Snow-Bound on the Road to Albuquerque - Day 3

Overnight: West Memphis, Arkansas (again)Dave's sister, Beverly, asked if we were bringing Homey-Roamy to Albuquerque for a shake-down cruise. Dave matter-of-factly stated, "No, we did that already when we went to Tampa." Boy, was he wrong!

This "cruise" has turned out to be more than a shake-down cruise; it's been a sheer challenge to mind and body. Maybe I'd go so far as to call it a dementia ward-off experience.

Unfortunately, our day started with the sad news that Dave's mom passed away Thursday night. The loss of one's parents is so difficult. But, we know she lived a long and happy life. To quote Dave's sister, "I can picture Dad, Mom, and Penny [the dog the kids had growing up] fishing in heaven, young and happy. They probably have plenty of fried chicken left in the pot, also." Need I say more!

We had made the decision on Thursday evening to stay put through Friday's winter storm and let it pass over us. We at least knew this campground. We have good TV reception and excellent WiFi. The "new" necessities of life. We had other good things we could use as well, like electricity, water, and propane. We also enjoy the unobstructed view of the tugs going up and down Ol' Miss.

Rain was predicted to begin at 5 AM, which was to be followed by snow around 7 AM. AT 4 AM, I awoke in anticipation of the coming storm, and "I" decided that because we were staying put that I should crank down the stabilizers on the trailer before the rain came in at 5 AM. Now, 4 AM is not the time to make such a decision. Nevertheless, I was determined. My hero got up and insisted on doing this dasterdly deed in the freezing cold so I wouldn't have to. What a guy! Love that pedestal he puts me on!

Friday morning at 8 AM we awoke to a clear day. No rain. No snow. So, we just sat and waited. We decided that trying to walk around the shoe-propped-up rug on the floor was a pain, so out goes the slide-out. Phew! Much more room to navigate. I got out my crocheting and started to untangle that mess that I last worked on in July. It's an aphgahn that I need to complete before Dave's Navy reunion in June. It's our raffle donation for the reunion group's fund raising. Dave busied himself on the PC and spent the day preparing as best he could for the upcoming storm. He went out and rolled up the hose that delivers water to our trailer and tucked it under the trailer to keep it a bit warmer. He also filled a bucket with water to bring in for "flushing" in case we lost the hose. The hose froze, even though we dripped water in the kitchen sink, in about an hour. We were glad we had the bucket, but forgot about needing drinking water for coffee in the morning.

At around 1 PM, the snow started, very slowly and lightly. We even wondered if we'd have much at all. Oh, so wrong!

At about 2 PM when we had moderately heavy snow, I realized that we had a 12-pack of Cokes in Dave's car and the temperature was dropping fast. So, I (yes, "I") went out in the snow and retrieved them. No sense in having frozen pop to mop up.

By 3 PM, we had about 3-in. of snow and the temperature was about 31 degrees, so we decided to crank in the slide-out as the canvas awning above it was beginning to creak from the weight of the snow. But, that turned out to be a bad idea once we got it inside. The sides and roof of the slide-out are now covered in snow and ice--all of which is now inside the trailer. But, hey, we did get the snow to roll off the awning. So, back out the slide-out went. We now busied ourselves moping up the melting snow INSIDE the trailer.

We did crank in the slide-out once more at 7 PM to get off more snow from the awning, but we are now learned and put it back out quickly. Just a wee bit of mopping up this time.

As the storm passed over us, we really began to rock 'n roll from the high winds. I honestly wondered if we'd have to call 911 during the night because we might tip. So, I put my cell phone in my pocket and slept with it all night. We retired early at 7:30 PM--not sure if from boredom or freight.

I am now adding this note on Saturday morning (3/8) to say it is calm (we stayed upright all night and glad we had the stabilizers out to keep us as fairly steady). The snow is beautiful. There is about 5-inches on the ground with several snow drifts.

As for the shake-down lesson learned--we are stuck here until the snow melts outside the room, else when we pull it in, the snow melts inside the room.

On the Road to Albuquerque - Day 2

Overnight: West Memphis, Arkansas
This morning we awoke rested and relieved that our RV troubles were over and we were on our way. We left the campground at 9 AM. We headed back toward I-20, but Dave's navigator threw him a curve and we ended up taking a scenic route through old-town Cropwell. When I finally realized my boo-boo, we headed back to I-20.

From I-20, we headed northwest on US 78. It takes a little detour through town, but then quickly turns into a brand new section of freeway called "Future I-22 Connector." It is essentially deserted except for truckers with lots of cops pulling them over and handing out roadway suveniors.

We saw several mining areas for coal and several trains below us loaded with cars filled to the brim with coal.

We stopped at a gas station and had a lucious concotion of corn dogs and chicken (well, not together--Dave had one and I had the other!). Back on the road with about 2 hours to get to Memphis, TN.

Received a phone call from Dave's sister that his mother probably won't make it more than a day or two, and we won't be there by then. But, we are continuing onward so that we can at least be there with his sister.

We arrived at Tom Sawyer's RV Park (www.tomsawyersrvpark.com)in West Memphis, Arkansas, at about 3:30 PM. It's right on the Mississippi River. (Note: In the above canned photo, we are parked on the front row, third space in from the right.) We were told when we checked in that they are expecting their winter flooding in about 6 days. The river rises up into the campground and they are getting everyone ready to leave. Also, told that we were having snow tonight.

We got set up quickly. Again, we decided not to unhook. Tonight, Dave didn't even hook up the sewer line as it's just one more thing to deal with. So, Dave hooked up the water, plugged in the electric, turned on the gas, put down the back stabilizers, and I sent out for pizza to be delivered to our trailer. What a life!! Camping and not even cooking--just can't beat that for leisure.

We took a walk down to the river's edge (only about 50 ft). Really a nice spot. The campsites are level and spacious, and they have large cement pads with picnic tables. The WiFi is right next to us on top of the shower house that also has a free washing machine area.

As we were enjoying our dinner, heard the news that the winter storm is getting worse. We are now expecting to have 3 inches or so of snow.

Dave decided to use the PC and realized that he's using it on battery, even though it's plugged in. Humm. What now?? We then began to check the plugs and realized none were working, nor was the microwave, and the TV was beginning to make a "pop" sound. After yesterday, we're getting a bit nervous. So, we decided that we'd better put the slide-out back in because the temperature is really dropping and certainly, Dave doesn't want to be outside with a hand-crank to get it back in. As I am holding the button to bring it back in, it moves slower and slower and slower. Finally, it's in, but now, nothing is working in the trailer. Lights are even dim. Heater won't heat--burr. So, I called the office and they sent someone out to see what might be the problem. If it turned out to be our trailer, we would have to break camp and get to a motel because the temperature is now down in the 40s.

Well, it was a huge relief to realize it was operator error. Seems there was a switch in the electric connector outside that needed to be flipped. Phew! What you learn by going from camp to camp is amazing. One camp has the swith on, another doesn't have a switch, and the next has it turned off.

We decided it was a good thing to leave the slide-out in because we have no idea how much snow we might get on top of the unit tonight. As it is now, all Dave has to do is unhook the water and electric, and we are ready to roll. I say, "Dave has to..." because I conveniently forgot my coat in Atlanta. Soooo sad! Heee Heee.

I'm happy here as I was able to watch American Idol tonight. There ARE priorities, ya know.

When we look outside, we see lots of tugs going up and down the river pushing barges. We have also seen several strings of larger barges. We look forward to a white-river experience in the morning!!