We’ve Arrived

We have arrived after one intermediate stop. While we could have made the journey from Vicksburg to Jasper, AL (300 miles) we were not in a hurry so we opted for an overnight spot. Looking at the map, we hunted for a spot the was mid way. That is when we found Lake Tiak O’Khata Resort. This is a family owned business that is rich in history dating back to the Civil War.  We recommend this place as an overnight or destination spot.

One advantage of stopping here is the onsite restaurant. Food was good – especially the Caramel Cream Pie.

Saturday morning, we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast and to use their free WiFi. After taking care of downloading updates and a relaxing breakfast, we headed out about 10ish. Sunny, blue skies and temperatures in the mid 40’s lead us to Columbus, MS. Traffic was very light and roads were pretty good. We crossed into Alabama around noon on MS50/AL96.

In Jasper, AL we parked at WalMart and walked to Johnny Brusco’s New York Style Pizza. They were a bit behind in cleaning up from the lunch crowd but the pizza made up for that. We will come back to this place. Best pizza in a long while. Carol went into WalMart to pick up a couple of items while I headed to Murphy Oil for a final fuel stop for Cramalot Inn.

Twenty miles later, we pulled into Clear Creek Recreation Area. We were greeted by Jody from forestry service. He will be our go-to person. He led us to our temporary site where we will be until mid-week. As we were setting up, a contract worker came to us to tell us he heard rushing water near an area he was working. Since we are the only folks in the park, we took off to find the problem. We discovered a water spigot that was stuck on. Of course water was running everywhere. We got the spigot closed and made note of this site so we can get that fixed later.  Other workampers will begin to arrive on Friday March 1st. Then the real work begins. The park official opens to public on Friday March 15th. We will have two weeks to get this park and Corinth Rec Area (across Lake Lewis Smith) ready.

We drove Cramalot-Inn 915 miles. She drank up 138.5 gallons of gas that cost us $501.67 and averaged 6.6 mpg. We drove Queen’s White (our car) 1051 miles. She drank up 43.77 gallons of gas that cost us $158.33  and averaged 24 mpg. RV Park expenses came to $141.33 and eating out came to $284.12. Total trip expenses, $1,085.45 or $1.00 per mile. Donations are excepted.

Today is our day to take care of laundry, do a little grocery shopping and get oriented to our new home. If you are in the area, we invite you to come visit.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.

Stormy Weather

Today is storm day. Literally. We decided to visit Cracker Barrel for a casual breakfast and plan our day. Just as we finished breakfast, Carol heard a loud thunder-clap. Here is what my weather app reported. We will be staying put for about 30 minutes. More on our stay in Vicksburg at the end of this post.

So far our trip has been good. We left Ledbetter Monday morning around 9ish, stopped at Whataburger in Giddings for breakfast, then headed to Temple. We met up with Carol’s Aunt/Uncle, Glenda and Ron, for lunch at the Cotton Patch. From Temple, we headed Northeast for Kilgore. I made a directional mistake in Palestine which put us on a path for Tyler. By the time I figured that out, it was too late to backtrack. The only reason we wanted to stop in Kilgore instead of Tyler is because we stopped in Tyler back in September when we came back to Texas.

In Tyler, we pulled into a parking lot so I could look for a WalMart on the map for an overnight stop. Someone from the business came rushing out to let Carol know I could not park our motor home in their parking lot. He just would not listen to Carol as she explained we were only stopping for a few minutes to get oriented to our destination. Sheesh – some people. We found our WalMart but then could not figure where to park. I pulled up behind a couple of big trucks only to realize they were in a fire lane. When I called the store, the person I spoke to said we could not park in any WalMart period. OK, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

Next we headed to #1 RV Park on the other side of town. At least we will not be hassled by anyone there. After driving 300 miles, we were hungry and tired. Dinner at Sweet Sue’s was so-so. At least a warm shower felt good and we enjoyed a good night of sleep.

Tuesday AM, we drove to The Diner for breakfast. We stopped at this place last time we had breakfast in Tyler. This is still a great place to eat.

Yep, you are looking at Cajun style fish and shrimp on top of my eggs. WOW, The Diner really knows how to do breakfast. I highly recommend making a trip to this place if you are anywhere close.

Since we had a long driving day on Monday, we decided to split the trip to Vicksburg, MS. Other than a rough 20 miles stretch through Shreveport, LA, I-20 was a great ride. Next time, I will take the loop around Shreveport. We stopped at Caney Lakes Recreation Complex in Kisatchie National Forrest just North of Minden, LA. We drove past some large, beautiful home just on the edge of Minden and wondered where these folks worked. Our campsite was very spacious. I am standing on the rock area of the site. The fire ring is to my right. Notice the driveway is very long.

Wednesday AM we made the short 150 mile trip to Ameristar RV Park across the street from the Ameristar Vicksburg Casino in Vicksburg, MS. Thursday weather kept us indoors most of the day. We did venture out to drive through the historic area a Vicksburg. It is strange that mixed in with the old antebellum style homes there are several run down shacks so typical of houses in poverty-stricken areas.

The last time we stopped there, we earned enough to pay for our trip from Blue Ridge to Texas. This time we made a deposit for our next trip.

Tomorrow we should land somewhere in Alabama and Saturday we should be at Clear Creek Recreation Area in Bankhead National Forrest.  The storm system has moved away from us so we should have a quiet evening and clear driving Friday.

Once again, thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.