The first 3 days

We took off Friday morning, from Jacob's mom's house. We had spent our last night there, after going to a memorial for a dear family friend who had passed the previous weekend.
I could feel the anticipation in my chest, building and building. Leaving our house the day before had been harder than I thought it would be. But I knew it would be in good hands with Mark, Jacob's brother, who stayed on for us at the Dog Creek Road house.
Our first stop, Brinkley, Arkansas, was one that we found in the book. The town was extremely depressed, and I was very unsettled by it. But we had our small miracles. It was very, very hot when we pulled into the unshaded spot behind the dilapidated Days Inn. We were both regretting ditching the trailer's AC unit to save gas mileage. We unhooked, raised it up, and got back into the truck to go find a cooler spot to wait out the heat. I saw thunderclouds on the horizon, and I said a little prayer. Right then I knew it would cool down, but we wouldn't get blown away by the storm. Sure enough, when we returned to our site an hour later, the storms had grazed just south of us, but had brought a cool front, making our trailer the perfect temperature.

When we left the next morning I was not sad to see the town behind us. We got on those rough Arkansas roads, and took em to the mountains. The eastern half of the state was basically a monoculture of corn and cotton. Crop dusters flew overhead, and we closed off our vents. The towns seemed hopeless and deserted, with grain elevators hovering over the abandoned storefronts. The roads bounced our trailer so much that it broke the rack in our fridge and sent groceries flying to the floor.
As soon as we passed Little Rock, things changed for the better. The roads remained rough, but life came into the towns. As we left the Big Farmland behind, and the hills started appearing, I began to like Arkansas.
We decided that we should stop in the Ouachita (pronounced Wacheeta)Mountains for a night. We found a state park on the map, Queen Wilhemina State Park. We were bereft of cell reception or internet, but there was so much more. Like a wildlife rescue center where the folks were so friendly that they took us around and let us meet all of their rescues, most of who are going to be released after they have been rehabilitated.

There are a few lifers, like a female mountain lion, who had been born prematurely in captivity, and was going to be put down, but Tommy, the vet, talked the people who had her into letting him take her home and try to save her. Now she lives at the center and is a beautiful, loving animal. She came up to the edge of the cage, purring loudly, and let me scratch her ears. I was beside myself. There were 2 young deer who met us at the campground and followed us down to the center. One even put her nose in my hand!

There were tiny coyote pups, falcons, owls, and a baby raccoon! All the animals looked healthy and loved. The volunteers there were gracious and kind, and Cloe was hugging the girls, but was a bit cautious of the animals. She loved the big barrel of fish though, or as Scott called it, otter food
The tour was free, and we dropped a twenty into their donation box on our way out. One of the handlers came up to our RV after dinner time, just to visit for a bit.
We also met 2 very nice older couples at the campground, Rhonda and Dick, and Jim and Margarite. They were in the area for a Western dancing event, and were full of joy and enthusiasm. Rhonda was kind enough too call the fam in Franklin for us when we realized we had no signal there.

Today we arrived at Red Rock Canyon, Oklahoma. I'll write about it after we have some stories. Looks like we may be staying 2 days here. We already met a very nice couple from TN, and I love being nestled in this canyon. Tomorrow we are going into Hobart for the day, Jacob's Grannie's hometown, to pay homage and have dinner. We'll be sure to tell you all about it!