John left to drive to Orlando to pick up Stacha and we left the Rocky Bayou State Park to start heading west. We spent the night at the Blackwater River State Park where we had a welcome swim in the river as the weather is a little warm at the moment.
Friday 11th May
We drove all day on the I10 which is fun NOT and found a campground at Vinton in Louisianna called Niblets Bluff which was on another river.
Saturday 12th May
Travelled all day again and had our first Walmart free camp at Taylor in Texas. Moon and Cherie were coming south from Fort Worth and were going to meet us there but Moon had a slip over in the Dinosaur park and ended up at the emergency department with 9 staples in his head. So by the time we met up with each other he had the nickname of Bernie (as in Weekend at Bernie's).
Sunday 13th May
Yeah we finally got together with Moon and Cherie at Cedar Breaks State Park TX on Georgetown Lake which is just a little north and east of Austin.
Had a fun couple of days where we went to Longhorn Cavern SP which was formed by a river going through it. It was discovered and named when a rancher's longhorn cattle fell into a hole and he went in to see what had happened to them.
Now look really hard, this is a tiny bat about half the size of your thumb hanging from the roof. It didn't move one iota on the way in and the way back out. I challenged the guide to the fact that it might be dead or fake and glued to the roof but he assured me that it was real and it slows its heart rate down to 6 beats per minute which to me is almost dead. It still seemed strange to me that it was the only bat that we saw in there and usually they hang out in their thousands.
After that adventure we went for a swim at Inks Lake SP to cool off.
Monday 14th May
On Monday we went for a wander around the historic downtown district of Georgetown followed by a swim at Russel Park.
A bike ride across the dam
Of course we had to cook supper on the fire even though the temperature was still hot
Tuesday 15th May
Of course we had to cook supper on the fire even though the temperature was still hot
We left Georgetown heading NE through Waco TX on I30. What a mess, road works for over 40 miles and a few times at a standstill. We were glad to get out of there and headed to Purtis Creek SP for a bit of quiet relief and a bike ride.
Wednesday 16th May
By now we've crossed the border into Arkansas where we decided to try our luck fossicking in the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Lots of digging and sifting for not much gain but we enjoyed it anyway. We also found some neat rock shops in the little town nearby of Murfreesboro.
Sifting demonstration
Minnie had fun sorting
Here's the catch of the day
We had another 'Only in America' experience but unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me. On the way back from fossicking we ran into this couple in the park and made the mistake of talking to them. He was an ex con who'd been in jail for drug offences who was trying to run for Sheriff in his home state of Florida. Not only that but he had a plaited beard right down to his stomach and another plait down the back. He was a certified redneck republican and had it tattooed all over his back which he proudly showed us. Also he had a dead set home made wooden leg from the knee down on his right side. The only thing missing was the parrot. How all this qualifies you to be sheriff I don't know. Anyway, he and his female partner both talked at us really loudly while we stood there trying to decide which one to listen to. Hughie ended up listening to him while I listened to her. She explained to me that she was standing for the democrats while he was with the republicans so that either way they could be on a winning side and have a say in things. We finally dragged ourselves away from them and got back to the RV to laugh our heads off and to wonder did we dream all this. I was hoping to get a photo of them the next day but they left early. Never mind we will always remember them and we have one of his campaign badges to prove he was for real.
We drove up through the national forest in the Ouachita Mountains and then on to the Ozark Mountains where we camped free camped up one of the logging tracks. We hiked into a place called Pedestal Rocks which had some neat formations and caves in the escarpment.
Pedestal Rocks Ouachita Mountains
View from the top of the mountain
We camped over night up a logging trail in the Ouachita Forest, it was dark as the inside of your hat and we had fireflies all around us and it was as quiet as a church mouse
Found a lovely spot on the Little Buffalo River to cool off
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