The Thomas Family Travel Diaries

Oklahoma

Still making our way westward! Quick stop in Oklahoma to spend the night. Lots of wide open spaces. Passed many Indian Nations. It was a quick trip through Oklahoma, so it'll be a quick blog post...

We spent the night, so we added the sticker.

Our neighbors last night

Vast Nothingness

Very flat...We'll miss this soon!

Our second stop in Arkansas was Toad Suck, Arkansas. We stayed at a little county park - named Toad Suck Park :-) It was right on the water and in a quiet area. It was the perfect place to stop and rest on our journey west. We did a little exploring of the town, learned about how the town got its name, and hunkered down for the ice/snow storm that hit while we were there!

In Case You Were Wondering:
The Legend of Toad SuckLong ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn't, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: "They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads." Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend lives on. (Exerpt from www.toadsuckarkansas.net)

The view from our campsite

Finally putting the Arkansas sticker on our map...

Our travel day dinner...Delicious!

They are "famous" for their cheese dip....We thought it was just OK...

Working hard!

Reading!

Learning about Biomes

Our little schoolhouse

Freezing Rain

Out for a bit of exercise...Came home soaking wet~

Freezing rain changed to SNOW!!!

Snow Day!!!!!

A nice cozy meal in the crockpot

We were able to get back on our journey once the roads were cleared.

I followed until we got to the highway....And then we were off again!

West Memphis, Arkansas

Still heading west , we stopped at the Tom Sawyer Mississippi River RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas. It was very chilly and overcast and we just stayed two nights and rested and caught up on school work. Yes, it was dreary and although the campground was right on the Mississippi, it was so foggy we couldn't see it very well! We did see a steamboat through the fog, though!

Eeek! Not the warmest welcome :-)

Tom Sawyer's Shadow

Foggy as pea soup!

No fishing here!

I thought this was a hauntingly beautiful picture!

We didn't even unhook the Jeep!

We did learn a little about the Mississippi River while we were there!

Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville Shores)

Our next stop was Nashville, Tennessee! We stayed at an awesome RV Park (Nashville Shores!) It was off season when we visited, but in the summer, its is a full service Water Park/Adventure Park! They were updating the water slides while we were there - it was a major construction project! We would definitely LOVE to visit the park during the warm summer months - we could get used to camping steps away from massive water slides and zip line adventures! Our trip was quick and it was during the off season, so we made the most of our time and went sightseeing in Nashville! The boys also earned their first FTF Explorer Badge (which is a program like Boy Scouts, but for families who travel) Here's some of what we saw in Nashville!