March 18 through March 24, 2005

Friday March 18:

We were moving pretty early for us, after I tried in Walmart for more Motorcraft 5W-30 motor oil.  They had none on the shelf, and no price labels for it either ….hmmmm.  We are due for an oil change in less than 100 miles, have enough for this change, but need replacement.  We moved north and changed the oil at a convenient place. Soon we found Flying J fuel prices had come down 2 cents from those posted on line Sunday, so we topped off and dumped.  We found Baylor University's Clifton Robinson Tower staring down over I-35  as we continued north.

We leave I-35 here and head northeast toward Tyler, avoiding the traffic in Dallas. In Corsica we switched drivers in a Walmart.  I  quickly looked for oil here...no Motorcraft stock here either.  Double Hmmmmmmm....    We drove on, and on the way we heard a sharp click followed by more rattly clicks on the side of the coach.  A check in the rear view mirror revealed the cellphone antenna had fallen over and was hanging by its coax.  I blamed the lock washer I had put in a week ago, but after pulling off the road and inspecting out the window I saw the tilt hinge had failed, with stripped threads.  We have never had to tilt the antenna in 4 years, so I decided to re-mount the antenna without it, permanently.  This took 10 minutes on the roof, and we were on our way.  This drive is mainly rural, quite enjoyable to us.  Here we see a shared pasture....cattle and sheep CAN coexist on the same rangeland!

 I guess the surprising thing is PEOPLE young and old seem to coexist on that rangeland too....  :-)))  The Walmart in Tyler had no motor oil either, so I asked customer service why not.  They sent me to automotive, where the assistant manager told me that Ford did not like Walmart's discounting of their products, and had refused to supply them any more. She suggested I call Ford and express my disappointment.   I bought 4 more oil filters that still were in stock, and might call Ford if I can find the number.  I'm sure I will not go to a Ford dealer for my motor oil....so Ford will lose the sale if I cannot find another convenient source.  Dinner is pork balls and cabbage...no, NOT from road kill!!!! It's ground pork from HEB!  :-)  Claire was disappointed she could not find corned beef easily here in Texas, but it must not be popular.  She finally bought a piece from Sam's, and we'll have that soon.  I have lots of work to do on the webpage before it's ready for upload, so happily there is plenty of power from today's 210 mile drive

Saturday March 19:

The computer refused to connect to the internet when tried shortly after midnight Friday....but why am I surprised?  There was no reason it should not have connected over Kathleen's dialup connection, other than being BROKE!  I reinstalled the cellphone connection, no joy.  Reinstalled dialup networking, no joy…but then did a repair on Internet explorer, and initially it still did not work, but connected immediately after I started the Zone Alarm firewall.... I'm not sure WHAT really fixed it.   I was on line by 4AM (see why I was not eager to get into this when it did not work at Kathleen's place?  It always takes me to the depths of despair before yielding to my desperate attempts to do SOMETHING else.  GRRRRRRR, computers!!!  @#$%^^^! ).  Although the web worked fine for my financial stuff, I had trouble downloading email, as the server always timed out before the download was completed and the 400 messages deleted.  Not sure if this problem was still a bad piece of connectivity in my system, I gave up, and worked hard on the web page, thinking a new location just MIGHT fix the email problem.  We fueled before leaving Tyler around noon, then stopped at Marshall Pottery.  This is a favorite of Claire's, and we always stop when we come through the area.  She bought a few big heavy flower pots we found a place to store underneath, then mentioned there were no cat statues, although plenty of other animals....   Well, as luck would have it I found a cat lying down that reminded me of Purry...if it had a coat of black paint.  It looked like it belonged on top of his grave, so we sprung for the $10 and added 12 pounds more concrete to the burden on the motorhome springs.  :-))  We moved to Marshall's Walmart for the night, and I finished and uploaded the web page before retiring for the night around 11PM.  Claire still needs to proof it, but there will be only one file to change when she finds my grammar errors.  :-)

Sunday March 20:

 I was not really ready to arise early on Sunday, but did... another 'net day, ya know!  :-)  I saw Kathleen's message that her Dad and sons had looked for us at the Walmart in Tyler to invite us to see his ranch...but an hour or two AFTER we had left.  What a shame the email had been so messed up...  :-((  Oh well, it works MOST of the time...only messes up when it is REALLY inconvenient!  Murphy had a law about that I dimly recall from a past life....  :-)  It rained in the morning, and we left Marshall before noon. We stop in a Walmart we pass, looking for left over stock of Motorcraft oil...and predictably find none.  We do find more cheap fuel, so top off again.  Then we find an Autozone, so I drop the used motor oil for recycling.  They have two quarts of Motorcraft oil, but 80 cents more per quart than Walmart charged for the same stuff!!!  I decide to defer the decision on what to do about motor oil until closer to the time we must change it again.  Mobil offers a standard non synthetic oil that looks good, but I want to check it on line before deciding. We soon came upon a nice hard surfaced picnic area on the way; the hard surface was dry, so I decided to grease the 13 fittings on the RV chassis (6 fittings drivers side front, 3 fittings passenger side front, 4 on drive shaft).  This should be quick, but by the time I dress in grubbies, dig out the grease gun, crawl around under the RV, clean up and put away the stuff, over an hour has passed.  We arrive in Texarkana around 4PM, and cross into Arkansas to the Walmart where we had stayed last year.  We find a convenient level parking spot, and are soon joined by other RV's...we seem to draw them like a magnet...  :-)

Monday March 21:

It rained overnight…so Claire says. I know it's warm this morning, and soon more showers start.  I had collapsed in bed after our weekly phone conversation with Matt, and did not come to consciousness until after 8AM. Claire was awake reading; it's VERY unusual for her to rise before me.   Oh well, I must sleep SOMETIME…and Monday mornings are a good time for retired geezers to sleep while the rest of the world works.  :-))).  I write the log, and Claire shops briefly.  On her way out, she reports that Walmart gas has gone up 9 cents/g overnight, to $2.05/g.  YIKES!!  Glad we're about topped off.  We decide to go around 11 AM, and pull out in rain.  The Arkansas info center we had visited before is closed, so we continue 7 miles along I-30 to Flying J.  We want to shower, dump, and fill water, and fill propane in that order, so after determining the dump is working, we pull in back to shower.  The fuel price here is still $1.96 with our discount, so we decide to top that off as well. The dump takes longer than it should...in rain it always seems to keep us out longer.   The propane fill takes extra long too, as nobody really wants to come out in the rain to do it, so we wait much longer than usual, then get a hurried fill that is not as full as it could be.....and I must quickly take my handkerchief from my pocket to turn off the vent valve, which has frozen stuck open from ice forming in the humid weather; the fill tech has no gloves, burns his hand trying to close it, and stands pondering what to do next as my propane escapes to the atmosphere.... :-(((   It is the cheapest propane we've seen for a while though, and we take 7.7 gallons....almost half a tank.  Moving into cooler weather, it is wise to be above half.   When the furnace runs a lot, we can burn half a tank in several days.  It is after 2PM by the time we pull out of Flying J, and severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for our area, moving northeast.  Almost immediately we see signs for the Arkansas Info center.  They must have built a new one...and indeed it is nice!  There is room for all pamphlets to be displayed, by area of the state.  They took a page from the Texas info centers, and it makes searching yourself for items of interest VERY easy!  :-)  The previous center here depended heavily on their people recognizing what you wanted, and getting the brochures from storage areas.  This center even has free coffee...courtesy of the City of Texarkana.  I do wonder (idly) if it is Texarkana AR, Texarkana  TX, or if the city is just one, located in two states.  We continue toward Hot Springs, 100 miles away in HEAVY rain, but do not see much high wind.  SR 7 takes us across DeGray lake dam, and in good weather it would have been pretty.  Today it was not even worth taking the camera out.  We were headed for a Walmart we had stayed at before, but came upon one on the south side of Hot Springs and decided to stay here tonight.  There were "No overnight RV parking" signs posted, but we decided to ask...  The manager we talked to said she did not know, as she was new to the store, to come back in half an hour to ask Ronnie when he was back from his dinner break.  OK....first to cook dinner ourselves!  If we must move, it will be on a full stomach.  :-)  Ronnie gave permission if we stayed all the way in the extreme rear corner of the lot, and left early in the morning.  That is our plan anyway, so it works, but it does seem to strain Ronnie a bit to have us there....!  Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and some small hail came over all evening...around 9PM they issued tornado watches for counties to our south, but not us.  :-)))))))))  At some time in the night during VERY heavy rain, most of the Walmart parking lot lights went off for 30 minutes...perhaps the electrical circuits flooded, or the power went off and emergency generators kicked in?  The lights did not ALL go off, and the outage did not coincide with a lightning bolt....  

Tuesday March 22:

I was ready to leave my bed by 4:30 AM.    I've had enough sleep interruptions by thunder and heavy rain pelting on the roof……  I work the log, and other neglected computer tasks.  It is almost 60 degrees outside…no need for power for the furnace!  :-)  We prepared to move out as soon as Claire arose, before breakfast, to the Hot Springs city visitors center with RV parking. This way we avoid annoying the Walmart manager further, AND assure a parking place down town. When I moved the curtain back from the windshield, I was happy to see the state of our cactus, Spike's new bud.

 It is swelling fast, and indicates to us that the plant is happy and healthy! We already knew he felt SHARP!  :-)  We were first to arrive at the visitors center, so got the easy to drive out of end slot.  Historic Hot Springs streets and parking areas are small, being designed before big RV's.  :-)   I spoke with the visitors center folks when they opened at 9AM.  There were only two spas open to the public for walk in soaking now; the Buckstaff, and the one we'd used before, Hot Springs Health Spa.  Claire was uncertain whether she would soak today, but decided the heat would feel good when decision time came.  We decided to park the RV as close as we could get to the spa, on the street, rather than leave it parked at the visitor's center as we had last year.  This spa does not allow exits and re-entry on one admission charge, so we would stay until we were fully cooked, but might want to leave separately!  :-)  I made a couple sandwiches, and Claire took a book to occupy her during her recovery from soak times.  I did not expect a lot of those times, so felt my bathing suit and the hot water was enough to keep me happy.  This spa is not inexpensive by our "free natural hot springs" standards, but the variety of pools of varying temperatures, and the whirlpool pumps in the hotter pools downstairs made it worth the $13 each price, and we could stay as long as we wanted for that price.  The hot pool last year had been TOO hot...110 degrees at times.  This year it was 105, just right!  They warned against staying in the hot one longer than 15 minutes, and that seemed about right to me.  One nice old gent who had moved his family here from Chicago 25 years ago carefully explained how to find the right whirlpool pump switch .... I just followed the cord to the switch, and didn't have to remember anything.  :-)    I chatted with a couple from Tulsa who recommended satellite TV to keep track of severe weather.  When I questioned them on the power required by the satellite system, they said no problem, they usually use campgrounds with electricity but their 5.5 KW generator would run it fine.  :-))   I told them we run our generator an hour a day and expect all our power to come from that.  He said the satellite system was no problem, it tracked the satellite automatically whenever they stopped.  They just did not understand the concept of NOT plugging in..... they had moved from the "boondock" campground to electricity spaces at Big Bend park after one day.   I think my automatic alarm weather radio that listens continuously for an alert from the weather service, then sounds it's "wake up" siren beats having to watch TV all night...but different strokes for different folks!    They liked the 3 hour advance notice the TV gave, over one hour the National Weather Service usually gives...but I prefer being awakened by my automatic alarm just in time to seek shelter, thanks.  The full figured lady in this couple wore make up in the pool, and an eye catching bathing suit cut high, revealing her ample hip curves....  nothing at all wrong with that, quite attractive on her...BUT she was so VERY self conscious about it, throwing a towel around herself whenever she got out of the pool, that she called even more attention to it.   :-)   Again, different strokes for different folks!   I noticed folks in Park Service uniforms wandering through the Libbey intermittently, then the maintenance man appeared with a check list, looking at stuff and repairing things.  I asked him if the Park Service had made him more problems...he said "Yes, they do it all the time".   I thoroughly enjoyed the soaks, steam room, and dry sauna; neither of us used the weights or exercise machines available to us. We ate our sandwiches and bought drinks from a vending machine;  they did have some nice no sugar added "all juice" grapefruit juice...but white grape juice was the main ingredient, and the sugar.  :-) Claire left mid-afternoon to go have coffee and make dinner.  I stayed on for a couple more hours, until 4PM, when I was thinking it was about time for me to leave.  The gal on the desk came through, saying the Park Service was having a problem supplying water, and they would have to drain the pools immediately; would I please get dressed, then check at the desk on the way out.  I showered, in hot water that still flowed, and when I returned to the pool for my water bottle 10 minutes later, I found them all empty; that was quick!   I found my way to the desk where they gave us a full refund in cash, although we had paid by credit card...WOW!   This too was a free soak!!  Some days we just get lucky! :-)))  They would not give any details on the water supply problem, and were not sure when they would be open again...said to call first. They emphatically said, in answer to my question, that there was nothing WRONG with the water we had bathed in.  Not re-opening this week would NOT be so lucky for us, as that is all the time we have to spend here!   My guess at what was going on was the Park Service inspected the condition of the spa, was dissatisfied with the state of maintenance, and shut the water off to force their concessionaire running the spa to make repairs....but I have no confirmation of that theory, only $26 more in my pocket.  :-)  We moved back to the visitors center for dinner, finding one RV there already.  We prepared to eat the squash/lamb soup Claire had prepared, and around 6PM daughter Carol called from Houston; she was changing flights on the way back from her Mexican vacation she had combined with a friend's wedding there....and reported having a wonderful time.  I'm sure her return to work this morning is a bit shocking for her though....  :-)  We moved to the Walmart on Albert Pike Boulevard, found no signs restricting RV parking, and parked in the extreme rear of the lot near highway 270.  After making coffee for the morning,  I retired early....hot soaks make me sleepy!  :-))  Claire watched TV for several hours before joining me.....  There was a tiny bit of rain that was almost inaudible on the roof, but did wet the parking lot.

Wednesday March 23:

It was 44 degrees under the RV this morning, 15 degrees cooler than yesterday morning.  My fleece "snow suit" felt nice!!  Today we plan to do laundry, then tour the town, and maybe hike a bit.  It is gloomy cloudy, but we'll see what develops later.  We shopped, then found the laundromat recommended by the visitors center.  Claire went to look it over, returning with the report from the local newspaper that the Libby Health Spa has been shut down by the National Park Service for violations, and reopening was not likely to be soon.  I was not too disturbed that the park service and concessionaire were in a tug of war over the state of maintenance and preservation of the historic building, but I was a bit concerned that e-coli had been detected in the water that we had been bathing in...that explains the sudden shutdown and draining of the pools, and our cash refund.   We are always careful not to submerge our heads in hot spring water we soak in, taking to heart the caution about amoebas that can grow in western ones that have resulted in rare fatal infections.    I doubt we have any problems from e-coli here, but doubt we get to soak again during our stay in Hot Springs either. :-((   The other spas include massages and towel packs in their traditional gender segregated facilities, and price them beyond what we'll pay.  Our free soak DID have a price attached that is higher than I first thought.......  :-(((  The closing of the Libbey might have been a memorable event we participated in, but a SAD one fer sure....  hopefully it will reopen in the future, but I wonder what the 3 and 6 month members will do in the meantime?  Claire finished the laundry, and we drove downtown, finding a kiddie basketball display occupying the RV parking area...oh well, there is always the on street parking near the Libbey...I expect there will be less traffic there today.  :-(  We found a parking spot almost in front of the Libbey, and I went in to see what they would say.  The word was, "No pools open yet, but we hope to get the downstairs pools open, perhaps later today.  We're still offering massages at $26/ half hour....  can I sign you up for an appointment?"  No, thanks.....but I do take this as good news, as the downstairs pools are the hottest, have the whirlpool pumps, and are most pleasing to me.  The news article said the upstairs pools were found to be leaking and destroying plaster downstairs, so that sounds like long term repairs...they will not open again while we are still here.  We see news crews filming spots at the Libbey, and later with a Park Service person in front of their headquarters...this seems to be a dispute being negotiated in the local news....not very good news for those of us who just want to soak in the near future!  :-(  We hiked up Hot Springs mountain to the tower; the flowers are just GORGEOUS.

These redbuds are just GLOWING in the bright sunlight.

We just MUST get up close with them....they look good enough to eat like candy!!  We chatted with an RVing couple who were driving a little Geo Tracker 4 wheel drive vehicle with a tow bar on front.  It looked similar to a Suzuki Samarai I had seen earlier in the Walmart lot, which was only sold in the US  for a few years, in the early '90s, and is not easily available, so asked them about it.  They liked it, a 1994 model they bought used and towed for 45,000 miles, plus their driving use, with no trouble.  They liked the way it went over sand without sinking in, due to the light 2100 pound weight.

 They said you must climb OVER rocks in your path by putting your tires on the biggest one, rather than passing them under the low ground clearance, but they had never gotten hung up....  Theirs was a standard shift, and they towed four wheels down with the transfer case in neutral and the gear shift in second, following manufacturers instructions by running the engine for a minute every 200 miles to relube the drive train components.  This "toad" might be a good choice for us if we can find a standard shift one used.  When towing, LIGHT is only surpassed by NONE.....but none does not get us around as well as we'd really like now. :-)   We have seen much of what we can in the southwest driving only this big vehicle, bikes are no good at all in sand and on mountain dirt roads, and there is much more available to see with a 4 wheel drive car.... :-)    We perused the gift shop, then hiked back down the trail to the promenade, and found a free public hot spring we'd missed a year ago....we must be getting sloppy in our old age!   We know the visitors centers never tell folks about the FREE stuff!!

 The water gushed out at the top of a cliff, ran steaming over green algae covered "tufa" (deposits of calcium carbonate that precipitate out of the cooling mineral water), falling down to be collected in knee deep concrete pools below.  

Some folks were soaking their feet in the pools.  The water felt quite warm and inviting to me...I asked the guy soaking his feet if folks bathed in it.  He said occasionally somebody would come in a bathing suit, but it was generally understood that only foot and leg soaking was appropriate...Oh well....  :-(  I did not want to take my hiking boots off, but it was tempting!  We also wanted to tour the Fordyce spa, now a museum, built in 1915, which serves as the Park Service visitors center,  before it closed for the day.  I asked the ranger on the desk at the Fordyce about soaking in the free outside pools...he said soaking your legs and feet was ok.  I then asked about getting your whole body in...he said "the water is 143 degrees!  NO!"  It had not felt anywhere near that hot to my hand...but I take him at his word.  The guy soaking his feet did have decidedly red skin on his legs below the water line....  :-))  As I started the tour, I asked the ranger if he had any idea when the Libbey would re-open; he said "no idea" in a rather rigid tone...and refused to be drawn into any further conversation on the issue. I sense I have asked a 'taboo' question....with a forbidden answer.  :-)  The museum was interesting, if a bit bizarre, with the formidable pieces of equipment they had devised to help folks enjoy bathing and "improve" their health....like this needle shower....

I'm not sure that strong jets of water hitting all over  me would be pleasant...but then I do not enjoy pulsing shower heads either.  The Hubbard tub looks a bit  frightening...but could be more to my liking... hot SOAKS.  

 The description of it's use for "underwater treatments" does not much induce me to try it though....seems a bit too close to cruel and unusual punishment.  It was installed in 1939, in the room formerly used for mercury rubs, a once standard treatment for syphilis... YIKES!  But I recall red liquid mercurochrome as the standard treatment for open skin cuts I got as a kid too...it did not burn like iodine.  It took a long time for mercury to be recognized as a long term health hazard.  Electrical stimulation devices of several sorts were on display.

 They too looked primitive and formidable...but not that much more so than the computer controlled electrical stimulators used today for physical therapy....    There was a film on traditional style bathing as it is offered today...but it looked like the time was limited to 2 or three hours, much of it not soaking, but laying under hot towels, or cooling off, or being massaged.  The soaking part is 10 minutes in a bathtub with 100 degree water...not really HOT by my standards, but the tubs are luxuriously LARGE!  :-))

 One of these connected to a free hot water source would be NICE!  Oh well, dream on....  :-)  I do think I prefer the Libbey's unstructured approach to "taking the waters" myself!    I was surprised to learn that the Federal Government had been involved here at Hot Springs since shortly after the Louisiana purchase, when they placed the land 4 miles around the springs under federal ownership.  President Wilson created the National Park here, during the heyday of spa resorts.  The National Park service has been here "forever".... even during the pre 1950 time when Hot Springs was the nation's "Vegas"....  :-)  We were tired after the tour, and walked up hill to "home" slowly (sometimes we gotta think twice about where "home" is parked, but so far we've been lucky enough to remember on the second try).  I checked with the Libbey desk again, and the guy on the desk seemed much less upbeat than the gal had been this morning.  He said he had no idea when they would reopen....we should just call.  We moved to the same Walmart again for overnight, and enjoyed left over squash soup, enhanced with left over pork balls and cabbage, for dinner.  This turned out to be DELICIOUS;  the flavors merged very well, and after a bit of computer work, I decided I was ready for bed.  Claire decided similarly, even though TV was working well....hot soaking one day followed by a day of hiking will do that!  The pedometer had showed only 3.1 miles, but we HAD gone to the top of the mountain!  :-)  Here's proof!.....

No, we did not go up the tower...but that is all elevator anyway.  :-)  Before sleep catches us, we briefly discuss how to deal with our unexpected inability to soak here; Claire has found a National Forest campground 18 miles north with dump, water and electricity for under $8 with our golden age card.  We decide to go there tomorrow, unless the Libbey is open.  We will drive to town, check the Libbey; if it's closed I'll soak my legs in the free pool while Claire shops downtown, then we will go to the campground.  Friday we'll call to check the Libbey, and move on north through the Qzarks on scenic SR 7, toward Branson MO, if it's still closed.  If it's open, we can return to town for a final warming soak before heading into the cooler 'north country'.....

Thursday March 24:

It's 44 again under the RV at 4:30AM…it's cool inside, but heat does not seem really necessary…yet.  I returned to bed around 7, and when Claire decided to rise, asked her to start the generator and run the furnace…the chill soon came off!  Shortly after 8AM I rose a  second time to bright sunshine and a toast RV; this day is looking UP now!  I ate and we drove to town..  The gal on the desk at the Libbey said they hoped to have the downstairs pools opened this morning, and soaking would be $7.  I asked if they would also be open at that price tomorrow, and received a yes. :-))   She was not sure that the $1 off coupon was still good...  but either way it's OK!    We decided to hold with our plan for today, and go to a state park campground to clean the refrigerator today, after I soaked my legs in the free spring, and Claire shopped downtown Hot Springs.  In the cool of the morning, the steaming hot spring looked delightful.

I was quite ready to get my legs in the warming pool....  and found the spring was MUCH hotter than I had thought; no whole body soaks here!  I estimated the cooler pool was 115 degrees, and had to switch my legs from the hotter one after a few minutes...the frost was definitely OUT of my legs, and the skin was sun burn red!!

 The heat did feel good though, and the steam from the water as it cascaded down the cliff was quite picturesque.  I took a 'cool down' break, then soaked more.  Lots of folks were joining me now....

The guy soaking his feet in the center had been in the Libbey when it was closed too...and asked if we were concerned about the e-coli that had been found.  I said "not really, as we never soak our heads or swallow hot spring water, since we'd heard about the rare amoebic infection that can result from doing so in western hot springs" .  He said his kids swallow lots of water when they swim, and had been swimming in the pool...so he was concerned.   I guess I would be too under those circumstances.....  but could offer no suggestions.  I was about to conclude Claire had already gone back to the RV, and started back myself, when she appeared with a strong cup of coffee.  We were both ready to go, and shared the cup on the way.  We stopped at the Libbey, and the downstairs pools were indeed OPEN NOW!    We changed our plans to go to a slightly closer state campground south of Hot Springs, then return to town tomorrow for a full day of soaking...fewer miles driven that way.  We called the campground and found a few sites were available for one night only...that is all we want, and we drive the 13 miles to sign up, and wait half an hour for the persons occupying the site to move out.   We were in the site an hour ahead of checkout time, so had no complaint!  We proceeded to defrost the refrigerator, easier with electricity to run a fan to defrost the almost three month accumulation of ice from the heat exchangers in the freezer and fridge.  Claire finished washing the shelves and stuff just as I got the ice melted, so it worked efficiently.  Later, after the fridge is repacked and running, we walked around the campground, mystified as to why some sites are classified as "premium" extra cost ones, while others just as good (to us) are standard sites.  It must be spring break in schools here, as the campground is LOADED with kids....running, riding bikes, some on motorized scooters, but generally well behaved and not loud.  Some pickup trucks ARE loud, but they are quickly parked.!  We notice Spike's bud has opened fully...into another beautiful flower....

 I believe at least one more bud is growing...so we can look forward to future beauty shows from Spike!   Dinner is steak and pasta with a garlic onion and olive oil sauce, and a big tossed salad...quite nice!  I used the electricity to work on the log until bedtime...but it came by 8:30!  After all, the HOT leg soak DID warm me up to a sweat this morning, so I really should sleep it off......  :-)

 PLANS:  We are moving from Russellville AR to Branson MO today, Sunday, in rain, as it was doing yesterday also.  We will be in Blue Springs MO Friday morning.  In between we will see what there is to see in Branson, not miss Lambertson's southern "Thrown Roll" restaurant north just north of there, (chicken fried steak, and fried okra call to us) and watch the weather carefully.  So far it is not TOO cool, but fueling yesterday in COLD WINDY RAIN was NOT pleasant!  We have not decided what route to take home from Blue Springs (due to weather being the deciding factor), but loosely plan on being there around April 15.

Until next time, ENJOY!  We are... :-)