Tuesday, May 24, 2022
We are off on another adventure. This time to two more National Parks - Indiana Dunes in Indiana, created in 2019, and Isle Royal, which is on an island in Lake Superior (I think part of Minnesota.) We are thinking north = cooler temperatures too.
Very overcast as we left Spring this morning to head north to Arkansas. We will stop at Mike Freeze WMA, a bit past Little Rock and just off of I-40. We've stopped here numerous times and always find it quiet and pleasant. No amenities at all, but a nice place to park in the trees.
Uneventful ride with the usual crazy number of 18-wheelers on I30 and I40. Suprisingly, gas prices were lower in Arkansas than in Texas! We even found a $3.99 spot. A few months ago that would have been crazy high, but right now anything under $4.00 is amazing.
A short walk and some sandwiches for dinner. Quite a storm came through as we went to bed but at least it cooled things off for comfortable sleeping! We had a lovely chorus of frogs as a serenade.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Back onto I-40 this morning amid lots of rain, heavy at times for the first couple of hours. Lots of trucks too.
We turned north on 55N just before Memphis, and paralleled the Mississippi River on the Arkansas side. Didn't see much of the river, as it snakes its way along, though there was a lot of standing water so it was difficult at times to tell what was natural streams, lakes, ponds, and what was recent rainwater!
First stop, as the rain dwindled then stopped, was the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge, just for a diversion. Some pretty areas with wildflowers, and we spotted opossum, ground hog, many bluebirds, geese and other birds.
Next stop was in a small town called Wilson and the Hampson Archeological Museum State Park. Dr. James Hampson, a pioneer and amateur archeologists uncovered and preserved a great many artifacts from his property near here. 5 Centuries ago, way before Europeans arrived, about 1,000 American Indians lived in this area. Nicely done museum featured quite a few items, including tools and their signature red and white pottery (called Nodena after the Plantation where James Hampson lived and made his discoveries). Various universities have continued excavations here.
Found a few postcards for the grandkids and the ranger there filled us in on the history of the area, which is trying to establish itself as a resort area. Many of the newer shops are built in tudor style.
We stopped at Fondren Hardware in Blytheville next, for some tin snips and more zip ties should we need them down the road. No big box stores here!
We crossed the Mississipi and moved into Illinois, where we headed for the Little Grand Canyon in Shawnee National Forest.
The rain had stopped but trail was slick with wet rocks and leaves. We opted for a short trail which ended when the "trail" sign continued down a rocky area which because of the rain was a stream.
Nearby Murphysboro Lake State Park provided a nice campsite by the lake, with electricity! They also had a shower house. Very pretty area but the campsites were very close together and many were closed off. Fortunately we camped in the middle of three available sites and had no close neighbors! Some of the sites had rv's on them but no people around. We surmised that people were reserving spots for the coming Memorial Day weekend.
Lots of geese and lots of fishermen. It was extremely windy so we didn't sit outside for very long. More rain later in the evening.
The baby geese - goslings - were about half grown already!
