JUNE 14-16: Jemison, AL to Shawnee, OK

The first day's trip was from Jemison to West Memphis, AR and Tom Sawyer's Mississippi River Park located along the shore of Old Man River.  A few weeks ago, the park was under several feet of water due to the flooding river, but this is a common occurrence and the campground crew does a great job of getting things back in order quickly. The campground is not fancy - mostly gravel sites with full hookups, in a remote location on the river side of the levee, but the big draw here is the chance to watch the river traffic passing by. Park benches are placed along the shore line enticing you to come and sit a spell, watching the ever changing water patterns, the birds and the barges, as life slows down around you.

Barge heading downstream

Barge chugging upstream

 We spent about an hour, enjoying the nice breeze, and the river, as the sun gave way to twilight.


Yesterday, we got up early and were surprised to find friends nearby (Candi & Brian) who were heading to Shawnee also. Day 2 found us traveling from West Memphis to Overland RV Park in Van Buren, AR just 5 miles from Oklahoma. Our travel was slowed by several downpours, some with high winds, a road construction delay, and a long backup near Little Rock due to an accident on I-440 which backed up traffic on I-40 near Little Rock. Overland RV Park is a simple RV park with easy access from I-40,  but does offer long pull-thru sites with free cable TV, and great WiFi speed.  Overnight, a severe thunderstorm came through with wind gusts over 45 MPH, and we were a little nervous  that our new slide toppers might sustain some damage.

This morning dawned sunny and no damage was found. We finished our journey to the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in Shawnee, OK about 12:30 P.M. We will be here for the next week for the American Coach Association National Rally starting on Monday with a chapter pre-rally being held this weekend. This large facility has over 700 RV sites and hosts many large RV rallies every year along with many other events.  The weather will be hot during our stay, but all of our gatherings will be held in air-conditioned comfort inside one of the buildings.