Took off the next morning for Tom Sawyer RV Park. It’s right along the banks of the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas. As the RV park is right along the banks of the river, they do have to be mindful of the water levels. The river was quite low when we were there with many sandbars showing.
In spite of us having been to Memphis a few times, there was still quite a bit we had never done in the city. So, the next morning we crossed the river and went to the Stax Museum of Soul. The owners started Stax Records in the late 50’s and eventually grew large enough to take over an old movie theater that they converted to a recording studio and record production. They had a number of successful hit records one of their biggest stars was Otis Redding. The company ran into financial problems and had to finally close its doors in 1975. Their music collection of master tapes was sold at auction for 1.5 million, a fraction of their worth. The building eventually burned down, but the Stax museum foundation rebuilt and opened a museum and music school on the grounds.
It was then over to the National Civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr was shot had been abandoned and was quickly becoming dilapidated. A foundation took over the site, kept the outside of the motel intact and turned the inside into a museum. The museum covers the era of slavery in the U.S. through the Civil Rights movement and the last exhibit is a look at the hotel room where MLK stayed on that fateful night. We thought the museum was well done.
Our final stop was a tour of Sun Studio. The famous studio that first recorded Elvis Presley. It was Sun Studio that also recorded Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis to name a few. It is still an active studio. Recordings take place in the evenings once the tours have finished for the day.
We were back on the road the next morning and headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas We managed to get a site at the Gulpa Gorge Campground, which is part of the Hot Springs National Park. We got set-up and grabbed a trail map. Will found a trail that would take us down to the visitor center. So, we hiked the 2 miles down to visitor center and bathhouse row. The National Park is one of the smallest parks and is set in an urban area. We got down to bathhouse row and to the visitor center right before closing. We got the lay of the land and were able to schedule a couple’s bath at the Quapaw Baths for the following day. Then we hiked the 2 miles back to the campground.
We started the next morning with the scenic drive on the west mountain side. The drive was quite a bit shorter than what we were expecting but still very scenic. Parking in downtown Hot Springs is a challenge. There is a free parking garage, but getting a spot there is more luck than anything else as it always seems to be full. We ended up parking at the transportation center a couple of blocks further away, but it’s free and there were plenty of empty spaces.
We had a nice lunch at the Ohio Club. Then went back to the visitor center to see the exhibits about the history of Hot Springs and Bathhouse row. Finally, it was time for our bath at Quapaw. It was very relaxing and much needed. There is no Sulphur smell with these hot springs so, Will was really happy. Quapaw has a number of public pools as well with various temperatures and a number of other spa services.
Did another hike the next morning. We hiked a portion of the Sunset trail from the campground to the pool area and back. Hot Springs is also home to a casino with horse racing. Well, since horse racing season doesn’t start until December, we just had to settle trying our luck at the casino. We both lost this time around, but we did get to play for a couple hours.
From Hot Springs we went to Tyler State Park outside of Tyler, Texas. We had been to this park before and had enjoyed it, so we decided to stop there again for a few days. We did the trail around the lake this time around. It was a nice leisurely walk, and we even managed to gain 53 feet of elevation, whew.
We decided to drive into Tyler and see what there was to do. Tyler is known as the Rose Capital. It was once the center of the rose-growing industry and still today about one-third of the world’s processing of rose bushes comes from Tyler. They just had their 85tth annual Rose Festival, so we thought it was a good time to check it out. The gardens by the rose museum are free to walk around. The Rose Museum is $3.50/person and is said to have the gowns from the Rose Festival Queens. We didn’t have an interest in that, but it was nice to just be able to walk around the rose gardens.
From Tyler, we made our way to Abilene State Park. Our site in the Brushy Trail campground was very spacious and we had a lot of tree coverage. Still in late October, the Abilene area was in the high 80’s and Diablo’s a/cs were running constantly. We really appreciated the shade.
We were walking around the park and came across this structure. It was a water tower. When building it back in the 1930’s they decided they didn’t want an ugly metal water tower near the park entrance. So, they built a stone and wood structure around it.
And below is the current water tower. Apparently, we no longer care about looking at an ugly metal water tower.
Lake Abilene is part of the state park, so we decided to have a look and hike the trail by the lake. We noticed that the lake area looked pretty deserted and not well maintained. We did run into a guy there that said the lake was at 6% capacity and would most likely be dry by next summer. The park had even suspended kayak rentals due to the low lake levels. Glad we saw it before it was gone.
Our last stop in Texas was Van Horn, Texas. Van Horn seems to attract a number of people who work in oil and gas and a number of snow birders. We got a lot of housekeeping items done as the one museum in town was closed for renovations and there wasn’t anything else going on. The rv park had a pretty nice rec room with a large tv, a number of games, and exercise equipment. We found that a monthly spot is only $450/month which includes your utilities. So, if you’re looking for a cheaper place to call home, Van Horn might fit the bill.
Then we were off to Elephant Butte State Park in New Mexico. We stayed at the South Monticello Campground. You can barely make out the lake in the distance, but the sites were large, views were great, and there is ample room between you and your neighbors. The only shade are the shade structures over the picnic tables, so, you probably want to avoid this one in the middle of summer.
We had only one night in Elephant Butte and moved on to the Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque for our final stop before heading home. It was a nice park with a lot of history as it was a retail store on the Historic Route 66 built in the 1940’s. It became a campground in the 1970’s and has been one since.
Well, that was our trip. A little over 3,700 miles later. We had to quickly winterize Diablo when we got home because freezing temps were expected that night.