Columbus Day Weekend: Arkansas

What was supposed to be a long weekend turned into a rather short one, but we enjoyed the time we had visiting my Grandma and Grandgeorge in northwest Arkansas. 

This was our first trip pulling a camper all the way up through Oklahoma and into the top left corner of Arkansas where several of my aunts and uncles live, along with my dad's mom and step-dad. 

We used to stay in the bunkhouse on my grandparents' sprawling property, but Grandma is quite forgetful and anxious these days, so we thought it might work best to stay somewhere nearby. October in the Ozarks? Camping?? Yes, please!

We left Friday morning and drove through some rain on our way, but not as much as anticipated. We arrived at Withrow Springs State Park around 5:30 p.m.--and the office staff were already gone for the day! They had assigned us site #12, which was unfortunately located right by a relatively busy road, but also near the restroom, so we couldn't complain too much. We had the camper up in record time, working in ponchos in the drizzling rain. Once we got situated, we took the kids to the only eatery we had seen for miles: McDonald's. Then it was back to the camper for glow sticks and early bedtime to the sound of rain on the roof.

Saturday morning after a big breakfast we loaded up and drove the 20 minutes to Grandma's farm! It was a rainy, miserable day on many levels, but the bright spot of our day was the time we spent with family we don't see enough. (The depressing TCU loss to Baylor is something we won't explore in this post.)

Grandgeorge and Noah fetch firewood

Grandma and Audrey take advantage of a break in the rain to take a stroll

We were joined by Aunt Jan-Jan and Uncle Tuna (Janet and Dan, two of my dad's younger siblings) and treated to a hot dinner prepared by Aunt Jan-Jan. 

Audrey poses with Chico Rodriguez, Aunt Jan-Jan's chihuahua

Audrey and Noah enjoyed playing slots

After dark we said our goodbyes and headed back to our camper for the night.

Sunday morning brought pancake breakfast in the camper by request, followed by a family worship service. We took a little longer at the campground since the weather was clearing up, and even stopped at the Huntsville Wal-Mart and scored a few Christmas gifts before going back to Grandma's.

A friendly neighbor came over to chat

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We arrived before lunch and spent most of our day outside. The temperature rose into the low 60s and the sun came out, making for a gorgeous day. We took our customary golf cart tour of the lower pasture (once Christmas tree pasture, now personal golf course) and then Grandgeorge asked Noah to help him take down a big tree for firewood.

The view over the bluff, about 50 yards from Grandma's front porch

Noah took this picture of Chris and me

Audrey napped and Chris fretted about the weather while Noah and I were enjoying our tree-felling activities. When we returned to the big house, Chris told me we were destined for severe weather overnight and into Monday, so we made the difficult decision to forgo dinner and family time in nearby Eureka Springs and to instead head back, pack up the camper and start home. 

We left the state park before 5:00 and stopped near Fort Smith for a delicious dinner at Frank's Italian Villa. Chris battled some pretty strong winds on the drive home and we arrived at 12:30 a.m. Monday, safe and sound.