The last thing we did before departing Branson was purchas a membership to Passport America. $49 which includes a big RV Park Directory which will be waiting for us in Rockport. Passport America parks give you 1/2 off their normal price.
We left Branson on Hwy 65 South, and finally found a restaurant just north of the Buffalo River in Arkansas.
Furguson's is a wonderful place to stop! Their food is delicious, service great and the prices very reasonable! The building is quaint and the shop inside also full of neat things. There was even room for several RV's to park! This is a real commodity we're finding!
The Scenery on Hwy 65 is beautiful. Don't expect to travel fast, it's all twisting and winding, and with the day's rain, we took it slow. 65 to 20 into Little Rock, conncecting with 30 to Texarkana, then Hwy 59 S in Texas. Yes, we finally made Texas, and we can smell the Gulf in the air. The scenery has also changed and it's very green! Oh it feels good!
Thirteen miles south of Texarkana is CR3660 (one mile past the red light) Take a right and follow the signs 5 miles back to
Cass County Park (the road is crumbling and twisty). On the way in I thought, "Oh, if this is bad, I'll never live it down!" But much to my relief and joy, it was remarkable! Water and electric hookup, and view that just goes on and on. We arrived at sunset, and it was red over the lake surrounded by thunderclouds and the promise of much much needed rain. The lake is HUGE, and it was still. We went for a walk, and sandpipers skittered and flew and called to each other. I came around a bend and startled a Great Blue Heron who took flight and croaked at me. I think I interrupted his dinner quest. He flew a big circle and landed back where he began. I made a big curve so as to not interrupt him further.
John was sitting outside at the picnic table having a toddie while I made some supper using our new induction hot plate for the first time - wow is it fast!!! Max Burton 1800watt hot plate from Amazon.com. If you're new to induction cooking, read this
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ATJL8M1R46Z9/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2ATJL8M1R46Z9
Here's the link to the hotplate itself
http://www.amazon.com/Max-Burton-6000-1800-Watt-Induction/dp/B000MVN1M6/ref=pd_sim_la_6
It really does boil water in 60 seconds. I fund that power 3 is all I needed to do my taters, greens and eggs, and also this morning John made eggs, and 3 was more than sufficient! Why induction, and what is it?? it's 83% efficient and cooks with magnetics. Gas is only 35% efficient and takes alot longer. The catch is your cookware must be magnetic. If a magnet will stick to it, it will work. We are thrilled. Were even using it to heat water for our dishes. I don't think we'll be using our propane much anymore!
So back to the picnic table. All of a sudden, he came up to the window and said - Deb, look out back! There's 15 deer out there! Darn it I missed them due to the light in the camper and the screen on the back window, but a little later I was sitting out there and with the yard light I could see 7 deer come running through! They were beautiful and graceful. We had seen tracks when we took our walk, so we knew they were around.
Peaceful - so very very peaceful. The only thing I heard was the sound of gravel under my shoes while walking, the calls of shore birds and when I got close enough, the crackling of our neighbors campfire. The rain held off until 8:30 the following morning. Just long enough to get a shower, and get back on the road. This is what we've been looking for, and we'll be back.
We stayed on Hwy 59 all day. Finding a little restaruant for breakfast wasn't easy. We finally found a little cafe
RW's Diner just over the Hwy 20 bridge on Hwy 59. The Waffle House and IHop on the other side didn't have a decent place for an RV to park, and we went in circles looking! The Diner was great though. Good service, clean, and great food at a very reasonable price. John had 2+2+2 and I had blueberry pancakes. It was all very good. We were able to pull through the hotel parking lot to get back out on the road and back to Hwy 59. There are very few pull off's on 59, and signs tell us it is the new Interstate 69 corridor, so next year it may be all under construction. Sections were badly rutted, and we hydroplaned several times. We saw 2 others in the ditch that had done the same.
Never touch the brakes if you hydroplane! One of them, a new white truck similar to ours had slammed sideways into the trees, and I think it was rather wrapped around one - the ambulance was there with the driver inside. The second one was a Semi jacknifed. What a mess. I'm grateful for a safe trip! It hasn't rained here for months, so of course, on the day we're coming through, the sky opens! It's baddly needed here, but why today? We also passed an area that was black from fire. Acres and Acres had burned and all that's left is the skeleton of pine trees, yet, green grass is beginning to poke through the char, so life will return.
New Caney came up and FM1485 appeared, and 2 miles down the road we came to our new port. Hm, this isn't tranquil. It's a busy road, and the park is packed, yet, it's surrounded by trees and there are mature trees throughout. The manager is very nice, and there is a pool - though it's too cold to use it. for 2 days, this will be fine. There was a big boom, and the lights flickered. Actually, a transformer blew, and our battery kicked in - everyone else was left in the dark. About an hour and a half later, after whipping John at Cribbage, the microwave beeped and the power was back on.
