Mississippi River

The storm in the south passed, fortunately all we got in southern Illinois was a day of rain.  On Friday we headed for West Memphis, Arkansas to a campground right on the banks of the Mississippi river.  We found this campground last year when we visited Memphis and really liked it.  It is called Tom Sawyers RV park and they have two sections of sites right on the banks of the river.  Because of the proximity to the river the campground monitors the level of the river and posts the current and forecasted heights letting campers know.  If the river reaches 31 feet the campground closes, which it does each year, until the river lowers.  Usually this occurs in May of each year but the forecast is for flooding next weekend.  So, we made it just in time.  Here is a picture of our site and our view.

On the way down to Memphis we stopped for lunch at Lambert’s Café in Sikeston, Missouri.  I had been there something like 25 years ago when my brother lived in Sikeston.  The restaurant then was just a little local café famous for its southern cooking, lots of food and rolls that they throw to you from all over the restaurant  Last year on our way home from Memphis I remembered it and we stopped.  Now it is HUGE!  The restaurant must seat over 500 people and there are usually long lines to get in.  When you do get in you can expect great service and lots of food.  No matter what you order there are servers walking around with extra side dishes for you to try and rolls flying all over.  Take a look at their website http://www.throwedrolls.com/ to see what I am talking about.

As the weather has been still somewhat cold on the trip we have been burning through propane.  So far had to fill up two tanks in a week.  That can get a little expensive.  The weather is supposed to warm up this weekend and be warmer as we move across Arkansas and into Texas next week.  We do use an electric space heater to reduce using the propane heater.  I guess that electric fireplace option for the trailer would have been a good idea!  For those of you not familiar with RV’s, they come with propane heaters and onboard tanks (like the tank for your BBQ grill).  Obviously you have to pay to refill this tanks and presently it costs around $27 to fill a 30lb. tank.  If you use electric heat (space heater or fireplace option) then you are not paying for the electricity as that is included in the cost of your site per night. Here is what our living room would have looked like with the fireplace option;

We decided against it because of the space it takes up and really did not think we would use it that much. 

As I write this posting I am sitting at our table looking out on the river.  Here is a picture of a barge going by.

They come by all day and they are so long.  This one is going up river so it is going very slow.  It is amazing the amount of power in the boats that push these mammoth loads.