2012-11 Homer Louisiana to Hot Springs Arkansas

2012-11

Hot Springs Arkansas

Hot Springs National Park

Campground:  Gulpha Gorge Campground, 150 Gorge Road, Hot Springs AR 71901. Full hookups $12 senior rate, normal $24. This campground is a part of the Hot Springs NP.  Updated campsites with full hookups but many sites are short.  I found about 10 sites that a larger rig could fit in.  19 over the air TV channels available.

Campground:  Lake Catherine St Pk 1200 Catherine Park Road Hot Springs, AR 71913, $25 regular rate, Senior rate 25% off except weekends.  Full hookups, Nice large sites.  8 over the air TV channels available.

Tuesday, 4/24/2012.

friends Kathy and Randy

I've been busy this week.  After setting up at Lake Catherine, I had a visit from friends Kathy and Randy.  We couldn’t stop talking, trying to catch up on all the news over the past 6 months since we last saw each other.  Randy and Kathy recently bought a new 5th wheel, which makes it number 5 in 6 years.  Wow, maybe Randy should consider just test driving the campers for a couple months instead of buying them… .  They both lead a full life and visit with their kids and grandkids all summer long.  

Back in Hot Springs I had some chores to take care of.  Getting prescriptions refilled.  One now only costs 52 cents for a three month supply. Wow, what a deal.  I’ve discovered that Walgreens is better than Wal-Mart for getting my prescriptions across the country.  Grocery shopping.  Visiting Gulpha Gorge (Part of the Hot Springs National Park) campground to see if my camper will fit in.  Many of the sites are short.   I’m able to fit in a number of the full hookup sites, but it’s important to know which way to loop around this campground as some of the camp rows have a rather tight turn at the far end.  Best to stop at the entrance and walk the campground before trying to drive a big rig through to a campsite.  Thanks to Randy and Kathy, I checked it out before attempting to get into this campground.

Gulpha Gorge Campground

And finally a visit to the Dermatologist which I should have done this past winter.  Had a number of spots zapped with the nitrogen oxide to freeze the spots and one bump had a biopsy taken of it.  I may have to go back in to have it surgically removed.  I should know something next week.  Till then I’ll be in the Hot Springs area enjoying some great weather.  Note to self:  Be more diligent about wearing sunscreen every day.

The air is thick with the smell of jasmine.  Huge bushes of jasmine line the roads as well as patches of wild flowers showing off their spring colors of pink, yellows, dusty blues and white daisies.  I had one of what I’m sure will be many visits to the downtown area to see the row of Bath houses on one side of the street and all the shops and commercial building on the other side.  Sitting on a park bench I met a lady who was meeting a group of Baptist missionaries back from their world wide missions.  She was able to share with me some of the local food places to try out while I’m here and I shared a couple places she and her husband might like to visit on their summer vacation.  That is after they come back from Nome Alaska where her church group is going to build a house for one family up there.

Hot Springs Bath Houses

I received my first payment for my Google Adds on my website.  $102.00.   So thanks to everyone who has been clicking occasionally on one of those adds.  It’s helping to pay for the site, so keep on clicking those adds.  And surprise of surprises, I received a $326.01 overpayment check in the mail from one of my appointments for my hernia surgery a while back.  Seems the pre-op center was over zealous in collecting my yearly deductible payment up front.  Nice to have a little money come back instead of always going out.

Downtown Hot Springs

On Monday I packed up and drove a whole 17 miles to Gulpha Gorge Campground.  I was at my new campsite by 9:30 and set up by 10:00.  It’s part of the Hot Springs National Park and is about 2 miles from the downtown area. And I save lots of money being able to take advantage of my National Park Senior Pass, paying only $12 a night for full hookups.  What a deal.  If your over 62, you really should get a National Park Senior pass which will get you in all the National parks and monuments for free and you’ll only pay half price for campsites at National Parks, BLM land, National Forest and Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds.

Speaking of deals, with the higher price of fuel, I know many campers feels it’s becoming too costly to travel the country.  However, by traveling and staying a little longer at each campsite, I’m able to keep my fuel prices down considerably from last year.  This past month I spent $595 on camping averaging $16.97 a night.  My diesel fuel expenses amounted to $401 for the month of April, average price was $4.00 per gallon.  Traveling through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.  I expect once I begin my westerly trek I may pass through a few states more quickly and then my fuel price will jump easily another $100 to $200 depending on how quickly I travel across those mid-western states.

That’s it for this weeks report, more on Hot Springs next week.

Additional photos on Picasa