We got up at a reasonable hour knowing that we were pulling out after A.J. successfully completed the repairs yesterday. The water was frozen, so I had to forgo the shower and added extra deodorant, “just in case.” We went out as we usually do, wandering around this park for the very last time as I have no intentions of returning to it. Not that there is anything wrong, I could not have asked for or received more consideration because of all the various problems. Gerry went out of his way to be helpful. No, it is just time to move on as we head back to Henly. 

We wandered around but it was early and bloody cold, and we only saw a couple of other walkers before we headed back to the RV for the final preparations. I had breakfast which I shared with the dogs and then checked for any important emails and did not spend very much time on any of them.  

I turned my attention to the remaining preparation that is needed before we leave. This included putting everything away in various locations for safety as we travel. It is a bit like an earthquake inside as the RV trundles down the road and things get moved all over the place. We pretty much have it down to a fine art with a place for everything and everything in its place, sort of.

With things put away, I brought in the slides first, making sure that nothing was in the way and with the interior work completed, went outside to unhook things. Normally there are three items to hook and unhook, water, sewer, and electricity. The last one is always the first to be connected when we are setting up and the last to be disconnected. Before disconnecting the electric line, I lowered the jacks to bring the RV down on its wheels. I had done quite a bit yesterday, pulling out the wheel blocking and such to get ahead. Incidentally, the jacks can also work off the engine batteries. 

I pulled back out onto the road where it was more level to hook up the Jeep as I have found from experience that it requires to be level and square, front to back and side to side as much as possible to make it easy. I was also using the replacement Blue Ox towbar because the other one was damaged in the accident and unusable. The new one was very stiff as I pushed and pulled to get it into place. In the end, it went smoothly, and I jumped into the Jeep to disconnect the transmission using my trusty ball point pen to disengage it for towing. 

Finally, we were ready to go but before I did, I stopped over to give Gerry back the electric adapter he had loaned me and to see if I owed him for the extra night. He waved me away wishing me good luck in my travels. Hard to think that the first time we met, Mikey tried to bite him. 

We hit the road using RV Life Maps on my phone. I have tried in the past using two map finders at the same time, but it was confusing with two different operators giving me sometimes conflicting instructions even though both are using the same RV Life Maps. 

This was a comparatively short trip of about 100 miles, and we completed it in about 2.5 hours. I only got lost once and that was in town when I was directed to take a right turn. Suspicious of what appeared to be a residential area, with memories of backing into the Jeep, I drove past the turn and then had to find a spot to backtrack the RV. Luckily, I found a parking lot with an entrance and separate exit, and we were soon back on the road. 

I drove into the campground and my first impressions were that it was empty with a lot of vacant lots. The remaining ones were filled with permanent residents. Fine by me as this is just a stopover on our way back to Henly. 

The owners Mother chatted to me as the young Daughter checked me in before the Owner himself happened to walk into the office. He took over and I followed him to our allotted site dodging trees as we wove in and out. At the site, I unhooked the Jeep and then drove the RV to where the Propane Fill tank was found, and he filled it up. At least now, we can use the main heaters this evening. Maybe, I will top off the tanks before we leave as we will be using heat from here on out and the Propane built in heaters are much warmer than my electric space heaters. 
 
Back at the site, I finished setting up and an older gentleman came over commenting on how easy, automatic levelers make the job. He was impressed as I had the rig set up in no time flat. It took a bit longer to fill the water tank and then disconnect the hose ready for the overnight frost. We are still in the Ozarks, after all. 

We went out walking and found the dog park where Sandy did a complete circumference with at least a million sniffs as she slowly made her way around exploring every inch. Mikey was doing his usual guard dog duty making sure not to leave my side. We explored most of the rest of the RV park before returning to Quatro for the warmth provided by the propane heaters. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with food and television. And so, we are at another campground on this journey back to Henly. 

Written 11/19/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com 

Shady Oaks Campground, Harrison, AR Sunday Day 2 11/20/2022

 
It was so cozy in bed that I contemplated on staying there all day but knew that was not practical and crawled out. The water was frozen again but the coffee maker had enough in its tank to make that first cup of the day. 

We went out for a walk around this very nice country park. It was chilly but not freezing cold and we wandered around going wherever Sandy took us. We found a trail we had not walked before and wandered along it until it turned back into the park. 

I eventually steered her back to the RV and we settled down to read the emails. Not much was going on in that department, so I checked my grocery list to make sure that I had everything listed, well as much as I could think of. There is always something else that sneaks into the basket or something I forgot and then headed into the nearest Walmart which was 15 miles away.

I walked around and found everything I had on the list incuding the 30 amp to 50 amp adapter just in case I need one in the future. I also bought sweat pants and top, not to work out but to keep warm during this cold weather. I can put them on over my shorts as I hate wearing the jeans I have on. They are definately not the most comfortable of clothes. I loaded the cart with a couple of bottles of wine as my supply is running low only to be reminded at the cash register that it is Sunday and they do not sell alcohol on Sundays in this part of the State. I made a joke about it and put the bottles to one side before checking out. My grocery bill was almost $250.00 mainly because we had not stocked up recently because of the non-functioning fridge. 

I loaded everything in the car and then searched for a Starbucks on my phone.  The closest was 25 miles away and I nixed that idea. The drive back to the campsite was uneventful with very nice countryside already browned by the winter frosts. 

I was welcomed in the usual way with much excitement with a “Dad’s home” that you could almost hear spoken from both dogs. As usual, they helped with the groceries and we had them put away in no-time flat. By the way, the refrigerator was almost completely empty with only a few things left in the freezer. 

With everything in shape, we went out to wander around the park and again covered the trails and this time, finding a couple of different ones. Sandy was in her element with all the new smells. Like me, Mikey just followed along behind with the occasional burst of energy when he rushed forward to smell something extra special. Dogs are funny things… 

Back in Quatro, I put the chicken on the indoor grill for it to cook while we spent time writing in the blog. We move on tomorrow for a couple of hundred miles closer to Henly and this next stop will bring us back in Texas. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way. 

Written 11/20/2022. Read my other blogs at https://pondblog2011.com