Journey to Alaska Has Begun

We are now on the road for our third RV trip to Alaska. We left Hattiesburg, MS about noon on Wednesday June 4 and are now in Sioux City, Iowa. After leaving Hattiesburg, we drove to Holmes County State Park which is about 50 miles North of Jackson. Upon arrival, we encountered our first problem---there was no water throughout the campground. The ranger told us that there had been a pipe break and they were working on it.

I decided to go on out for a run and hope the water would be on when I got back. I really do like having a Garmin watch with GPS because I can simply wander around and always know my distance and pace. The route I chose was a country road and it turned out to be quite nice, although a bit hilly. I did a total of 5.25 miles walking and running. When I got back, I was rewarded with the news that the water was on and I had a wonderful cooling shower.

Thursday was a long day as we had told my sister that we would make it to Fayetteville, AR. Pulling a travel trailer, with small tires, means that it is not safe to go too fast and we tend to stop quite often. We did arrive before night and unhooked the trailer on my sister's property which is located a few miles from her condo. Since we had arrived so late, neither Hollie nor I felt like running so we enjoyed an evening of "talking" with my sister. If you know either my sister or my husband, you know how they love to talk, especially politics. Hollie is ultra conservative and my sister says she is "progressive" but I classify her as very liberal. I gave up on the conversation at midnight and the next morning, they told me they had continued talking until about 2 am.

Friday - The Fayetteville area has quite a few "commuter" trails for walking, running, and biking and we wanted to investigate the newest which is around Lake Fayetteville. The portion that I ran/walked was about 5.75 miles and went all the way around the lake. It was asphalt, shady, with lots of wildflowers and other greenery.

That evening we took my sister out to eat and then she drove us around to some of the places that had been so familiar to us when were students at the University of Arkansas. My! How things have changed. Hollie and my sister continued with their political discussions and I took to my bed to read.

Saturday we had a plan to drive North of Rogers, AR so that Hollie could ride the 7 plus mile park road at Pea Ridge National Military park. When we arrived there, it was raining quite hard so we decided to go back to Rogers and work out at the Y. Guess what? By the time we got there, it had stopped raining and the sun was beginning to make an appearance. Hollie went ahead and rode a stationary bike, but I went exploring on foot outside. I quickly found the Fayetteville Greenway Trail which will eventually be complete from Fayetteville to Bella Vista. I covered more distance than I planned because I got somewhat lost. The only thing that saved me from *really* being lost was there was a church right next to the Y and it had three very tall crosses which were visible for miles. My problem was that although I could see them, the trail had quite a few turns and very few places to cross over or under the bypass. I ended up covering 7 miles.

Saturday afternoon we were joined by a friend of my sister's adult children. After visiting with him at the condo, we then went out to eat and after eating we drove around the University. Once again, I was amazed at how things have changed and especially in awe of the huge apartment complexes which have been built near campus.

Sunday we drove to St Joseph, MO stopping along the way to workout and shower at a Y just outside of Kansas City. We are so pleased with the way we are able to use our Y membership at just about any Y in the world. Over the course of our nearly 15 years of being Y members, we have probably used Y facilities at between 50 and 75 different locations.

Sunday evening was spent in a St Joe Walmart parking lot. Don't laugh! All we do is stop there long enough to sleep and then head on down the road. They also get quite a bit of our money.

Monday - We drove to Council Bluffs, Iowa where we visited another Y and then headed on down the road where we are now in a restaurant rather similar to Bop's in Hattiesburg---except larger and and more varied menu. I will soon sample their product and will report. We will stay the night at Walmart and get on down the road tomorrow.

I plan for this blog to have lots of pictures, but as yet, I have only one and it is on my brand new iPhone which I do not yet know how to properly use. I promise to include pictures and have less text. In the meantime, I am interested in any comments that you may have.



Saturday