Day 5 – 1230 miles … our first hike, laundry, repairs and attrition

Most of us slept in and we had a real slow start to the day … after all, we are on vacation. The weather in Arkansas is perfect, not typical for this time of year, but we’re not complaining. The evening drops to low 70s and the daytime is in the 80s, low humidity and a cooling breeze. Typically, it would be in the 90s and lots of humidity.

I did my writing outside on the picnic table, Jack next to me in his seat, the others running around. Every person walking by said good morning and a few stopped to chat … I miss this type of community feeling. The entire troop headed in waves to the “bath house” for showers. While our motor home has a shower, it is smaller than most closets … let’s put it this way, when I dropped the soap, I had to step out to pick it up … small.

We also were treated to a family of skunks who did not seem bothered by us or the other campers. They were all young, and we made extra effort to stay away from them … all we needed, a skunk sprayed child and an enclosed space for 18 days :)

We packed up, and headed for our first hike of the trip. Petit Jean has some great hikes and some great vistas. Our destination was a 1 mile hike down into a valley and back up to see a waterfall. Everyone did great, I had Jack in a front carrier and Genna walked the entire way, scrambling up and down rocks.

We stopped at an outlook for a quick, and late lunch (around 2P) and then headed to Fayetteville … about 3 hrs away. On our way into town, we drove through the University of Arkansas grounds, so that Kelly could see what an American University looks like … Razorback stadium is impressive by any account, but the most interesting things where the fraternity and sorority houses, she wanted to know if it was really like in the movies :)

We invaded Liz’s house around 530P and took over her laundry room, living room and bathroom. We’re packed and planned for 4-5 days … meaning, we have enough clothes to last that amount of time, and we then need to stop to do laundry. This keeps the amount of packing down and ensure there is some room left for people. Apparently, everyone had run out of clothes, except me … and I only packed for 2 days … not sure what that says about me … I must be more frugal.

While laundry finished and the kids played, I decided to try to repair our awning. Now, our motor home came equipped with the typical rental toolkit, ours had a oil rag … that’s it. Liz’s tool selection although vast by comparison consisted of a hammer, a couple of small screwdrivers and a crescent wrench, plus she had a step ladder. Zach came out to help and I had flashes of being a little kid, helping and holding things for my dad, as he worked … was for me very rewarding and sentimental. Surprisingly, I managed to repair the entire unit, a metal clip that holds the awning to the leg was bent into a pretzel, but the hammer, and some wood helped me hammer it back into place. I hammered out a couple of dents … and you cannot tell we had an incident … there is a broken casting, but I will order a new one and have it waiting for me upon return.

We say a tearful good bye to Zachary, as he leaves us and drive out towards Oklahoma. The 65 mile drive to Tahlequah takes about 2 hrs, as the entire drive is scenic, winding and cuts through some small towns … unfortunately, it’s also 11P at night and totally dark. We stop at the Tahlequah Wal-Mart for the night around 1A.