Traveling Arkansas

My family and I recently traveled to Arkansas and our destination was Blanchard Springs Caverns and the Blanchard Springs Campground. This entire trip was one adventure after another which will have to be broken down into multiple stories.

I won't go into to many details about the first night but will simply say we stayed in a hotel somewhere in Arkansas and all was well. It was Day 2 that the adventure really started cranking up. 

We went to the Little Rock Zoo and had a pleasant experience. I will blog separately on the zoo in a later blog as I want to move forward in our trip to the evening adventure.

We arrived at Blanchard Springs Caverns around 4 PM which was perfect timing for being able to set up our popup camper, cooking supper, and enjoying the creek we knew from previous experience flowed next to the campsites.

When we arrived at the entrance a sign was posted announcing the campsite was closed due to the potential for severe weather and flooding. This really baffled me since I knew it had not rained for the last five days in Arkansas and the surrounding states and there was no severe or even anything other than sunny weather predicted for the next few days.

We decided to drive up to the Caverns and inquire with one of the Park Rangers. Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by park staff and politely informed the campground portion of the park was indeed closed. When I inquired as to why, I was told that the park service was being extra cautious ever since the Albert Pike Park incident where several people were killed by flash flooding.

I inquired as to an alternate campsite and was given a campsite area that was a few miles down the road. A right turn, a left turn, a gravel road, several large pot holes, a few steep inclines and declines, and we finally arrived at the campsite which was along a beautiful river and cliff. We saw no one else around so I decided to take the road to the right to find a campsite. I figured it would loop around. It didn’t!

The next thing we knew we were traveling up, up, up, and more up. We were pulling the pop up behind us and there was absolutely no place to turn around. Suddenly I hit a large pot hole which caused me to bottom out and then it happened, the check engine light lit up.

At this point Lucrecia informs me we have no cell phone service. I told her if we had to we would pop up the camper on the dirt road and camp out overnight. It was at this location and time that she asks me, "Do you remember the movie 'The Hills have Eyes?'" Fortunately, my GPS was working and I turned it on so I could get my bearings. The GPS indicated I would come to a road in about 2 miles that would connect back to the highway.

Tubing on Sylamore Creek.  Photo by Lucrecia Mouser

It was a rough 2 miles but the check engine light went back off and we found our way out. We decided to pull into Sylamore Creek Campground, a private campground just down the road.

We were pleasantly surprised at the nice location. Although near the highway, there was not a lot of traffic or noise. The campsite itself came with a view of the river and was well shaded. 

I will have more on the campground and campsite in tomorrow’s entry.