J.B.’S RV PARK NEAR BENTON ARKANSAS TO TEXARKANA TEXAS: FURNACE FIXED, WATER PROBLEM SOLVED AND RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, AND MORE RAIN:((

Our best night’s sleep since leaving home.  Not one single sound to wake us up and how nice to be plugged into electric and have my little ceramic heater sitting by my chair keeping me toasty warm all night.  I like being toasty warm where Kelly in her bedroom with no heat on at all likes it when wakes up with icicles hanging off the end of her nose.  A short walk around J.B.’s RV Park this morning and we had the big wheels rolling by 8:53. 

OUT FOR A MORNING WALK AROUND J.B.’S RV PARK

THAT’S OUR RIG TOP RIGHT

SOMETHING ODD HERE……NOTICE WHEN LOOKING THROUGH THE GAZEBO TENT HOW THE BACKGROUND DOESN’T MATCH UP TO THE BACKGROUND…….THAT’S BECAUSE THE GAZEBO TENT HAS A BIG NATURE SCENERY MURAL ALONG IT’S BACK WALL

NOW ISN’T THAT THE LONGEST DAT GUM SEWER HOSE  PIPE YOU’VE EVER SEEN

WOULD WE DO ANOTHER OVERNIGHTER HERE AT J.B.’S??  SURE WE WOULD, WE AIN’T FUSSY


J.B.’S DOES HAVE A NICE LITTLE POND WITH A HOUSE IN THE WOODS
Heavier I-30 traffic and 20 minutes after leaving the RV Park heading west we ran head long into a steady but expected rain front moving east.  Kelly busied herself on the phone trying to line up a place to have a look at our water problem and luckily found the Shady Pines RV Center in Texarkana.  Said for us to drop in at 1 o’clock.  Cracker Barrel was on the way so we weren’t long pulling in for today’s special, Chicken Pot Pie.  Totally excellent and we have put Cracker Barrel back in our good books after last Saturdays fiasco in Auburn Indiana.  This particular Cracker Barrel in Texarkana has fond memories for us.  In our earlier RV days using this same route to the southwest and back we have stopped 3 or 4 times here and this morning we parked in the same spot out back.  I can still see Max, Checkers, and little Cora all piling out of our 33’ Class A Damon Challenger’s door for a romp on the nice soft grass.

YESSIREEEE THAT’S A CRACKER BARREL SIGN OVER THERE ON THE RIGHT

BY GOLLY WE’VE ACTUALLY MADE IT TO TEXAS

KELLY HEADS INTO CRACKER BARREL THROUGH IT’S TWO WOODEN DOORS

CHECKING OUT SOME JAMS AND JELLIES IN THE GIFTSHOP

THEY SURE DO CRAM A LOT OF STUFF INTO THEIR GIFT SHOPS

THE EXACT SAME SPOT WE USED TO STOP WITH MAX, CHECKERS, AND LITTLE CORA YEARS AGO
Had a bit of a ker-fuffle finding the Shady Pines RV Center after leaving Cracker Barrel but that was my fault when I got us lost.  Garmin Gertie came to our rescue after she gave me a good swift kick in the assparagus and we were there well before one o’clock.  Raining like nuts as I un-hooked the Jeep.

HERE WE ARE LOST IN A MAZE OF STREETS SOMEWHERE IN TEXARKANA TEXAS

SHADY PINES RV CENTER LOT AND I’VE JUST UN-HOOKED THE JEEP
When we went to de-winterize the rig Tuesday at J.B.’s RV Park we could hardly get any water into our freshwater tank nor could we get any shore water into the coach.  When  I took the hose off the little bit of water we had got in ran back out.  Here’s what we didn’t know.  We had someone winterize the rig several months ago by blowing out the lines and the guy who fixed our water problem today said our check valve was in backwards.  I don’t quite understand how that’s possible but that’s what he said.  How nice to have water again and hot water as well after nearly 5 days on the road.  We’ve been carrying a lot of water jugs with us since last Saturday.  We also got our front furnace finally repaired today as well.  He showed us the rusted burner with a hole in it.  He installed a new burner and our front furnace works great now.

AT LEAST PHEEBS HAD A NICE BIG RUG TO LAY ON THIS AFTERNOON WHILE WE WAITED

AND WOULD I RECOMMEND THE SHADY PINES RV CENTER??  YES I WOULD

CAN YOU SPELL B.O.R.E.D.
It was 3 o’clock before we were set to go but instead of hitting the road again so late we decided to stay in the Shady Pines RV Park next door for the night.  Needed to fill up our fresh water tank anyway and wanted to be sure our water and furnace problems were working well before exiting the area.  The Shady Pines RV Park is quite a change from our previous nights lodgings.  We are on a long concrete pad and roads are paved.  Everything is neat and clean with lots of grass.  And with this steady rain upon us now we consider ourselves very lucky to be here where we are tonight sitting on solid cement. No mud!!!!
BECAUSE OF HEAVY RAINS I WAS UNABLE TO GRAB A FEW PHOTOS OF OUR SPOT HERE AT THE SHADY PINES RV PARK….MAYBE IN THE MORNING IF THE RAIN STOPS
It was just a short hop from the RV Center to the RV Park so drove the Jeep and Motorhome over separately in the pouring rain.  And in that same pouring rain I hooked the Jeep back up to the Motorhome.  Yes I luckily brought a raincoat with me.  I think this may be the first time in a dozen years we have stayed in an RV Park for ‘2’ nights in a row.  Of course I could be forgetting a few other times.
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Although it wasn’t cheap we are so happy to finally have our front furnace fixed and water problem solved.  With all the fixes and repairs these last 3 months I figure we’ll have to keep this rig for another 10 years. (2 new tail pipes, new rear brakes, all new spark plugs and manifold bolts, new windshield wipers, two new front tires, and probably a few other things I have no doubt forgot about.

TUESDAY’S REST AREA STOP NEAR FOREST CITY ARKANSAS
Kelly read in the latest edition of Bayfield’s Bayfield Breeze the new Tim Horton Coffee Shop, Gas Bar, and Convenience store is slated to open sometime in April of 2019.  And I just might be there opening day to get myself a brew too:))
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Tomorrow (Thursday) we do battle with Dallas Texas.  Wish us luck…………. 

WORKING AWAY ON MY BLOG POST TONIGHT
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A cowboy, who just moved to Wyoming from Texas, walks into a bar and orders three mugs of Bud. He sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.The bartender approaches and tells the cowboy, "You know, a mug goes flat after I draw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a time." The cowboy replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Arizona , the other is in Colorado . When we all left our home in Texas , we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we drank together. So I'm drinking one beer for each of my brothers and one for myself."The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.The cowboy becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three mugs and drinks them in turn.One day, he comes in and only orders two mugs. All the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss."The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns in his eyes and he laughs."Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains, "It's just that my wife and I joined the Baptist Church and I had to quit drinking.""Hasn't affected my brothers though."
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