Well, our stay in Rockport is extended a couple of days. We
thought we’d be leaving Sunday, but that didn’t happen. One of the projects
Dick was working on wasn’t at the point he, in good conscience, could leave.
So, we were still here through Tuesday.
Monday, May 2, and 72° at 7 a.m. We said farewell to friends
Ron and Kathryn, who were leaving and heading to the Houston area, Dick went to
work, and I finished last week’s blog.
That evening we had our last Panjo’s Pizza for the season,
with friends Marty and Steve. The park’s owner joined us toward the end of our
meal. We’ll miss them and all our friends while we’re away.
Dick worked again on Tuesday, while I did some preliminary
packing for our departure, scheduled for Wednesday morning. He made our
reservations at the Red Shoes RV Resort at Coushatta Resort and Casino in
Kinder, Louisiana, and at Arkabutla Corps of Engineers park in Coldwater,
Mississippi for the next 2 legs of our trip. Here’s a map of our trip from Rockport
to Mississippi.
We got away Wednesday morning by 9:30, heading east and
north to Kinder, Louisiana, just 381 miles away. (We like to keep our daily
trips to 300 miles or less, but this was a bit longer.) We arrived at Coushatta
by 5 p.m., after traveling through Houston into Louisiana. Roads were mainly
OK, but there were a few rough patches. The worst thing were the smashed
lovebugs that completely covered the front of the truck, including windshield,
and the nose of our 5th wheel. What a mess! And, they stick like
cement! We managed to clean enough off the windshield to allow us to see, but
that was about all. That would be our first project after getting set up at our
next stop.
Located just a few miles north of Kinder, Louisiana, the Red
Shoes RV Park provides full hook-ups, concrete pads, paved roads and
pull-through sites. The grounds are beautifully landscaped; there’s a large
pool…and transportation to the nearby Coushatta Casino… Later on that… We got
set up easily and just sat back to rest for the evening.
The Coushatta resort area covers acres of ground, and
includes an RV park, resort hotels, casino, a coliseum for concerts, quite a
few “chalets” (1-bedroom cottages), tennis and volleyball courts, a huge dog
park, bath houses, and a large pond. There were quite a few other large
buildings on the grounds too but we don’t know what they were.
After breakfast we decided to drive down to Jennings,
Louisiana on Wednesday to pick up a few grocery items, and stuff Dick needed
for the RV and truck. Walmart’s the place! I also got a very short haircut that
may last me a month or so. (Kinder is quite small, and doesn’t have a Walmart…)
Returning to the park, we had a quick lunch and drove
ourselves over to the casino. We obtained our players cards and headed out onto
the floor to see if Lady Luck would was on our side. Well, she was on my side
on the slots, but not so much Dick’s at the tables. He made me buy him dinner
that night…ha! We had a wonderful meal at Gumbeaux’s: steak and chicken tacos
for Dick and BBQ ribs for me. Yum-yum! We returned to the camper by 9 p.m. to
get some much needed rest before our long
trek into Mississippi and up toward Memphis.
Friday morning we got away at 9:30 a.m. Our next stop was to be at
Arkabutla Lake and the Corps of Engineers Park, just 412 miles away. The roads
were okay, but very rough in many places, and quite a few small towns, causing
slow going.
Our reservations were to be at Hernando Point on the east
side of the lake, but of course the only address we had was to the west side of
the lake to their main facility. By the time we figured that out the clock was
ticking away and evening was drawing close. And, Highway 51 north, the road we
were to take to the campground was closed due to a bridge being out caused by
flooding from the recent rains in this area. Now what?? We parked in a funeral
home drive to figure out what to do. Dick saw a fisherman up the road a piece
so he walked up to get some assistance, about ½ mile away. He was very helpful,
giving us directions on how to get to our destination. That meant getting on
Highway 55 north for another 8 miles to Hernando, Mississippi and backtracking
to the road that would take us to the campground.
We finally found our spot and got mostly set up by 6:30 p.m. I say mostly because we had issues with the bedroom slide: the slide deployed
but the bed didn’t. Good grief! Now what!!??! We took the bedding completely
apart, including mattresses, and set about figuring out how to get the bed away
from the dresser so we could maneuver around it. That sucker is heavy!! We found there were 3 wood
screws holding the bed frame to the slide wall. We did manage to lift and move
the bed back into the slide, and then I set about remaking it. By the time all
was said and done it was 8:30; we hadn’t eaten yet so a piece of toast with
cheese was our dinner. We were bushed!
We did sleep well that night, though!
The campground is set in a beautiful park-like setting on
Arkabutla Lake, with lots of trees and green space. There are 82 sites in this
area and are quite spacious, so there’s no impeding on another’s space. We had
heard that the flooding had caused very high water in the lake, so we decided
against a lakeside site, but it turns out the sites are high and not in danger
of flooding; however the beach and some of the wooded areas near some sites are under water.
As you can see from the photos the water is quite high. The beaches are closed,
as are a few sites due to close proximity to the high water. All sites have 50
Amp and water , but no sewer. There is a dump station near the entrance to
the park. As you meander through the park, your senses are assaulted with the
fragrances of honeysuckle and Syringa. Lovely.
Now a bit about Arkabutla Lake:
After a series of disastrous floods during the mid-1800s and
early 1900s, high priority was given to local flood control projects. The US
Army Corps of Engineers became the planners, designers, and builders of the
flood control projects. Much of the flooding in the Mississippi Delta region,
it was determined, was caused by the Yazoo River. Or at least the river
contributed to the problem. The Arkabutla Dam, the 2nd of the dams
built as part of the Yazoo Basin Headwater Project, was constructed on the
Coldwater River, of which Arkabutla Lake is a part. The dam was completed in
1943. One of the most important highlights of the construction project was the
relocation of the town of Coldwater, Mississippi, which now lies about 1 mile
south of its original location.
There are 3 camping areas on the lake: Dub Patton, Bayou
Point, and Hernando Point; in addition there are many day use areas. All are
beautifully maintained and overseen by park rangers and volunteers, who are
very visible. Quite a few birds are visible, as well: Cardinals, Orioles, Blue
Birds, Blue Jays, and the Mississippi Kite.
Saturday morning we took a drive in to Hernando for
breakfast at the Waffle House, and to pick up a few items at Walmart.
Afterward, on the way out of town, we stopped in the historical part of
Hernando, near the Court House, to meander through the farmer’s market (held
weekly). We discovered that the town is named for the Spanish explorer Hernando
de Soto, discoverer of the Mississippi River. Who knew? I picked up a jar of
homemade apricot jelly, and a jar of bread and butter pickles. Returning home we set up our lawn chairs and
enjoyed the serenity and beauty of the park.
Sunday morning we walked around the point for about ½ hour.
Being the weekend, most sites were occupied, many with little kids. One little
5 year-old boy in particular was very friendly, he wanted to show us his “car”
(a little electric car that played music and had lot of other features) and
jabbered on about himself and asked lots of questions of us. Funny!
Dick took a 70-mile motorcycle ride that afternoon while I
sat outside to read and knit. On his Tour
de Arkabutla he came across quite a few “gentleman farms,” large estates,
riding clubs with beautiful horses, a radio-controlled airplane club flying
their toys, and fish swimming—actually jumping—upstream to spawn. It was a
beautiful day for all the above.
It was still early when Dick returned from his ride so he
joined me outside to read and enjoy the quiet and beauty of God’s creation.
Most of the weekend campers had left, or were leaving, so we had our end of the
park pretty much to ourselves.
That’s pretty much it for this week. Drop us a line if you
care to. We’d love to hear from you. We’ll be here at Hernando Point ‘til
Friday, when we pack up again and head into Illinois to see friends Marv and
Shirl, and have work done on our camper.
Hugs ‘n’ love,
RJ and Gail
No comments:
Post a Comment