Another Day, Another Adventure....aka Angels ARE Among Us

Let's see, today is Texarkana, but YESTERDAY, well, yesterday was full of adventure and Dick Luck.  We left our little family campground in Springfield, IL, bright and early, since we knew we had a looong day (6 hours driving, for us, that's long) ahead of us, and rain was in the forecast, so we knew we would be delayed.  We weren't too long on the road when we came across the mighty Mississppie River.  I knew there'd be another bridge to cross, but I truly expected it to be much bigger, higher and grander.  Nevertheless, it was big and high enough.  The river is still at flood stage, and it was a pretty swift current.

Not too long after we set out, the rains came.  First, it was just a sprinkle, but then we drove right into what appeared to be the heart of the storm.  Visibility was considerably reduced, as was our speed.

We were only about two hours out from the campground, when Good Ole Google deviated from the Lady of the Dash's route, and promised that we could detour, and arrive 20 minutes faster.  Well, we gave it some serious consideration, but ya know, there's that weight and height issue.....and just never know if we will run into some low overpasses or weight restricted bridges.  So, we usually err on the side of the Lady of the Dash.  She knows how tall, wide and heavy we are, and she's supposed to take all that into account when she plots our route.  With the exception of that one time in Atlanta, when she tried to put us on the Expressway, where a Peach Pass was mandatory, she's been pretty accurate. So, we crept along, inching down the road, but staying true to Sally's route.  Eventually, we came across the cause of the backup.  Apparently, a load shifted or a truck rolled, or something catastrophic involving steel I-beams.  Cleanup was definitely in progress by the time we approached, and they had both lanes back open, but there was quite a backup.

We got past that, and were well on our way to Tom Sawyer's RV Park, where we had originally planned to spend the week after our Nappanee appointment.  As you may recall, they closed the campground on June 11, due to flooding.  LOTS of flooding, like 36 feet underwater!  Well, they had opened it up again on July 13, the day before we were scheduled to arrive, but we told them we had changed our plans and would no longer be staying there.  That was Friday.  On Sunday, we again changed our mind and decided that would be an overnight stop on the way down to see Connie, and old square dance friend.  OK, *she's* not old, the friendship is years old!!  She lives in Frisco, TX, and the quickest way to her house was south and west (remember, Indianapolis was "closed.")

We were booking right along, planning to arrive around 4 pm, just in time for me to fix dinner.  We called the campground to get final directions and it was confirmed to exit the Interstate at Exit 4, turn right, and go over the levee.  Sounds simple, right?  Surprise!  There was construction immediately upon exiting the Interstate, and there were concrete barriers on the left, and a raised curb on the right.  And the lane was only about 8 feet wide!  Yes, the lane was juuuuuust barely wide enough that our tires could pass squeak  through, but we rubbed several times, on both sides.  We literally inched our way along, till we got to a stop light.  Whew, or so we thought!  No, there are no pictures of that nightmare, as I could hardly keep composed, much less think to take photos.  When the light turned green, we proceeded, but we heard an awful, metallic screeching noise.  Neither of us knew what it could be, but we decided it was our metal ramps (on the tow dolly), scraping on the metal plate in the road, covering up what we assumed would be a ditch or hole.  We only got about a half mile down the road, when a good Samaritan flagged us over and told us we were putting on quite the fireworks display.  Look good and hard at the picture below - I know it's really hard to see through all the dirt on the windshield.  But, see that tow dolly tire, on the right?  It's past shredded!  And, no, there's not much of a fender left behind.  Nothing much to do at this point, but take the car off the dolly, as we did, and drop the dolly by the side of the road.  Which we did.  We were only 2 miles from the campground (which turned out to be quite a cultural experience, but more on that later), so we called and told them what happened, using THEIR directions, which, SUPPOSEDLY were to route us AROUND the construction, and that we would be there when we could.  Campgrounds get antsy when you don't show up by closing time, but they're usually forgiving if they know there's been trouble on the road, so we always try to keep them apprised of any situations.  Especially this time, since I was using THEIR DIRECTIONS.  Yes, yes I was ticked off.

I was able to wash the windshield enough so that I could see to drive, and I was able to lead Dick, driving the coach, into the campground with no further difficulties.  There, they checked us in under the wrong name, trying to charge us more than one night's stay, and we got that straight, only to be led to a flooded site (really, just a mud puddle with gravel) that was under an overhanging tree.  I guess the owner could tell by my reaction that I was less than impressed, because she immediately offered me another site, just 2 spots over.  That site had trees on BOTH sides, and the limbs were even lower hanging!  I just looked at her and mentioned that we could not fit under the trees without scraping, to which she replied, "Couldn't you just swing wide?"  Really??  What was she thinking?  We were already pretty frazzled, and looking at a few hundred dollars damage, did she really think we were going to deliberately drive under low branches, risking further damage, this time to our home?  Uhhhh...I don't think so!  Anyway, I picked out a site further down the row, that didn't have any trees and was less flooded.  (Sidebar, this campground is RIGHT ON the banks of that Mighty Mississippi, and the flooding has JUST receded, so there was still a lot of standing water.  And mud, lots of mud.)  We got into it, and were just barely settled, when there came a knock on our door.  Yup, a knock on the door.  I opened it to find a bear of a man standing there, asking if that was our dolly down by the bend in the road, and offering to winch it up on his trailer and bring it to us.  All at no charge.  Dick was on the phone with the Good Sam Roadside assistance clerk, trying to tell her where to find the dolly, so we had to make a snap decision.  It got easy, once the gentleman suggested that we had better let him go get it quick, before someone snatched it right up and took it home.  I thought that would be rather difficult, since the tire was shredded and all, but he warned us that wouldn't matter.  It was easy to just pull it up onto a flatbed and be off with it, and, this was highly likely in West Memphis.  ???  Who knew.  Not only were we in what could be called a dump, but it was a high crime area too! So we agreed to let this dude, whom we had only just met, go home, get his flatbed, and go retrieve our tow dolly, while we waited for the Good Sam tire guy to arrive with a new tire for us.  Meanwhile, Dick went into town to get us a set of stick-on lights for the car.

Then the Good Sam tire guy arrived with the tire, but neither the nice guy, nor my dear hubby had yet returned to the camper.  So, Tire Guy had to sit and wait, and there I was, not really even sure that Nice Guy was going to return with our dolly.  What if HE was the one that was going to abscond with it?  What if it was already stolen, and there was nothing for him to pick up and return to us?  I didn't have to wait too very much longer, and Nice Guy really DID return.  With our dolly up on his flatbed, just as he had promised.  A man true to his word, thankfully.  He was so very sweet, saying anytime he can help someone, he does.  The Tire Guy got right to work, removing the shredded bits and getting the wheel ready to accept the new tire he had brought with him.

There's my Nice Guy (Angel) on the left, and George, Tire Guy, on the right, placing the new tire of the rim, while the dolly is still up on the flatbed.  All in all, this really was the safest option.  There was hardly any shoulder, back out on the road, and I can say, from personal experience, there was at least ONE pile of fire ants.  Yup, I stepped in it.

After all the excitement was over, and Nice Guy & Tire Guy both took off, Dick and I were left to enjoy the view.  I thought, at some point, we would see a paddlewheel or steamboat, or something attractive, but the only boat traffic was this one tug, pushing two barges.  Disappointing, to say the least.

This morning, we set out, again, bright and early, headed to Texarkana, TX.  After some pump issues and witness to a 2 truck (tractor trailers) accident right in front of us (we TRIED to warn the dude, it wasn't safe to proceed...) at the obligatory fuel stop, managed to find our way into our scheduled overnight stop.  We had called Monday, for reservations, and apparently, that was a smart move, since all their easy-in, easy-out sites are occupied by now.  But, it's a clean little park, with permanent residents around the outside and a little fish pond on the back side.  It's just off a busy highway, but it's all quiet inside, so we are happy campers!  Tomorrow, we head to Frisco, where we'll catch up with Connie and see what all she's been doing for that past 12 years!