Side Trip, Day Two

Deb wanted to mail a couple of post cards so we drove to the nearby post office in Beaver, Arkansas to do so.  This post office is right next to the bridge we could not cross and we had to drive around the sign warning of the height restriction to keep from hitting it.  Deb also wanted some postcard stamps but the woman in the post office said that the government told her they don’t need postcard stamps.  “I get requests for them all the time,” she told Deb.

After mailing the post cards, we parked next to the bridge and walked the path along the river for a ways.  When we came back we started walking across the bridge until a woman in a pickup truck pulled up beside us.  “Ya know, it’s against the laaw to walk across this breeidge,” she drawled.  We hadn’t seen any signs, but, whatever, the locals probably know more than we do.  We turned around and left the breeidge.

We plotted a course for Pea Ridge National Military Park, the site of a decisive battle that saved Missouri for the Union during the Civil War.  At 4400 acres, it’s a big place.  A seven-mile paved loop goes through the park with stops along the way describing portions of the battle.  The visitor center was closed due to the appropriations lapse (government shutdown), but the roads were open.  Rather then drive the RV in the loop, we took our bikes.  We were not alone.  Apparently, biking this loop is a thing.  Several others biked this loop just because it is a very nice bike ride.

We drove into the town of Pea Ridge, to a Walmart to pick up fuel and supplies.  As I was pumping fuel, I noticed an odd structure behind the store and then saw a drone take off.  Turns out this is a drone delivery station and you can get your Walmart stuff delivered by drone if you live in the area.  Walmart’s HQ is in nearby Bentonville and this is a pilot location for drone delivery.  Maybe this is coming to a neighborhood near you.

We drove north into Roaring River State Park.  This is the site of a spring, a fish hatchery, and all the other stuff you would expect to find in a state park.  The spring is a cold-water spring, perfect for trout, so may trout are hatched here.  Like many springs in Missouri, the water comes from deep underground, appearing to come out of a cave, and makes a beautiful water source for the Roaring River.

We walked the Devil’s Kitchen trail, a 1.5 mile loop that included some rather significant up and down scrambles over rock.  In all that 1.5 miles, we never did find Devil’s Kitchen, but it was a nice walk in the woods.

The park has a large lodge and conference center and we thought we would try the restaurant there.  Nice place with a commanding view of a lot of the park.  The place appeared nearly deserted but we waited for our order to come for it seemed like forever.  The waitress finally came out and apologized for the delay, saying that they were also serving a large group in another room.  It probably really means they forgot our order.  We finally did get our food and the waitress gave us half off for the delay.  The food was OK, not great, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

So we got out a little later than expected and drove back to the ranch as the sun was setting.  The hills and curves may be a challenge to drive, but it makes for some pretty countryside.

I’m probably putting a little extra break wear on the RV, with roads like this.