Quachita Lake AR Boondocking

One of the first couples we ever camped with when we first got the Casita in 2008 is Larry (Mountainborn) & Betty of the Mountainborn Chronicles blog. They were the first fulltimers we ever met, & I guess we can blame them for igniting our desire for this new lifestyle. We always try to stop in to see them when we’re near AR. Not too surprisingly, they’ll be camp hosting in Colorado this summer about an hour & a half south of our Poudre River job.

All the storms in TX that we managed to avoid the past two days finally caught up with us as it the rain got heavier the farther north we traveled into AR. However, Jeff got another wiggle fix this day from the curvy roads over the river & thru the woods to get to Larry & Betty in central western AR. After traveling for four days straight tho, we were in need of some serious down time, so they ushered us up the road to a fantastic, beautiful, perfect lake-side boondocking spot on Lake Quachita, west of Hot Springs AR. Jeff got an inexpensive 7-day fishing license, located the fresh water & dump area, & proceeded to pick a spot & get set up in the drizzle.

Both the trailer & the truck are in dire need of washing now since we splashed thru some big, red mud puddles on the way to the camp. But this place (which is free boondocking) is pretty close to our idea of the perfect campsite. Because of a marina around the corner, lots of loud, fast-moving fishing boats whiz by all day, starting before dawn, but for the most part, it’s a quiet spot. Seeing clean, fresh water nearby & surrounding mountains covered with tall trees (both leafing-out deciduous as well as pines & cedars) is just what we needed to see at this time of the year after a long, dusty, dry, somewhat barren winter in the desert.  [NO, don’t wanna see this place when it snows tho!!]

We couldn’t get the TV to pick up the satellite signal Thursday evening, but Friday morning finally discovered a loose cable on the DVR. It worked again. Checking cables has to become a must-check before setting up in a new location. AAAHHH. . .cell fon signal, internet, TV, fishing, trees, fresh water, privacy, good friends. We are so in heaven right now right here!

Our first sunrise

Boots “approves” our campsite

Checking those fishing lines first thing in the morning

Our 2nd sunrise

Unfortunately, our remaining three days were fairly cloudy & pretty windy. Our perfect campsite really catches the southerly wind swooping across the lake. It’d be great during hot, muggy temps, but cool & cloudy made outside a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we still really liked this campsite.

Unfortunately, the Lake has been cleared of the water weeds where bait fish hide so baiting the hooks on the floating jugs has been more difficult this year. Between the wind, cool temps, rain, & lack of bait fish, Larry didn’t catch any fish during our visit. Whaaa. Betty makes the best fried fish we’ve ever eaten & were disappointed to not have any during this visit!

We left the Lake & headed north with mixed feelings: sad to leave such a fantastic site near good friends but happy to return to visit friends & family in Missouri. We spent a week driveway docked in Springfield MO at a friend’s house. Kira really enjoyed having a big, fenced backyard to run around with two big doggy friends. We shopped, got caught up on laundry, & ate a few of our favorite places. And of course, plenty of visiting & relaxing. Monday morning (April 15) I finally got all the brain cells communicating enough to get our taxes done on line & submitted. Jeff got his knee checked at the Branson VA Clinic & has an MRI scheduled in a few weeks to see if something’s actually torn (& possibly correctable thru surgery) or simply sprained & continually getting re-injured. Unfortunately, that May MRI in Fayetteville changes our plans for moving north before heading to our summer job in Colorado. We planned to zip into Sioux Falls on the way to renew our truck/trailer license tags. There goes those Jello plans again.

Missouri (Arkansas & even Texas) are so beautiful in the Spring as everything comes alive again — but I could sure do without the volatile weather & risks of tornados. And since winter just doesn’t want to stop this Spring, we’ve got our fingers crossed that we won’t run into bad storms & freezing temps before finally roosting in Colorado for the summer. But hey — that’s why we’re happy having wheels under our bed!