Eureka Springs, Arkansas is one place I really didn’t want to leave. But it wasn’t too painful because we were headed south to Little Rock to visit my brother and attend an event.
Brother Mark and family (Hi Doris and Jessica!) moved to Arkansas about three years ago, so visiting his home was on our list when we first headed east. And then last May I signed us up to attend an Earth Keepers conference, since we would be there at the right time. So we had some packed days ahead.
We parked in Mark’s driveway for a couple of days, but with rain coming and us already trampling his ground (heavy RV in already rain-soft grass equals ruts – sorry Mark!), we moved out to a nice campground by the water. Too bad we didn’t have any time to spend there. It would have been the perfect place to go kayaking.
We had a great couple of days visiting with brother and family. Then it was on to the conference for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with talks scheduled from 8am to 10pm Whew! (We finished a little early on Sunday.) There were some really great speakers there (and some not so great) and we got a lot of info crammed into our brains while there.
I won’t go into what it’s all about, but if you’re into the series Ancient Aliens, you would have loved it – some of the speakers were from that show. It was all quite interesting.
On Monday, the attendees drove out to Ron Coleman’s Crystal Mine to do some digging in the dirt – which was mud because it had been raining so much. But we were thankful it didn’t rain on us while there and we had great fun looking for crystals.
After the digging, we had a drumming ceremony around an 800 pound crystal, where the collective sent healing energy into Mother Earth. Cool stuff, and we enjoyed it.
Then it was down to business. The business of getting our new Jeep Cherokee outfitted to be towed behind the motorhome. Our first appointment was at a Jeep dealership to get a part installed to eliminate the “death wobble.” It was supposed to be a “two hour” job. It took eleven – yes 11 – hours! While I waited at the dealership ALL day, Tom Uber-ed back so he could check out on time and move the motorhome to a new RV park that would be closer to where we were having the work done. It was at the base of a walking bridge that went across the Arkansas River into Little Rock.
The day after we got the Jeep back, Wednesday, we had scheduled the Jeep at a motorhome service shop to get the tow pieces and the brake assist installed. They called and said they wouldn’t be able to get to it until the next day. So we sat inside while it rained all day. I was upset that this was taking another day away from our time coming up in Hot Springs, but we used the time to catch up on chores.
First thing Thursday, Tom took in the Jeep and Uber-ed back. After dropping it off, Tom knew this would be an all-day job, so we did a walking tour of downtown Little Rock.
A quick walk across the bridge took us to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum – which we didn’t venture into – and a nice riverwalk area.
Tom didn’t really feel like “doing” anything (like the museum) because he was expecting a call to go get the Jeep. But we did enjoy exploring the town.
And we found a nice sushi restaurant and had bite to eat.
Here’s a fun fact: Little Rock is headquarters for the American Taekwondo Association and they host a world expo each summer. They have a cute little park downtown in honor of the founders.
We killed some time riding the trolly car around town, and were the only ones riding it. 
When we called to check on the Jeep we were told it wouldn’t be ready until the following morning. We expected as much. But with the previous day’s delay, we were pushing our three day stay at Passport America prices.
When Tom first checked in and set up at the RV park he saw that a Youtube celebrity pulled in right next to us – Pippi Peterson! Tom said hello, but didn’t want to be too much of a fan boy (even though he is!) especially without me around. So the next day I was kind of hoping to bump into her while around camp. That didn’t happen until we were both packing up to head out at the same time. She’s a wonderful young woman, and I was happy to find we have many interests in common.
Too bad we had to leave. Because we had to go get the Jeep. Except it still wasn’t ready.
So we drove (in the RV) to a nearby Walmart to hang out for a while. Then we went back and just parked our RV on their lot in between trailers for sale. It wasn’t until the VERY end of the day on the SECOND day that it was finished.
Four days of nothing but waiting was quite a strain on Tom. The repair guys at both places were cool, they just didn’t have a lot of experience with the jobs we gave them I guess. But we are now set up to tow! No more driving for Joy – yeah!
We only had an hour’s drive to our next stop in Hot Springs, but going to a first come only campground at dusk on a Friday was not a good idea. Plus, I realized that one of the packages we had scheduled for delivery at my brother’s had still not arrived. I tried to intervene at the post office, but it was already scheduled for a Saturday delivery. So Friday night and most of the day Saturday was spent in my brother’s driveway. Waiting. Again. The postman finally came just before five. On a Saturday. What’s up with that?
So here it is, early Saturday evening with an hour drive to go to get to Hot Springs to see if we can get a space at a first-come only campground. What a gamble! I hope it works. You’ll find out in the next blog!
Happy Travels,
Peace & Love, Joy
Rightlaners 