Day 8

This was the perfect day to see the Johnson Space Center for many reasons. It was a cold, drizzly day so we didn’t mind being inside. But, for some reason, apparently not everyone saw it that way, and we had the place (relatively) to ourselves. The warnings of long waits and intricate rope patterns indicated that they are used to and prepared for very large groups of people. We were able to walk right into or onto every exhibit and peruse them to our hearts’ content and at our leisure. It was also an historic day in several ways. It was the 7^th anniversary of the Columbia explosion, which happened upon reentry over Texas. This was noted by at least one of the presenters. Also, today the Obama administration came out with their 2011 budget and it includes cutting the “Constellation” projects for manned flights to the moon, Mars and beyond, which had been highlighted as the future of NASA in many ways throughout the Center. The administration is calling for more research into faster and safer rockets and less on manned space trips in the near future. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the years to come, but in the short term it will certainly mean some changes in the Center’s exhibits. We enjoyed the six hours we spent at the Space Center, which were packed full of movies, presentations, a cold and damp tram ride, and exhibits. It left us wondering how anyone could do it in less time or with the huge crowds that must often be present. As we arrived back at Lake View Resort we had a call from Betty and Herb asking if they could come and see the camper. They arrived about ten minutes later and Marv, especially, enjoyed demonstrating the clever engineering and how it closes up on the inside for an apparently curious and interested audience. We had hoped to end the day with a relaxing soak in the hot tub in the Rec. Hall but were disappointed to find, when we showed up at 9:30, that it closed at 9:00. We'll have to plan differently for tomorrow evening.

Day 7

After cramming the last bit of catching up into our final morning with Rick and Lynette, along with some fortifying coffee, Marv and I headed west across the lake to get gas at $2.34 before dropping south to Houston. It was an unremarkable drive. We stopped at a Wendy’s for a quick lunch and waited a long time behind a large group of Spanish speaking kids and adults. Just as Marv approached the front of the line, four buses of Army Reserves pulled up and unloaded, proving once again that things can always get worse. It was no problem for us, but they sure had some long waits ahead of them!! We arrived in Houston right about 4:30 and set-up at the Lake View Resort, which is the kind of RV park we usually try to avoid, but serves the purpose of being close to Houston and Betty and Herb’s, as well as convenient to the light rail system and Museum area. It has free Wi-Fi so I’m sitting in the camper journaling and blogging while Marv starts the dishes. Betty and Herb treated us to a fabulous dinner at a favorite Italian place that was quiet and nearly empty when we arrived, but was full and noisy when we left. We chatted at their place, made tentative plans to have them come see the camper and our set-up Monday evening, and have definite plans for Betty to cook us dinner on Tuesday. Such kindness from relatives whom we just don’t see often enough!

Day 6

Brrrr!! It was 24° this morning. Ugh! We lingered over coffee at Rick and Lynette’s and then went to the Route 66 Diner for a late breakfast (Marv, Lynette, and I) or early lunch (Rick). Good diner food! From there we took the Blue Line light rail downtown. We visited the “Grassy Knoll” and saw the Book Depository building window from which John F. Kennedy was shot. Despite the cold we walked around the whole area seeing Old Red, the historic County Courthouse; the “herd” of bronze long horns and cowboys making up the Cattle Drive in Pioneer Park; and the Dallas Convention Center. They were doing auditions there for America’s Got Talent and we tried to talk our way into the waiting room to watch the contestants but it didn’t work so we had to be satisfied with just observing them as they waited to go into the judges. We took the Blue Line from the Convention Center station and headed home. Dinner was at a local Italian place called Luigi’s. The day wrapped up with hockey on the NHL Network and blogging, with a lot of talking all the while.

Day 5

I am now convinced that we are bringing Michigan weather to each spot we visit! We heard thunderstorms roll through twice during the night and awoke to 37°, light rain and a prediction of light snow coming in. We left the camper at the motel and headed out to see a bit of Shreveport. There seems to be a nice historic/interpretive park but it was listed as “By appointment only” (we assume this is because it is winter time). Other than that, if you aren’t interested in Riverboat Casino gambling, the only thing to do was to visit the air museum at Barksdale Air Force base. After giving our licenses to the gate guard and being warned not to go any further than the parking lot of the museum we looked through their modest exhibits of the 2^nd Wing Battalion’s history in military aviation, which started just before World War I. I was surprised to learn that Barksdale was where George Bush was taken for safe keeping immediately after the 9/11 attacks and that from there he did his national address. It was still raining as we walked along the long row of vintage air craft including, bombers ranging from a WWII B24 to a 1955 B52. (The B17, which the sign said was on loan, had apparently been returned.) Then we returned to hitch-up the camper and work our way towards Dallas. We had the time to meander so we took US-80, a divided highway, rather than the freeway and saw a bit of the countryside in this, our 7^th state. Because it is virtually due west of Shreveport the temps stayed nearly even most of the way and then dipped close to freezing as evening approached. We got to Rick and Lynette’s about 6:00 and spent a nice evening catching up on each other’s lives over pizza. When Marv went back out to get some things at bedtime he noted that there was a little bit of snow on the truck. Although we could do okay staying warm at sub-freezing temperatures, water in the camper would be a problem, so we were grateful that we were staying in a snug house for the weekend.

Day 4

This morning’s wake-up call was delivered at 7:30 by two lumberjacks and a chain saw taking down one of the 100 foot pine trees in the campsite across from ours. We were happy to realize that the rain hadn’t started yet and the temperature was in the low fifties. We packed up the camper and headed into Hot Springs. We drove two scenic mountain trails that we happened upon before finding the Hot Springs Visitor Center, which was just across the street from the National Park boundary and “Bathhouse Row”. We left the camper and truck parked in their lot, which had bus/RV spots, and walked down the row. There are still 6 or 7 of the bath houses, with only two still doing “Baths”, one as a modern spa and the other, with a more traditional set up, run by the National Park. Another of the old bath houses is now the Visitors’ Center and has self-guided displays on all three floors. After viewing the 15 minute video about Hot Springs and visiting all three floors, we took the sidewalk down the block a bit further, then went up to the Tufa Terrace Trail, where we could see some of the springs in their “natural state”. The water comes out of the ground at about 143°F! At the end of the trail we took the brick Grand Promenade, imagining ourselves as upper crust nineteenth century gentry, walking in our finery and schmoozing with the social elite. As we returned to the truck the temperature was dropping and we headed south. We went around Texarkana and then dropped down to Shreveport. By the time we arrived the temperature was up to 65°! After checking into a Super 8, we looked on Google maps and found a walk-able restaurant called Brothers Seafood that sounded interesting. It had great Louisiana food and we both ordered the Red Beans with Sausage. The huge platters were plenty for our lunches tomorrow, too. It had been another full day and we were now in our 7^th state.

Day 3

A nice sunrise over the lake greeted us and was a portend of sunshine for the rest of the day. We had stayed cozy all night despite temps in the low 30s. As the sun climbed so did the temperature. After a quick breakfast, we took the shortest of the three hikes that left from the same trailhead at the end of the campground. This one was called the Fall Branch Trail and was about 2 miles. It was rugged enough to make us glad we had on our hiking boots, but not as bad as the other two trials warned. It was a really lovely path beside a babbling brook that tumbled down the hill we were climbing. After we crested the hill we met up with another stream that was a little bigger and grew as it fell. We came to the waterfall about ¾ of the way along the path. It was about 20 feet high and 10 feet today, but looked in photos like it could be bigger at other times of the year. The stream and our path came out at Lake Catherine, which is a lake formed by a dam. The only point against the setting is a large plant of some sort on the shore across from the campground. Everything else is beautiful.

Having spent the morning in a natural setting, we spent the afternoon doing cultural activities. The GPS took us right to the Heifer International Headquarters in Little Rock. We explored the exhibits about the organization in the Global Village, had lunch in their “local” café, and then had a guided tour of their new LEED Platinum certified administrative building. It is very inspiring and bright with every desk benefiting from natural light in some way. From there we went to the William Clinton Presidential Library, which is right next door. We spent a couple of hours going through the extensive exhibits and replicas of the Clinton Oval Office and Cabinet Room. Next our GPS took us to Central High School, where the Little Rock 7 took their stand to end segregation. We just drove by and took a picture as it looked to be a very busy place. Then we drove by the Arkansas State Capitol, which is designed very much like the US Capitol; so much so that it is often used as a “stand in” for the one in DC. We were nearly out of time so, rather than touring it, we drove on to the Old State House, which an online guide had told us was more worthwhile. It was nice to see the renovated building which was used as the capitol between 1835 and 1911. Since then it has housed a medical school, WPA and other general office space, and other things before undergoing a complete renovation to be used as a museum. We were kicked out of there at 5:00 and headed back to the campground. Marv made spaghetti for dinner while I took a shower and washed my hair. The temperature, which had briefly reached 60°, had only fallen to 51° at 9:00. But we know that this warm weather is ushering in bitter cold temps and an ice storm tomorrow night, so we plan on breaking camp tomorrow and driving to Louisiana to avoid the worst of it and stay in a motel.

Day 2

The sun was shining brightly when we arose for a quick continental breakfast. The day was ready to prove some old adage about lemons and lemonade or best laid plans or something. The motel allowed us to leave the camper parked there while we went in to Memphis to do some sightseeing, thus giving us our 6^th state visited, so far. J We turned the last corner into the downtown and saw the very familiar Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was brutally gunned down. The hotel now houses a Civil Rights Museum, which we found is closed on Tuesdays! L There was nothing to be done but to drive to Graceland, to see if it could be viewed without taking a tour. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there is a pull-out drive alongside the grounds, where one can easily and safely take a few pictures. J It proved to be more modest than I had expected. Leaving Memphis far earlier than expected we decided to go back to get the camper and drive a less traveled road to Parkin Archeological State Park, the sign for which we had noticed at the motel exit. For several hundred years between A.D. 1250 and the early 1600s, the Parkin site was a thriving Native American community. When an expedition led by Hernando de Soto traveled through the region in June 1541, this village was home to a powerful chief who controlled over 20 smaller communities in the area. The village of around 4000 took its name, Casqui, from the chief. Now there is a visitor center with a short video explaining the village and its history, a museum of artifacts found there, and a self-guided tour of the site. It was a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the so-called Mississippian Native Americans, a group with which we were unfamiliar. J From there we rambled for a while on back roads and ate lunch at a local bar-b-que place called Mike’s Family Restaurant. Yum! J The sun was still shining and the temperature reached 52° as we drove. We got to Lake Catherine State Park later than we had expected, because it was much farther from Little Rock than Marv had calculated. L But we set-up our camper in a nearly deserted campground and were happy to have electricity so we could easily heat it up (the temperature was back into the mid-40s) and bake dinner while we walked around the campground for a bit. We enjoyed a great supper of meatloaf, sweet potato sticks and salad. We went to bed that night satisfied with how things had turned out after all.