Snowbird Travels – Stop 3

Days 3 – 23 – Thanksgiving(s) 2020

The night we arrived in Arkansas was frustrating. From trying to back in in the dark, to a litany of issues we had trying to configure it all. One of the things that we had done before we left Colorado was to get the rig winterized. The temps had dropped in the teens briefly before we left, and to be safe we thought it best. For some reason when they winterized it, our black tank lever went missing. For those who don’t know, the black tank is the one linked to the toilet. Anyway, when we had left Kansas I thought I had shut the black tank all the way – because of no lever, I wasn’t 100% sure on that one. Turns out, I didn’t. So when we got to Arkansas and were setting up, Dan had asked me to go over and connect the sewer hose. Typically he does it because I can’t ever get the thing open. This time was no different. He comes over to put the hose on, opens the hose connection, and gets covered. When I say covered, I mean covered in what I can only call fermented black tank gunk. Topping it off, we didn’t have the water heater on to get hot water through the trailer, so not only is he covered, he can’t even wash it off. OOPS. We were able to get him mostly cleaned, and tried to spray down the area to get the smell somewhat away, but that made for a long night. Off to get pizza and beer, we decided wait til the morning to get everything else taken care of. Yes, Dan did get cleaned. And a great friend suggested Dan smell coffee grinds to get the smell out of his nose (thanks Dave). To say Dan was ready to turn around and head back was an understatement!!!

The next day was better, as the sun came up and we were able to see the views around us and realize, this spot was pretty nice. Although Dan had his truck in the shop two days with some computer issues and felt stranded, even he enjoyed being fully surrounded by woods. There were a lot of hiking trails we enjoyed with the dogs and my view from my “desk” while working was the trees surrounding us. The best part about this spot though, was the proximity to my Grandma’s house. It was a short 2 mile drive away – and spending the time close to her was well worth it. Not only did we get to spend time with her, it allowed for more family to visit – starting with my Uncle Jack & Aunt Julie from Wisconsin. We enjoyed time with them, getting to play games, sit and catch up, and of course hit a casino to try our luck there!

After they left, my mom came in to spend almost a week. She was gracious enough to get an Air B&B for my brother and his family to stay in as well. With all of them arriving, we got to celebrate Thanksgiving early – with all of my siblings, the kids, and of course the grandmas. It was a wonderful celebration and there were so many laughs shared. Josh and Dan were able to go fishing together and of course they hit the casino as well. Now Dan had some funny things to say about fishing with Josh but that aside he said he really enjoyed just getting away and chatting with him; even if Josh tried to hook Dan a few times, had him tie a swivel on and lost a good lure lol. Josh was the only one to land anything; which turned out to be a 6 foot foam platform of some kind. Dan and I got to enjoy a sleep over with Eloisa – she enjoyed spending the night with us in “her room” (the bunk room) of the trailer.

Once they all took off, we were able to enjoy more quiet time with grandma – from sewing lessons (she gave to Dan), golf, walks with the dogs, and the official Thanksgiving – with NO turkey! LOL. We had our third Thanksgiving that week, when Joe (D3) came out and we went down to my sisters to celebrate with them as well. We gave Slade an early Christmas gift that day, a fishing pole for him to learn on for when we come back around and Uncle Dan can take him out for real. The food was great and the company was also. We will see them again in February.

Some of the other things we enjoyed was a visit to the Cooper Memorial Chapel, a breathtaking chapel located right in Bella Vista. We also popped into a Calvary Chapel service – which was a delight to be able to visit and worship with them. I also made sure to get in my November 5k – this time with Leo along for the fun!