Winding Stair Recreation Area

Wednesday November 5…8:30pm

We were up early again, and before going into the casino for breakfast, I had promised myself I would tighten up the serpentine alternator belt I had installed on Sheman in September.  It had
developed a bad squeal whenever it was first started in the morning, and I was pretty sure that if I tightened it up a bit that would fix the problem. And it did.

So we went into the casino at about 8:30am. Yes, there were people sitting at slot machines at 8:30 in the morning! We went to the breakfast area and Ruth ordered a cheese and vegetable omelette with toast and hash browns and I had 3 eggs over easy with toast, hash browns and bacon. And we each had a bottle of orange juice. This came to $14.50, and our coupon was good for $15, so it worked out fine.

We headed further south to the hills of the Ouachita National Forest. We wanted to drive the Talemina Scenic Byway…a 54 mile long highway that winds through the mountains of this area. At the top of one of the first hills (Sherman had to work hard to get up here!) there is the Winding Stair Recreation Area, which includes 23 paved campsites…no hookups, and $8 US ($9.20 CAN) a night. There is one camper here in a tent, and another couple with a fifth wheel trailer, and us. We have a beautiful view out our back window, and a really nice campsite, so we decided to stay for the night. We’ll have to catch up on driving tomorrow and Friday, because we’re meeting friends who live just outside of Dallas on Friday afternoon.

Our campsite

A funny stick insect

The last camper had left some big pieces of firewood behind, so I spent an hour with my small axe and my saw chopping them up so we could have a campfire tonight.
So we went on a nice 1.7 mile (2.8 km) hike this afternoon that took us around the top of the mountain. Some of the views were cut off because of growth in the trees, but it was a nice walk anyhow.

Out for a hike

Nice view...but a little windy!

Me and Whiskey

When we got back to the campground, Ruth did some reading while I gave Sherman a sponge bath. As I was wiping the dirt off Sherman, I was thinking about how I can clean him up not bad while using about a gallon of water. It is amazing how much you learn to conserve when you live in a motorhome and don’t use campgrounds with hookups.

The view from our campsite

Another view

As supper time got closer, the wind started to pick up. And as I write this it has become so windy outside that we decided not to light the campfire. I hope the next visitor to this site appreciates the firewood we will leave behind!

Total nights sleeping in a motorhome…380

November Fuel $ 168.95

November Grocery $106.90

November Overnight costs $ 21.00