#6 Take A Hike

It’s our last night at Ouachita State Park. There are several trails and we haven’t wandered down any of them. Decision made, we must take a little hike while we are in this fabulous park.

We are surrounded by this clear and sparkly lake. Near the visitor center is the Caddo Bend Trail. It’s 4 miles long and goes all the way around the peninsula. I’m sure we won’t hike the entire way but even going part of the way would be fun. Shall we take Lucca? Let’s do it. She’s been cooped up all day in the camper.

And off we go on a family adventure. Tail is up and wagging. Lucca’s excited that she gets to go.

Maybe 500 yards into the hike, Lucca heard a noise. I didn’t hear it, Pam didn’t hear it but Lucca is paralyzed with fear. Her ears are back, tail is tucked, Pam is frustrated. Lucca refuses to go forward. As we sadly return to the car, we rescind Lucca’s hiking certificate for life. No more trails, no more hiking no more adventures for Lucca!!!! Don’t feel sorry for her. She brought it on herself. Maybe she needs a doggy psychologist or maybe we do.

Distilleries Aren’t Just For Drinking

We are headed to Tall Pines Distillery in Noel, Missouri. It’s one of the few boon docking (No electric for AC and no water hookup) stops. We’re hoping the temperature gets a bit cooler than what we left behind. Actually, I sold Pam on this Harvest Host Boondocking idea so I’m hoping for a crisp, refreshing night. As we drove along the highway, I kept checking the temp with grand hopes of seeing the temperature drop. A hot night in a cramped camper is not fun.

It was a long and boring drive. We’re listening to a mystery to help pass the time. Actually, we are on our third mystery of the trip.

We arrived at the distillery right at 6PM, closing time. We ran in and somehow managed to buy a couple drinks, T-shirts and jam in a matter of 5 minutes. The poor girl behind the counter said that we were her first customers of the day. I don’t care if you are surrounded by moonshine, that’s a boring day for her too.

We skipped dinner. Since we chose not to put out the slide, life inside the camper was a little tight. But in the morning, we promised to stop for coffee. That’s right, no way to make coffee.

We were the only campers spending the night on the property. We opened all the windows and turned on the fans to cool things down. It didn’t take long before Pam was shutting down the fans and narrowing the window openings. It got a bit chilly. The chatter of crickets and chirping of birds lulled us off to sleep.

Lewis and Clark State Park

We arrived early at the park. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you see it, we only have electricity. Hooray for air conditioning and boo for a short shower due to no water hook up. We are not good boon dockers. We like the luxuries.

Not much to say about this park. It’s hot here and Pam talked the attendant into letting us trade our sun drenched, treeless site for one that had some trees and protected us from the sun. Thank you Pam for your powers of persuasion. We’re going to make tacos for dinner, watch a little TV and go to bed. This is another one nighter so we’ll be taking off early in the morning, okay 10:00, maybe not that early. Our next destination is Lewis and Clark State Park. Seriously!! I think we stay in 3 Lewis and Clark State Parks on this trip. We will be there for 2 nights and I’m hoping there are some fun hikes (Sorry Lucca, you can’t go). But you can come along… See you there.