vultures, Old Post Road Park, Russelville, AR
GOOD-BYE OKLAHOMA, HELLO ARKANSAS.
Day 174 – At 7:30 this morning it was 41 degrees and sunny. The fishermen were already out in their boats. The River flows by so fast, they have some trouble fighting the current with their boats. NOT a good River for kayaking unless you are an Olympic-quality athlete!
131 miles
SEQUOYAH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.
Day 173 – We were up around 7:30 this morning, 32 degrees and sunny. The girls are on the dashboard enjoying the sun & watching the River flow by. They had their heated pads last night & were so glad we had electricity at this campground. Today we’ll explore the area and go to the Wildlife Refuge.
Day 172 – It rained most of the night and was cloudy & windy when we got up this morning, 49 degrees. We packed up and left around 10:20 a.m., heading closer to the Arkansas border.
195 miles