April 5th, 6th
Even though it was wet, we decided to lay over a day in Arkansas at Lake Dardanelle State Park. The host was very nice, the rangers super friendly, and the facilities are awesome. Jenna and I each had a chance to run. After we all showered, we hit the ranger station, which has an incredible aquarium. We were all entertained with the fish, turtles, snakes, and honey bees.
On the caravan front, I discovered the heater wouldn't ignite. The piezo wasn't working. Again, I resorted to Google. To my surprise, this exact heater is still in production. I found the manual online, and realized the electric piezo runs on two AA batteries. After finding the compartment, and replacing the batteries, the heater runs again!
We realized that the options ahead would be either state parks or RV parks. While RV parks offer full hookups, laundry, showers, etc. We love state parks! They're inexpensive, typically facilities with showers, and great options for recreation. So, decided to do a few 300+ mile days in a row, versus 500 mile followed with a layover day.
April 7th
We found Foss State Park, OK, on a very windy evening. The ranger thought it was chilly, but we let her know that we left our house with 2' of snow in the yard - no complaints about the cold.
Jenna got a run in. The kids were very entertained with the tumbleweed. So much they gathered tumbleweed from all over and built a monster tumbleweed. I took photo and wrestled with the fridge. The wind kept blowing it out.
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the lake, then packed for New Mexico.