Trip Home, 2026, Dodging Heat

 

According to Google, these routes (above) are the routes from Sacramento area to Holiday Florida.  But I determined that this other route (below) is the best for this HOT time of the year...

This route, through Ely Nevada, is the coolest route of all those HOT HOT routes.   For instance, the night before we left Ely Nevada was at 70 degrees at 1 am compared to Needles NV, which was 100+ at 1 am.  Wendover was around 95 degrees at 1 am.  Phoenix, was 10-15 degrees hotter than Needles.  So Ely, which is along US Highway 50, was the best option, due to it higher elevation.  Indeed, the night-time temps were in the low 60's, very comfortable.  The only other option included in map 2 (below) includes a stop in Fort Smith and Pine Bluff Arkansas. 

The trip to Ely was uneventful.  Coming down the hill, as we call coming I-80 from Reno to Sacramento, was busy heading down to Sacramento, not so busy headed up toward Reno.  We got gas in Fernley, and the trip along US-50 to Ely was easy, but has a few slowdowns due to driving through some small Nevada Cities along the way.  As we neared Eureka, there was a small forest fire.  As we neared Ely, we saw there was a larger fire which looked like it could include Ely itself.

    

The fire, called the Ward Fire, burned 8,683 acres and today is around 95% contained.  When we saw it it was around 8,000 acres and 0% contained.  We stayed the night at a BLM Elk Viewing area right off US-50.  That is where we got most of the pictures above, and this picture below the next morning.

Overnight, the fire had died down, and it looked like a bunch of smoke.  Later in the day the fire blew up again, but for the most part the heart of the fire died that night.  It was the closest we were to any fires the entire trip.  Unfortunately, it blew our plans to visit Great Basin National Park was destroyed due to the heavy smoke in and around the park Monday morning...so we continued on.

      

The drive along US-50 to I-70 was nice.  Traffic was light on 50, a bit heavier on I-70.  The first two pics above are from US-50.  

        

When you get to I-70, the views get even better.  I think I-70 from Salina, Utah to Denver, Colorado, is one of the most scenic Interstate rides there is.

       

       

We got to Fruita, which is just west of Grand Junction, around 5:30, losing an hour as we entered Utah.  We stay at the Welcome Center / Rest Stop in Fruita...where they even have a free dump station for RVs.  The night temps were in the low 60's, which is very comfortable for sleeping.

 

Tuesday Morning we got a 6:30 start...the sun was coming up in front of us as we drove toward Denver. 

Glenwood Springs is right on our route, and Marcia has a Nephew who lives there and owned a Coffee Shop.  Catch the word "OWNED" ... we thought he still owned, so we stopped to surprise him.  He and his wife, who ran the bakery attached to the Coffee Shop, sold it all 3 months ago.  Oh well, we tried.

We continued on towards Denver...oh the views are just lovely.  

As we got closer to Denver, the traffic was getting very busy.  However, other than a slight delay at the Johnson Tunnel (Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel is the eastbound bore of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels on Interstate 70 in Colorado. Located about 60 miles west of Denver, it carries traffic under the Continental Divide at an elevation over 11,000 feet.) the traffic moved right along.  We continued on I-70 through the rest of Colorado and into Kansas.

Entering Kansas we soon lost another hour due to change to Central Time.  We headed on to a little town called Quinter, Kansas.  They have a large city park on the north side of town, and they encourage folks to park their RVs there at the park and spend the night...no charge.  In the picture above, we stayed on the left side of the road which does not block the road that goes through the park.  They have a Dairy Queen on the south side of the town, so we drove over there and got dinner, drove back to the park for the night.  We both were surprised at how good the DQ Burgers were.  Also, with our luck, the temps did not get above 80 all day.  In Quinter, the night temps were again in the mid-60's...our last good sleeping night!

After such a pretty drive from Utah to Denver, we did not touch the main camera again.  From Qunter we drove to the Fort Smith area and had dinner with Marcia's cousin Jim.   The temps at the Cracker Barrel where were around 75-78 degrees.  Along with the humidity, not very good to sleep with.  Turned the AC and generator off around 1 am (both of which are not conducive to sound sleep) and suffered through a warm night.

Thursday we got to Pine Bluff around 9:30, went over to the City RV Park to dump our tanks, and then enjoyed a pleasant day with Jana, who cooked a nice dinner for us before we headed out before 6 pm.  (Jana was my Reference/Genealogy Manager at the Library...she too has now retired.)  That night we were going to stay at the Arkansas Welcome Center at Lake Village.  It was 7:30 when we arrive, and it was HOT.  I figured the AC and Generator would have to run perhaps all night!  I told Marcia I would rather drive on into the night than sit under a loud AC trying to be comfortable until bedtime.  So off we drove...all the way until Midnight when we stayed at a Cracker Barrel in Hattiesburg, over 200 miles away.  Temps were warm, but I did sleep...probably out of sheer exhaustion.

Friday we got a start around 8 am towards Florida.  Getting to Pensacola around 11 am, we decided that we were not going to stop to visit Marcia's Granddaughter in Tallahassee and just drive home.  We arrived around 10 pm...nice to sleep in our "Primary Home" again! 

Overall the route we took did provide us three out of five good night's sleep.  We found ample places to sleep without paying any camping fees.  The southern route would have been impossible...the north route would be bearable, but not as good.  It also is the prettier route, in my opinion.  

At Alma near Fort Smith

In Cracker Barrel, Alma AR, parking lot...saw everyone we planned to see and more.  EVEN saw the newly remodeled Dave Burdick Watson Chapel Library and the branch manager who is a REAL sweetheart.  Sorry no pics, writing from my Kindle. 

Off early in a.m. to get through most, if not all, of Oklahoma.  The threat of bad weather is much higher for the speed than before, Sun & Mon look about the same, so we should be fine.

Hope to be in a park tomorrow and will share some pics.

Return to Arkansas - Briefly

Honestly, did not intend to get to Arkansas in two days from near Orlando...but that is how it turned out...and here is why...

Today and tomorrow, no problem.  Sunday is "Marginal", and the next three days after that are "Severe" (this is from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center).  The area of concern?  Oklahoma and Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.  So my feeling is, get out of the danger area by Sunday afternoon!  So tomorrow we are having an early lunch with our friend and one of my best staff members (she still works for the library), and then move to the Fort Smith area and have a later dinner with Marcia's relatives through her first marriage, and a good friend of both of us.  Then Sunday morning, we are "getting out of Dodge", as they say.  Just how fast can we get across Oklahoma???  We will see...I'll bet it is going to be pretty quick.  Of course, the outlook can always change...but why chance it.  The further west we get, the safer it will be.

Today we got on the road by 7:15, but had an important and costly stop to make....get gas at Buc-ee's, which is just a couple miles from the RV Park headed west.  $180 later, we had another 46 gallons in our 52 gallon tank and we were on our way.  Did not get far and the traffic came to a crawl (above).  

It was a bad one!  A pickup ate the rear-end of this 18 Wheeler.  They peeled back the cab and removed the driver door and got him/her out...no idea what the outcome was.  The backup towards Mobile on the east-bound lanes went on for a few miles...but they were diverting new traffic around the wreck on another highway.

It was one of the clearer days that I have seen going through Mobile...we got a real good shot of the Battleship Alabama as we drove by.

After we pass through Mobile we head northwest on Highway 98 to Hattiesburg.  We saw many small caravans of Mississippi National Guard headed toward Mobile.  Don't know what is up with that, but it is the start of a weekend, and it common for the Guard to do 'stuff' on weekends.

It sure was a pretty clear day today...but what you can't see is the constant wind coming out of the northwest.  Sure pushed us and others from side to side as we drove along.

Between Jackson Mississippi and Vicksburg a Fire Truck passed us, and stopped about a half mile past us.

This one did not look very good either.  The red car under the overpass had its front window shattered, and the car was beyond repair.  Looked like everyone got out of this wreck ok though.

One of my favorite Southern Cities is Vicksburg...perhaps because of my fascination with the Civil War.

We have stopped at the Welcome Center in Vicksburg many times, and today was no different.  Indy and I walked around the facility, and I got this above shot with my cell phone.  That is the mighty Mississippi River, with I-20 bridge to the left and a train bridge to the right.

We continued west into Louisiana, and turned off at Tallulah for more gas (Love's, about the same price at Buc-ee's), and then head north to Pine Bluff on U.S. Highway 65.  I always like to get a picture of Transylvania, especially that Bat on the Water Tower.  Hey, they have a brand new RV Park in Transylvania now if you wish to add that park to your list of interesting places you have spent the night!

After passing through Lake Providence, it isn't too many more miles and we are in Arkansas.  Thought about staying at Pecan Grove RV Park in Lake Village, but another look at the forecast for bad weather and I came up with plan "B", which is speed up our visits and get the heck out of Dodge.

So we are staying at the Regional Park Campground, where I lived in my 5th wheel for the final 7 years while I was the Director of the Library System.  Gwen ran it then, and she is still here...sure nice seeing that friendly face.  Now we can add another RV Park which all three of our dogs have been to!  Sorry no photos, just never thought about it.

Downstream Casino — Quapaw Nation's Link to Pine Bluff

At Downstream Casino RV Park, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma borders

When I knew we had a few days between leaving Mount Magazine and getting up to the Kansas City area I was more than happy to find that the Downstream Casino, right at the border of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, and not too many miles from the Arkansas border too.  It has a RV Park that is part of Passport America, $15 per night for water and electric with a dump station.  Was also pleased to find that you can stay one night for free if you are a “Q-Club” Member.  But I also had another reason to stay here…The Quapaw Indians, who own the casino, are a major part of Pine Bluff’s early history.  More specifically, Chief Saracen, who is buried in Pine Bluff’s St. Joseph Cemetery. 

This is an old picture of the outside of my office at the Pine Bluff Main Library.  My office was behind that red couch, and the door, decorated for Halloween by Miss Ann, the children’s librarian, was the entrance to my office.  The BLACK arrow points to the Saracen Bow and arrows.  Later they were loaned to the State Arts and Science Center and they encased them in a nice plastic case, which when returned was placed up on the wall again, case included.  As far as I know, they are still there…but I can’t promise that.  Back in the late 1700’s two children and their father were captured by the Chickasaw Indians just south of Pine Bluff.  According to Judge Pope, written in 1895: “The news was brought to Saracen. Going to the weeping mother, he said, “When the sun is so high (pointing with his hand) Saracen will bring your children. If Saracen no find them, you will see Saracen no more.” Alone and unaided, he overtook the marauding party near Arkansas Post. With Indian war whoop and tomahawk uplifted, he sprang in upon them and took the children”.  The story goes that he and other Quapaw also tracked down the father and paid a ransom for him.  Later he made the bow and arrow as a ‘toy gift’ to the children…the arrows don’t have sharp points, they are blunt.  The library ended up with them many years ago.

There is a mural in Pine Bluff which depicts the story of when the two children were rescued.  The Lake across from the County Court House is now Saracen Lake.  Attached to the lake is Saracen Landing, which is where Marcia and I got married back in 2011.  The RV park I lived in for six years is now called Saracen RV Park.  Chief Saracen has become a local saint within Pine Bluff’s History.  To top it all off…

…the Quapaw are building a casino in Pine Bluff, which should be up and going sometime in 2020.  In November 2018 the voters of Arkansas voted to allow for four casinos, one in Hot Springs at the Race Track, one in West Memphis at the Dog Track, and one in Jefferson County and one in Pope County.  So far the Quapaw have been awarded the casino in Jefferson County, but rules for operation of casinos are still progressing…but they Quapaw are ready to build, close to the Mall, as soon as everything is lined up, and they plan to call it the Saracen Casino Resort.

  

We found that for an overnight stay, or due to the holiday weekend, even a three night stay, this RV Park was just fine.  Of course, if it was full, we would not like it.  But how it is situated, the day noise is tolerable, and there is not much late night noise at all.  We purposely parked next to a patch of grass for the doggies sake, and although there were many open spots, we can’t understand why yesterday evening a trailer just had to park right next to us…but they were gone before 9:00 am.  When you arrive, you pick out your spot, go over to the Q Store (gas station/store) nearby and pay.  “IF” you need to become a Q-Club member, go to the casino first, then the store.  They have you put a receipt on your windshield, and they enter you into their computer indicating when you are to depart. 

  

The spot where Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma meet is just a tenth of a mile from the RV Park.  The Casino is in Oklahoma, the RV Park is in Missouri, and most of the Casino Parking is in Kansas.  At the Tri-State area, back in 1938 the WPA erected this rock mound monument.  Later, a survey found that they were 50 feet to far to the west, and the ground map was created where the true Tri-State meeting place is located.

As you drive up to the Casino, don’t be surprised if you see some Buffalo roaming the fields.  Back in 2011 they brought in 8 Buffalo…now it looks like they have a good 30-40 head near the Casino.  Overall, they have around 150 head of Buffalo and 500 head of Beef that they raise through the Quapaw Cattle Company, with plans to raise all their own feed for the animals, all according to an article I read dated June, 2016. 

Tomorrow we head on to the Kansas City area…