MIAMI, OK to WEST MEMPHIS, AR

After a week at Camp Newell, taking delivery on our "new" 2005 Newell which we have dubbed "Big Blue" we set out on Monday, 2/17, around 1:30 PM.  We had originally planned to leave earlier but were having issues (and are still having them) with our Direct TV.  We will either figure it out as to whether it's our newly installed Winegard satellite receiver or Direct TV and maybe just cancel Direct TV which is often a pain in the ass anyway.  We have called Direct TV four times trying to change a physical address and they seem totally incompetent and unable to do it.

The final glitch was as we were hooking up the toad, we discovered that the receptacle for the plug-in wiring for lights from the Newell to our Jeep did not match our cord which we had used on our previous coach.  Ah well, small exchange and as soon as the lunch horn signaled the end of that period, Andrew fixed it and we departed.  As an aside, we drove over to Bentonville on Sunday and visited Crystal Bridges, Alice Walton's museum of American art.  Spectacular!  Both the building and the collection are unparalleled.  Go see it when you have the opportunity.

Monday night we stopped in Mountain Grove, Missouri.  You can skip that one.  The electricity in the Missouri RV Park is unreliable but we met an interesting family who work in construction.  She is a heavy equipment operator (Skylift cranes) and he is a welder, rigger, driller.  They travel full time with two trucks,  a fifth wheel toy hauler and a trailer with equipment.  They made the toy room their daughter's bedroom.  One of their jobs was erecting wind turbines in various places.  Fascinating!

Yesterday we motored on down to West Memphis, Arkansas and after a lousy detour in the adjacent neighborhood due to construction blocking the route, we found Tom Sawyer's Mississippi River RV Park.  We parked immediately in front of the river with a view both up and downstream, just across the river from Memphis, TN.  The immense river barges pass within 50-60 yards of our parking spot. This is a very good place to stop and camp if you are traveling on either I-55 or I-40.  Tuesday night we drove into Memphis for BBQ ribs at Cozy Corner.  Might be a little lacking in atmosphere but terrific menu and very good ribs from friendly folks. The restaurant in Memphis not to miss is The Elegant Farmer.  5 stars for menu, quality and service and not over the top expensive.

I will be working up the road for the next couple of days with a former colleague and good friend in Wilson, AR, and then we head for Orlando for a national meeting. If you're really interested in what's happening in Wilson, including plans for an RV park, have a look at this NY Times article published last month.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/us/arkansas-towns-new-owner-has-visions-of-its-renaissance.html