Finally an Update

We arrived back in Hot Springs on March 20th. Our first week was spent at Stephen’s Park, a Corps of Engineers campground at the base of Blakeley Dam, just northwest of Hot Springs on the Ouichita River.

The last time we stayed here was December of 2021. We were in campsite 3 and I took this picture of the camper from across the river.

I took this picture of campsite 3 on March 21st (that’s not us) and you can see that the river is running a lot higher.

That’s because they’ve been letting a lot of water through the dam from Lake Ouachita into the river below. But the lake level is still about a foot and a half above normal. And it’s not even the rainy season yet!

We’ve gotten to see Jamie and the family a few times so far. While we were still at Kirby Landing Sean, Jamie, Beth Ann, Adler and Bria came out for a hike.

Stephen’s Park is a small and laid back campground, so while we were there we took the opportunity to wash the camper. It looks much better, now.

I started this post and then we moved to Lake Ouachita State Park for a week. We’ve been there twice before. It’s a nice campground but has a weak cell signal so it was impossible to upload images for the blog.

We did have the opportunity to join the family to celebrate Sean’s birthday. Since he had his cake (cheesecake) at the restaurant…

Jamie made him a birthday drink when we got back to their house.

Last Saturday Jamie, Adler and Bria joined Matey and me for a short hike. Here we’re taking a break after about a mile and a half because Matey now tires pretty quickly. He’s 13 and has a heart condition. I’m trying to walk him as much as possible, though.

It was a lovely path along the shore of Lake Ouachita.

Jamie spotted this beautiful Luna moth right at the edge of the path.

Yesterday we moved to the other side of Hot Springs to Lake Catherine State Park.

We have a nice site right at the top of a little hill. It was steep enough that Bud had to use 4-wheel drive to back the trailer up and in on the damp roadway.

It is a very private site, though, and we have TV and fast internet so all is well.

Lake Catherine is the lowest of three lakes made by damming the Ouachita River. We were at the highest one when we camped at Lake Ouachita State Park. The middle one is Lake Hamilton which is right in Hot Springs.

This is a lovely place to watch spring come. That’s good because we are here until June 5th. On April 14th we move to a commercial campground. On April 17th Bud is having a total knee replacement. Once he no longer needs his left hand for a walker or a cane he will hopefully have carpel tunnel surgery. Once that is done we hope he is all fixed up for our next adventure.