Florence, Al

Since Leon was so far "east" as Arkansas, he decided it was time to pay his cousin Nancy in Florence, Alabama a visit. She and Tony were excellent hosts and we spent a fun filled few days with them.



We took a ride along the Natchez Trace, an old Indian traveling route that runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. The two lane road has been turned into a parkway with reduced speed limits and the setting is quite pastoral all along the undeveloped countryside. We stopped at many of the scenic pullouts before exiting the parkway and continuing to Nashville, Tn.


Around every curve we seemed to see deer and turkeys. I was surprised to see this turkey strutting right alongside the highway.

Lisa and Jason were kind enough to put their barge in Pickwick Lake and take us for a boat ride. They are a real inspiration and a delightful couple to know.

Leon, Nancy, Jason, Lisa and the grandsons enjoyed a marvelous afternoon riding on Pickwick Lake. The area around Florence appears to be a real sportsman's paradise.


Tony and I fished while the others rode around on the barge. We got into some nice little stripers just below the dam and of course had to take some to the house.

At last it came time to take the quads out. Nancy, Tony, Leon and I went to a hunting area that belongs to some of their friends. It was a great place to ride in the woods.

We finally found what we had been searching for. The woods are full of wild hogs. It was just another of a string of really fine days.

Mtn. View, Batesville, Jacksonport, Arkansas

After spending 10 days in Hot Springs it was time to move on again. So we went north into the Ozark Mountains and joined the WINS at Sylamore Creek Campground in Mtn. View, AR. We spent one week there hiking, fishing, enjoying country music on the square, visiting the Ozark Folk Center, exploring the cave at Blanchard Springs and the spring of the same name. This was a 4 mile hike with an overlook high above the White River on the Sylamore Bike Trail. More photos.


Not far from Mtn. View is the Mark Martin Ford Dealership in Batesville where the NASCAR driver also has a museum and many of his old race cars displayed. It was an interesting stop along the backroads of Arkansas. More photos.


We spent a night at the state park in Jacksonport, AR near Newport. We had a nice campsite on the White River in a serene setting. We ran lots of errands in town before heading for Alabama on April 26, 2006. More photos.

Seligman, AZ & Albuquerque, NM

In April we traveled east traveling to Arkansas mostly on I 40. We stopped to visit Pam & Tim in Kingman, AZ and spent the night in front of their house. Our next stop was Seligman, Az to see if the old Roadkill Cafe was still there. It is fun to stop in some of the old towns that were along Route 66 and see what still exists of the old hotels, cafes, and neon signs.


We spent the night at the Sky City Casino in Grants, NM and got past Albuquerque the next morning before we had truck trouble. After a new water pump we still needed a tow truck ride back to Albuquerque. So we abandoned the trailer in Moriarty and spent a 3 day vacation in Albuquerque. While the truck was in the shop we took advantage of their bus transportation system.


It turned out to be a fun vacation that we might never have taken.
We found ourselves running all over Albuquerque, NM. The section of town on old route 66 has some interesting sites. Further down the bus route we visited old town which was established in 1706.
More Photos: April Stops