Gulpha Gorge Campground

30 July-1 Aug 2013

Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs National Park is one of the best campgrounds we have stayed in a National Park. There is everything one needs with the exception of showers, 30 and 50 amp, water and waste hookup's. The cost is $24 per night, but if you have an access pass or senior citizen pass issued by the parks service the cost is $12.

  We looked at all the sites in the campground and we did not see one bad site. A few of them at on an incline but those were not too bad. The Gulpha river runs along the outer edge of the campground and if you are a brave soul who needs showers. Sandee and I decided to give it a try after a long day of crystal hunting. The sun was going down and the water was cold when we took the plunge, but it was refreshing enough that we could go to bed having washed all the dirt off us. For those who think we used soap and polluted the water, think again. We would not pollute the water with manmade products, we used the natural sand in the river bottom to clean our self's. Of course the next day went back into Hot Springs to take the waters at the Quapaw spa again where we really cleaned up.

  If you like to camp in a tent of an RV this is the campground to visit. There was plenty of shade in each site and a good amount of space between sites.

                                                                    Our camp site

                                                          Pool we swam in

 

Lake Dardanelle SP-AR

30 July 2013.

 Half way between Fort Smith NHS and Hot Springs NP is Lake Dardanelle State Park in Arkansas and since there is an Eastern National passport stamp for the Trail of Tears at the visitor center we decided this would be a good place to spend the night, which turned out to be a great choice.

 While the site we were given had no shade and the afternoon sun beat down on us, the view of the lake was great. The one drawback to this view was the Nuclear Reactor Plant across the lake. Visions of Three Mile Island loomed in our imagination but if the plant did blow we were reassured by the local signs for "Nuclear One Evacuation Route" would guide us to safety.

 The visitor center had a 7,000  gallon fresh water tank and several other smaller ones. There were other exhibits there as well and an area to hook up to the internet.  Our camp site was in section C, site 46. If we get back to this park we know the perfect site for us, either 33 or 34. They are both close to the bathrooms and showers, which by the way were brand new and were great, but these sites are very large and have a separate fireplace patio.

 This park has it all, fishing, camping, water sports, a nice lake beach to swim in and boat rentals. The price for a 30 amp and water hookup cannot be beat, $21. You can get larger sites for only $29.  I would recommend campground for anyone heading west or east on I-40.

 

 

 

Roaring River SP- MO

28 & 29 July

 

Roaring River State Park, Missouri is the second of three state parks dedicated to trout fishing. Like Montauk SP, there is a fish hatchery in the park, a lodge where you can stay if you do not like camping, and three very large campgrounds. We stayed in campground 1 way back in a holler that narrows at the very end. Our site was right up against a dry stream bed.

  There were very few other campers around us, mainly because the showers and bathrooms were far enough away that one has to drive to them but with plenty of woods around there is was plenty of trees nearby in case of emergencies. One word of caution though, I took a walk behind our camp site to the dry creek bed and ran into a not so friendly neighbor, a Copper Head. I was just about to put my foot down when I looked and saw this little guy all coiled up and head raised as if to strike. Lucky for me it was cold and a light rain had began so I think he was just a bit too cold to strike. But if you stay in this park and your camp site is a it out of the way as ours was, you need to watch where you step as mother nature rules these woods.

 We ate the lodge one night, it was good but not as good as Montauk State Park.  The lodge was built by the CCC and it was a beautiful lodge. Massive columns of stone and a fireplace in the center are the highlight. I wish I had my camera with me so I could have taken a picture of it all.

 After dinner we walked along the river where all the folks were fishing. The water is very clean here as it was at Montauk SP.  One can see all the trout in the river just waiting to be caught. We were even lucky enough to see a fisherman reel his catch in while we watched nearby.

 All in all, if you like to trout fish this is the place for you. But the real draw for us is this state park is only 19 miles away from Pea Ridge National Battlefield and makes a great place to stay and visit this park.  And if you really want to take a road trip, as we do and did, you can drive two hours to Tahlequah, Oklahoma to visit the Cherokee National Museum and George Murrel Home.

KOA- Springfield, MO

28 July 2013

  We stayed at the KOA near Springfield, Missouri for two reasons, 1- it was a half way point for our westward trip across Missouri and 2- it was only 5.7 miles from Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. This reason alone is good enough to warrant an overnight stay if you are one to visit National Parks sites and we are.

  This was our first experience at staying in a private campground. We like to stay in state or national parks but it fit our needs this time around.  Normally when we camp at state or national parks there is plenty of room and privacy not so in this KOA. There were about 85 sites, maybe a few more, but each site was so close to each other you can hear folks around you even when they talked in a low tone.

The upside to staying at a private campground, in this case a KOA, is they are CLEAN. The bathrooms and showers were like being at home. There is a pool, internet, and they will even make a pizza and deliver it to you at your campsite. The biggest drawback to this particular KOA was the railroad tracks which run very close to the site. We heard a number of trains throughout the night, but not so many that it kept e up all night. Of course I had ear plugs in so that may have helped.

  Bottom line for this campground, it was a good stop for us because it was very close to Wilsons's Creek Battlefield, otherwise we would have passed this one up. But it was great to have internet, a pool, and clean showers.

 

 

 

Giant City State Parl- IL

22-26 July 2013

 Giant City State Park is one of those old CCC parks with plenty to do for the camper and non-camper. We parked Tricera-Pod in one of the 85 electrical sites in a secluded area away from the other four campers in the park. Yup, with 85 sites in this park we were pretty much alone, over the next five days we would have folks come and go, but otherwise it was very quiet.

  If camping is not your thing do not worry, Giant City offers a number of cabins near the park lodge. We have stayed in these cabins in the past and for the price they are not bad at all. The cabins are near the swimming pool and within walking distance of the lodge.

If you are looking for a great meal, the lodge is the place to go.  There are several items to chose from and fried chicken is the specialty of the house. I have tried just about everything on the menu over the years and there is not a bad choice among them.  A word of warning though, if you get the fried chicken dinner be prepared to eat as they do put a feed bag on.

 There are a few trails to walk around the park, the best trail is the Nature trail, lots to see and it is not a strenuous hike at all. Deer, turkey, birds and many other animals can be seen every day at this park. As we left the lodge one night after dinner we encountered a skunk almost within arm's reach.  He/she could care less we were so close and would have came right up to us if we did not make enough noise to cause he/she to move along out of spray range.

 The bathrooms/showers were nice and clean. However the sites are a bit too close to each other and I suspect if the camp was a bit full with campers one would know what the neighbors were doing.  Sites are so close that when I was backing into our site I scraped the front end of our truck on a post. The cost is $20 per day.  Each site is a mix of gravel and paved and a bit uneven, but we managed to get Tricera-pod evened out enough that we felt comfortable.