Rainy Day, COOL Weather, Wreck after Wreck

 

I had set my alarm for 6:45 to wake up and start the coffee maker...but at 5:45 it was still raining, having rained much of the night.  Radar said it would be over around 7:30, so I set the alarm for 7:30.  We got up at 7:20, hit the road by 8:00.  I was so soaked (no, the rain did not stop) that I put on a dry shirt as we left the park.  I was able to back up to the car, and then move the car about 2 feet and connect to the motorhome.  It won't be disconnected until we get home.

There is maintenance being done on the lock and dam.  We knew this because Marcia's youngest brother, Skevos, use to work on lock and dams, even in Arkansas (despite living in Florida about an hour north of us).  This group of workers is the same he use to work with, he was a safety monitor.  Skevos retired from the business a couple of years ago.

From Fort Smith to Conway we saw very little rain.  The weather front was flowing from the Northwest towards the Southeast, and for the most part the roadway was nearly dry as the storm had already gone by.

Arkansas' answer to the Groom Cross...I guess they really do make things bigger in Texas.

As we get close to Russellville the Ozarks come to an end east of the mountains in this picture. 

As we got closer to Conway, the rain started to come down, fairly good rate at times.  The rain, for the most part, lasted all the way to near Memphis.  After passing Little Rock, we saw our first of many wrecks.

THANK GOODNESS Marcia missed the wreck shot.  A pickup truck slammed into the rear of an 18-Wheeler, lodged under it, and caught on fire.  I have no idea if the person or people in the pickup truck got out, but the fire department was there along with many different police departments...the back-up went on for miles.

We saw a number of trucks which went off the road.  One was buried into the trees to the right of the eastbound lanes prior to this picture above, no police at either site. 

After filling up at a Love's Country Store and Truck Stop ($3.19 per gallon), we continued another 50 miles toward Memphis and crossed over the Mississippi River along I-55.  You have to be very diligent when you take this route through Memphis, there is a very sharp right hand turn as the Interstate heads south into Mississippi.  I was happy that there was no rain, but I am more familiar with the I-40 route through Memphis than the I-55 route which goes south of Memphis.

We then went east on I-269, and the traffic was light.

Then we headed southeast on I-22 to Tupelo.  Traffic was busier than I-22, but at times it seemed empty.  We are staying at the Campground at Barnes Crossing.  Thank goodness I looked on Google Maps and saw that the campground was north of Tupelo...

...because the GPS was going to take us a good 20 miles to the west of the campground.  I called the campground and the nice lady told me that the Google Maps was the correct location.  As I was talking to her, we hit a huge traffic jam.  Having just looked at Google Maps, I saw a detour which I followed a few trucks on.  Sure enough, we got around the huge wreck on I-22 and made it to the campground just before 5 pm.  A 400 mile, all Interstate drive took 9 hours!  Wow, that took a lot out of me.  Thank goodness the weather was in the 70's the entire trip.

The park is a lovely park.  The office is surrounded by wonderful mature plant life including flowers, bushes and trees.  Sites are spaced just enough to give you some privacy, and there are many trees providing a lot of shade...which, with the cool weather, we did not need today.

Tomorrow, we will be in Florida.

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.