Spring 2024: Memphis and Little Rock

 

Wednesday, 3/30:  250 miles, parked at Tom Sawyer RV Park, West Memphis, AR.

Interstate 40 all the way.

Blue dot is us.

Tom Sawyer, site 65.

Another 4 hour drive on Interstate 40 today.  Traffic through Nashville and Memphis was heavy.  My solution for this is find a tractor trailer and follow it.  The long haul truckers always seem to know what lane to be in.  The trouble is trying to keep up with them sometimes.  :-) 

We are booked here for 3 nights.  Tom Sawyer has become one of, if not the most, favorite park to stay at.  However:

    -- most of the roads are dusty gravel

    -- the sites are not landscaped 

    -- the grass is not irrigated

    -- there is no camp store, tiki hut, or swimming pool

    -- no services, like garbage pickup and wood delivery

Sooooo, what's the appeal?  As retirees, peace and quiet on the banks of the Mississippi River with acres of grass to walk dogs!!  It is so relaxing here watching the barge traffic and the night lights over Memphis.  And the sun rise views over the river and Memphis are stunning.   That's the appeal for us.

Evening light looking up river toward Memphis.

Evening light looking down river.

Sunrise over Memphis.

Saturday, 3/23:  136 miles, Downtown Riverside RV Park, Little Rock, AR

Downtown Riverside is a city owned park.  

Our location and showing the connecting pedestrian
bridge across the Arkansas River to the Clinton Library.

Site 65, on the banks of the Arkansas River.

 We had a short drive today at just a little over 2 hours, so we didn't leave Memphis until 11:00.  Again, like the last 4 drives, it was Interstate 40 all the way.  We arrived at Downtown Riverside Park about 1:30 to a sunny and 60 degree afternoon, and checked in for a 3 night stay.  There is not much green space, but we had no problem walking Parker, and there is a dog play yard as well.  In fact, if you just step outside of the park, there is lots of green space for dogs.  The pedestrian bridge crossing the river is right behind us and leads to the Clinton Presidential Library.  I even took Parker on a walk across the bridge to the Clinton Library.

Thats' our camper on the bottom right.

Beautiful walkway on the former railroad bridge.

Parker checking out our camper from the bridge.

We had a terrible wind and rain storm Sunday afternoon and night.  Fortunately, we were backed in by the pedestrian bridge, and it blocked most of the high wind.

Monday a visit to the President Clinton Museum and Library was on the agenda, and it was only a short 15 minute walk across the bridge. The architecture of the library is stunning. The displays were interesting, with reproductions of the cabinet meeting room and the Oval Office from the White House exactly as it was during Clinton's time. While really interesting, I didn't get the "Wow" feeling, probably because all the events displayed happened during my adult lifetime and were "old news". That said, I'm sure future generations will find it fascinating.

On a final note, this notice was displayed in most of the exhibits that displayed letters and speeches.  While it is probably necessary, it was also disappointing to not see the "real" thing.

Little Rock was a wonderful stop.  So much history here that I didn't even get to discover more of, including the case of the Little Rock Nine where President Eisenhower had to call in the National Guard to enforce integration at Central High School. More about it HERE.   Maybe next time??

Tuesday 3/26:  139 miles, parked at Sunrise RV Park, Texarkana, Arkansas.

Interstate 30 all the way.

Site B-9

This is an easy overnight stop.  There is easy access to fuel and the park is less than a mile off the Interstate.  Sure not fancy, but very, very convenient.  

Thus ends our 7 night trip in Arkansas.  Tomorrow we are off to Texas for 2 weeks.  Stay tuned.

Next Post:  San Antonio, Texas