Tuesday 3-30 Keeping Dry

Playing in the rain

It rained through out the day and its supposed to be around for a couple of days. During our spring or fall trips it is not unusual for us to get caught in some type of weather, this isn't a problem we just get somewhere with power and plug in. We have small heaters that keep us warm. 

I got up earlier then usual, 7:20 instead of 8:00. We knew that we were going to have rain so I bagged our chairs and grill and put them away. Afterwards we got ready to go for a hike. We decided that we would do a short hike because the rain was going to come by 10:30 or so. We were ready to go by 8:00.

We hiked was for 1 hour and 45 minutes for 3.25 miles. We crossed the Gulpha Gorge Creek and picked up the orange trail (Sunset Trail to Cedar Glades Road). It was a very steep trail that went along the highway. We climbed up and down hills through trees, up and down stairs and over rocks and tree roots. The trail was very narrow and parts of it was wet. When we got to a small store we had to cross the street a couple times to get to the trail. The street was easy to cross because they had flashing crosswalk signs that light up when you push to button. The drivers were very courteous, they stopped immediately. Once across the road there was a sign that told you where you were and where Sunset Trail was. We had to take a trail along Stone Bridge Road. It was a beautiful trail that went along a creek and Fordyce Hills. Fordyce Hills was part of 1,200 acres owned by Samuel Fordyce. The land included a campground, house and pond. In 1935 the Secretary of Interior accepted the deed from the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce of 63.2 acres donated by John R. Fordyce, Samuel's son, which is now Fordyce Hills. It's a beautiful area, you can barely see the house because it's surrounded by trees. The Sunset trail is across the street from the stone bridge that goes to Fordyce Hills. We hiked about .25 mile of the Sunset trail and turned around to hike back because it was starting to sprinkle. We took the same route back to the campground. The hike was very nice and challenging. We made it back in time before the rain started.

 

 An old water mill wheel

 

A stone bridge

Larry standing on the stone bridge

A waterfall on the pond of Fordyce Hills

A bridge that goes over the pond

Not long before we left on our trip we put a new mattress in the Minnie, on top of that mattress we have a thick latex topper. Larry has been sleeping much better but his back is starting to bother him. The new mattress is firmer than the topper so we decided to switch them and see if it helps.  

After lunch the rain slowed down so I walked down to the building and paid for two more nights. Larry spent part of the day reading while played the Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Tri Peaks and 5 Pyramid). It took me 38 minutes and 38 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group.

Later in the afternoon the rain stopped so I decided to walk around the campground. I walked for an hour at 3:30 and another hour after dinner. I ended up doing 26,700 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.  

For dinner Larry barbecued Southside beef sausages. We hadn't had them for a long time. They were delicious.

Monday 3-29 Hot Springs and Hiking

Camping at Gulpha Gorge Campground

We had a beautiful Spring day with a lot of sunshine. It started out with the temperature of 36 degrees and got up to 70. It felt cooler because there was a breeze and our site backs up to Gulpha Gorge Creek. 

We started the day out by going on a 5.5 mile hike. We started off wearing a lite jacket but the hike started off with a steep uphill and it didn't take long and we took off the jackets. We started by crossing Gulpha Gorge Creek via rocks, we followed the white trail (Gulpha Gorge) up to the purple trail (Goat Rock), we hiked this trail until we got on the yellow trail (Upper Dogwood). Next we followed the green trail (Lower Dogwood) to the black trail (Floral) which took us into Hot Springs. Once in town we walked around part of Bathhouse Row and part of the Grand Promenade Scenic Walk, it is a beautiful brick walkway displaying some Hot Springs. I took pictures of the Superior Bathhouse, Hale Bathhouse and Maurice Bathhouse. The Superior was the smallest bathhouse and is now a Brewery. The Hale is the oldest surviving bathhouse. The Maurice has a 3rd floor lounge with a stone fireplace, painted mural, stain glass skylight and a great view. Most of the bathhouses are no longer bathhouses, the demand went down and it cost too much to keep them running. The National Park is in the process of restoring the exterior of a few of the bathhouses to the original front. Then they're going to lease them back out to businesses, they can use them for whatever they want to. The National Park uses the old Fordyce Bathhouse as its visitor center and museum. After walking around we headed back to the campground. We hiked the red trail (Oertel) back towards our site. Then we got back on the white trail (Gulpha Gorge), which took us back home. During our hike we saw a few deer in the trees. They were too far away to get a picture. We saw very few people on the trails. We had a super hike.

 

Superior Bathhouse built 1916

 

Hale Bathhouse built 1892

 

Maurice Bathhouse 1912

 

Larry checking out one of the hot springs on display 

 Cold Water Bottle Filling Station

 

A view of the area from the hiking trail

Hiking trail

We spent the afternoon relaxing at the campsite. Larry read. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 41 minutes and 12 seconds to complete, which put me in 9th place in my group.

Larry enjoying the campsite

I barbecued burgers for dinner. After dinner we went for a walk around the campground. Then I went for an hour hike to get some of my steps. I took the white trail (Gulpha Gorge) to the purple trail (Goat Rock) for a half a mile. This morning we hiked this trail and didn't climb the stairs to the observation overlook but this evening I did. The view was very nice. When I got back home I told Larry I did the purple trail and he was surprised because it was pretty steep. I had a great hike. I rested a bit and then I went outside and finished my steps, I ended up doing 26,500 steps. This put me in third place in my group. The rest of the evening I did some Sudoku games. We had a super day.

The steps to get to the observation point

 The observation point

  

Sunday 3-28 Hot Springs National Park

 

Camping in Hot Springs National Park

It rained through out the night. At times it rained hard but mostly it was lite. The humidity was high so we ended up sleeping with the fan on.

When Larry woke up around 6:00 the rain had stopped and he turned off the fan because the heater was on. Then he went over and took a shower. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom and put down a towel so Larry could wipe his feet off, then I went to bed. When he got back he wondered about the towel because he didn't remember it being there. I made pancakes for breakfast, they came out really good. In the Minnie I usually over cook them because I use a skillet with the flame too high.

We left the campground at about 9:30. Our next destination was Hot Springs National Park, it was only about 35 miles away. On the way out of Iron Mountain Campground Larry dumped the tanks even though we didn't need to, he also filled the fresh water tank. While I was waiting I noticed the pine trees were starting to bloom with new pine cones. They looked pretty. I never thought about how pine cones were made and it was neat to see the process. 

 

Larry dumping the tanks

New pine cones forming

We arrived at Hot Springs National Park, Gulpha Gorge Campground at 11:15. The campground works on first-come first-serve bases. We found a great site, number 23, it is right on Gulpha Gorge Creek. Before setting up camp we walked over the the park building where you use a machine to pay for your site. We were too early, you have to wait until noon before you can pay. After setting the Minnie up and having lunch we went back and paid for a couple of nights. The campground fills up very fast so you have to be there early.

The campground is very nice. Each site is full hookups with 50 and 30 amp electric, water and sewer connections. Each site has a picnic table, pedestal grill and water. The restrooms have running water but no showers. It's $30.00, if you're a senior you get it half price. There are 26 miles of hiking.

After relaxing a little bit we went on a two hour hike which took us to Hot Springs. We hiked a piece of four trails (red, white, blue and yellow). The trails were challenging because you hiked up and down. At places the trail was steep, great cardio workout. We climbed some steps, hiked switchbacks and crossed small creeks multiple times. Overall the trails were moderate. Hot Springs is a beautiful town with shops, restaurants, bathhouses and the Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center. The visitor center and bathhouses are closed due to the COVID-19. We walked by the old U.S. Army and Navy Hospital, the Hot Spring National Park Visitor Center and May Springs. We didn't walk around Hot Springs because it was too busy. We took another route back to the campground. We started taking the peak trail, where there's a big tower, then we crossed over to the yellow trail. While we were hiking back we came to a shelter where we rested. As we hiked we saw a lot of people hiking. The trails were marked very well. Some of the places where the trails intersect there are signs about the history of Hot Springs. We had a great hike.

 

Part of the hiking trail

The old Army and Navy Hospital in Hot Springs

One of the hot springs in town

Springtime in Hot Springs

The shelter we rested in

Larry read the map while resting

The Minnie in Gulpha Gorge Campground

The blocks we used to cross over Gulpha Gorge Creek

Gulpha Gorge Creek flowing behind the campground

Larry getting ready to climb the stairs during our hike

One interesting sign was about Gulpha Gorge Campground. In 1924 the Hot Springs National Park accepted a donation of 16 acres from Fordyce family, which included a rustic campground along the Gulpha Creek. The park maintenance crew cleaned the underbrush, built restrooms and roads for the public. They also cleaned and deepen an existing swimming hole but had to close it 1940 for a year because of contamination. They reopened it but had the same problem so the park service filled it in.

History of Gulpha Gorge Campground

 

Camping at Gulpha Gorge Creek in 1938

In between checking in and hiking I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Klondike Mini of 10 games. It took me 39 minutes and 1 second, which put me in 34th place in my group. I also did some Sudoku games. Larry played with the All Trail program.

For dinner Larry barbecued hamburgers. After dinner we walked around the campground for a half hour. Then I did another 45 minute walk on the red hiking trail for about 2 miles. By the end of the day I did 26,200 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

We had an outstanding day with sunshine and the temperature of 66 degrees. It was very humid, which made it feel warmer. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Saturday 3-27 Hiking Iron Mountain Blue Trail

 

Camping at Iron Mountain Campground

We had a very humid day with cloud covering. There wasn't any breeze so it made it warm.  Even so we had a great day of camping.

Larry thought there might have been a fishing tournament because he heard a lot of boats going down the lake at 7:00 am. When I got up around 8:00 I made breakfast. 

Afterwards we went on a hike, a bit more than 4 miles. We started out by taking the park road 1/2 mile to the trailhead. There was a nice sign in the parking at the trailhead that showed the hiking trails. We decided on the blue trail. We started the trail next to the sign and crossed the creek, then the trail disappeared. We walked through the bush and trees and found the trail. Larry had looked up the trail on a website called All Trails and found the blue trail. He wanted to make sure where to go. The trail took us over a creek multiple time, we had to cross it using rocks. The creek wasn't wide so it wasn't a problem. The trail took us gently up in elevation and through trees. There were rocks and tree roots so you had to be careful not to fall. Once we found the trail it was well marked with color dots on the pine trees. The trail wasn't wide and it was moderate in difficulty. The loop was 3 miles long. When we got back to the parking lot we found out that we started the trail at the wrong place. We started at the sign and we should have started at the other end of the parking lot. By the time we got back to the Minnie we were hot and tired. We had a super hike.

 

Iron Mountain Trail map 

Creek we crossed a few times

DeGray Lake from the hiking trail

 

Rocks along the trail

After resting a bit we had lunch. A little while later I went on a 40 minute walk around the campground to the other loop and boat ramp. When I started my walk I saw our neighbor walking her dog so I visited with her. Her dog is blind but gets around really well. I had a very nice walk. 

After cooling off I went over to the bathroom and took a shower. The bathrooms are setup with the showers separate from the rest of the bathroom. The showers had three stalls with knobs for both hot and cold water so you can adjust the temperature. The water pressure was good. The stalls are small but it has a small bench and a hook on the door to keep your clothes dry. It also has a sink. It was very nice and clean.

While relaxing in the Minnie I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 15 games. It took me 42 minutes and put me in 13th place in my group. I did some Sudoku games. By the end of the day I ended up doing 26,500 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. 

At 6:30 a rain storm came through with heavy rain. Larry was keeping an eye on it and thought maybe it would miss us but no such luck. We were under a tornado watch and there were reports of large hail. We were lucky we just got the rain. 

Friday 3-26 Camping on DeGray Lake

 

Smile and have fun

We had an awesome day with temperature in the 70's and a lot of sunshine. The day started out a little chilly but it warmed up nicely.

We have been customers of Discount Tires forever. We used them when we lived in Tucson and continue to this day, which is over 40 years. Over many years traveling in the Minnie we have used locations all over the US, normally for tire rotations. It's headquarters is in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company has locations in 36 states. Some of the stores are called America's Tires and others are Discount Tires. They have been successful because they sell tires at a reasonable price, great customer service and a satisfaction guarantee. 

The Minnie's tires developed a small bounce and a couple of them have a small amount of weather cracking. They are seven years old and have 43000 miles on them. Larry called Discount Tires in Mount Pleasant, Texas and asked if they had tires for the Minnie. Their computer system is outstanding, it has the customer's history of tires they have on their vehicles. Larry gave them our phone number and they found the Minnie in their system and what tires it has on it. They said they had the tires it has in stock and another brand, which was a less expensive. After getting the Minnie ready to go we went to Discount Tires for six new tires. We pulled in the parking lot, put on our masks and went inside. They got us in within a half hour, then it took about an hour to install the tires.

It was almost lunchtime when we left Discount Tires and Larry needed to fill the Minnie up with gas. There was a Murphy gas station right down the street. We filled the Minnie and then parked in the Walmart parking lot and had lunch. We finished up a Southwest salad. Then we headed to our next destination, Iron Mountain Campground on DeGray Lake. It was about 160 miles away.

Iron Mountain Campground is a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers run park on DeGray Lake in Arkansas. We didn't have a reservation but Larry knew there were openings. When we got to the gate booth no one was manning it but there was a sign that said you needed a reservation. We drove around and found a suitable site, then Larry went online and reserved the site for a couple of nights. Then we plugged the Minnie in and settled in. It was 3:30 so we just relaxed in the Minnie. 

While relaxing I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Spider and 3 Pyramid). It took me 21 minutes and 34 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group. Larry finished reading a book on his Kindle.

After dinner we went for a 35 minute walk around the park. We walked to the other loop of the park, it has a playground, which our loop doesn't. Some of the sites in both loops had a view of the lake. The park wasn't close to being full. We had a nice walk. The walk was via the park road and some of the road was very steep so by the time we got home we were a little tired.

 

DeGray Lake

The playground in the other loop

Sailboat section of the Q & R docks

 

New picnic sites

Equipment used in making new picnic sites

 

Old picnic site

After resting a bit I went for another 30 minute walk to the boat ramp and marina. The marina is huge and has three sections Q, R & S. Each session had its own parking lot. After walking around the marina I walked to the boat ramp and picnic area. The picnic area was getting a full makeover. They were putting in a nice pad to park your vehicle. The old sites had a picnic table and grill and a lot of trees. The boat ramp was an old ramp but had four lanes for launching boats. By the time I got back I was tired.

By the end of the day I had done 26,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. We had a great day.         

 

 

Thursday 3-25 Lake Bob Sandlin

 

Camping on Lake Bob Sandlin

The rain came in at 11:00 last night and stayed into the early morning. The storm wasn't as bad as the weathermen had predicted. The surrounding areas were under a tornado watch. We had some lightning and a small amount of rain. 

When Larry woke up it was still raining but it stopped a few minutes later. A couple hours later I woke up, the rain was gone but everything was still wet. We ended up staying around the house until the streets dried a bit. 

While waiting around I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Pyramid Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 7 minutes and 21 seconds, which put me in 33rd place in my group. 

Larry wrote an e-mail to a Dayle Hodge, Di Green and Terry to let them know we were going camping for a couple of weeks. They wrote back and told us to have a safe trip and have fun.

After lunch the streets were dry so we decided to start our trip. We drove 235 miles to Mount Pleasant to Lake Bob Sandlin for the night. It took us four and a half hours to get there. We drove two and four lane highways. We saw some bluebonnets in our area but when we drove through east Texas they hadn't come up yet. 

Lake Bob Sandlin has a water supply plant that is run by Titus County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1. The district has a beautiful park on the shores of Lake Bob Sandlin and you can camp for free for ten nights. A police officers comes by and checks you in. They have been having a lot of rain so there were mud puddles. You camp on the grass and the sites are not marked. Before setting the Minnie up for the night Larry walked around the grass to make sure that it was safe. The grass was hard and water free. The sites were right on the lake. The facility has a boat ramp, concrete boat trailer parking area and restrooms (the restrooms at the ramp were open). It is a very nice campground and well maintained.

After setting up the Minnie for the night we had ham sandwiches for dinner. After dinner we went for a half hour walk around the park. We walked along the shores of the lake to the boat ramp and back. We saw a lot of pelicans, ducks and geese. The geese were very noisy, especially when we got near them. The park is a great hangout for the local residents, there are a few picnic table and covered ramadas. When we got home I went on another half hour walk. I meet a cute little brown dog and she walked with me until we got to her masters. When I got home I finished doing my steps, which was 26,000 steps. This put me in 5th place in my group. We had a super travel day.

 

The geese living at Lake Bob Sandlin

A small boat dock on the lake

Pelicans

Our camp site with pelicans and other water fowl on the lake

Lake Bob Sandlin with the pelicans and other water fowl on it 

The Titus County Fresh Water Supply District No.1 building

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     Sunset on Lake Bob Sandlin