Melissa and I would both rather be out there, traveling and exploring. To cure the onset of the common travelers’ affliction known as “Itchy Feet,” we’ve had it in mind since we got to Arkansas to take short local camping trips when time permits. This week’s work schedule gave her two consecutive days off, so we decided to take advantage of this to get away for a couple of days.
I put Melissa in charge of choosing where to go since she knows the area. We ended up at Mulberry Mountain Lodging & Events. Melissa knows about this place from some overland meetups that take place here, but she’d never camped here before, so it’s new for both of us.
The place is smack dab in the middle of the Pig Trail. This time, we took the van, and only the van—no trailer, no motorcycle. They’re safe at the house, and we’re only gone for a couple of days. The only difficult part was figuring out where to stash the camp chairs and tables. Normally, these ride in the trailer, so I didn’t design any storage for them inside the van. We ended up dumping them in the walkway for the short drive and pulling them out as soon as we got here to get our living space back.
After Google took us down tiny dirt roads instead of the paved highway and several long stoplights for construction on the Pig Trail, we arrived around sunset. We’d skipped the RV sites and opted for the primitive camping area, which costs $10 per person per night. As of right now, we are the ONLY campers in the primitive area. The RV spots are stacked on top of each other, but we have the entire primitive area to ourselves.
That is, except for these deer who came to visit. The fact that they’re just hanging out here is a good indication of how quiet and serene this place is, other than the occasional drone of a side-by-side engine. We made a quick dinner in the fading light, then enjoyed a cool but dry evening, a nice change from the recent wet weather.
A butterfly came to visit us this morning. This particular one really liked us and even flew inside the van for a few minutes. It flew all around Melissa and me, too, buzzing our heads and faces and generally frolicking around. I don’t know if butterflies frolic or feel happy the way we do, but if they do, that’s exactly what this one was doing.
It’s nice to be out and about again. The weather is absolutely perfect for our stay. While we’re parked under trees and won’t be getting much solar charging, it’s only for a couple of days. With the good cell service, we won’t be running Starlink (not that it would work under the trees anyway), so I have plenty of battery capacity for our stay. They’ll also recharge on our way back to the house. This is so much simpler than my travel normally is. It’s nice to take a break once in a while.
Smokey Da Van 