Goodbye to Sticks and Bricks

We spent 2 months in Longview taking care of our final sticks and bricks related issues. On July 4th we had a cookout with friends Larry, Beverly, Sam, Brenda, Charlene and Dennis. Although the weather was great, we still appreciated the fact that our RV site was covered and we had shade. 
While waiting for the closing on our house, we took a car trip to Oklahoma to see the family.  The boys left for church camp a couple of days after we arrived, but we still had a great time with the family, which right now also includes 2 beautiful foster babies.  Looking forward to a longer visit later this fall.

On August 1st we said goodbye to our sticks and bricks (home) in Hallsville and closed that chapter in our lives. The following day we, along with Larry and Beverly, left for..........wait for it.........Toad Suck, AR.  For those who don't know, it's just north of Conway on the Arkansas River and home to the Ferry Lock and Dam. We had to stay there if for no other reason than to say we've stayed at "Toad Suck". Actually, we enjoyed the stay.




 It was very interesting to watch barges navigate through the locks. One of the strangest things we saw was a lady walking her pet raccoon.  Yes,  I said raccoon. 

Oh, I keep forgetting.  This is ARKANSAS. 





Sam and Brenda joined us while in Toad Suck. When we went to make the reservation for them, we were told that we had to put a "tent" on the site then come back and pay.

David had the solution with a blue tarp and some rope and soon he and Larry had erected a "tent".


 The next 2 weeks were spent at Bull Shoals State Park. This park was exceptional with full hookups, level site pads and shade. This park has won many awards for the best state park in Arkansas.

They offered talks/hikes such as Night Hike, Owl Prowl,  Bird Walk, Nature Hike and Trout Fishing Tips which we enjoyed very much.  Ones we DIDN'T attend were about snakes and eating bugs. YUCK!! 

Deer were everywhere. We had a group of 16 outside our front door one day.

 

We also had a red fox come by. The girls spent lots of time bird watching, photographing many of them. They identified around 40 different birds.  The guys had great fun fishing but not great luck until the day Larry and David rented a boat. Beverly even got in on the action when she caught her first trout, much to Larry's surprise. We toured the Bull Shoals Dam Powerhouse, strolled around the Park Visitors Center and took a Sunset Cruise on the Lake. As we said goodbye to Bull Shoals we also had to say goodbye to Sam and Brenda. They were headed to Mountain View for a couple of days and then home to take care of some business.

Red headed woodpecker



Pileated Woodpecker

Chipmunk

One evening we took a relaxing sunset cruise of the lake with our friends.

Sam and Brenda




Larry and Beverly

We headed down river to the Blue Heron Campground near Flippin and Cotter.

This is a very nice park with lots of shady places to sit and it's right on the water. Terry, the owner is super nice and told us we could "run a tab" when we checked in. That's different. Each evening we sit out at the river watching the river rise and wonder which of us will be the first to get wet. A few nights ago a group of us were sitting at the waters edge with Terry on the very edge with his back to the water. It wasn't long until he was splashing his feet in the water. We all could see the water rising on his chair and tried to tell him but he paid no attention. Well, you know what happened. The water finally got to the seat of his chair (maybe with the help of waves from a passing boat), he jumped up like his chair was on fire and we just laughed. Hey Terry!  We tried to tell you.
  
We have a few more days here and then will head to Mountain View.

Goldfinch
 

                  








We just love this RVing.