In the time that’s passed since our last update, we’ve traveled nearly 1,800 miles and traded out chilly fall nights for balmy tropical evenings. As our friends and relatives in the northeast are currently in the midst of a winter storm, we’ve abandoned cold weather and the threat of ice and snow for the season. While we’re glad to be out of freezing temperatures, we both enjoy the changing seasons and the coziness inherent in autumn as the leaves drop and the air grows crisp. Plus, plummeting temperatures give us a good reason to pile on Ashley’s handmade knit items like hats, gloves, and even sweaters. So while we’re now sweating it out in the humid ocean air, we reveled in fall’s cool embrace as we drove through the mid-southern states watching October steadily shift into early November.

Our first stop after leaving Waco, Texas was Millwood State Park in Ashdown, Arkansas. This was the first of many short overnight stays lined up on our voyage to the Florida Keys. The leisurely travel pace established during our summer in New Mexico morphed into a relentless push to make miles across the country. While we still enjoyed a more relaxed journey than say an average road trip focused on bee-lining to a destination, our overnight stays drastically diminished in length and travel days expanded to twice what we’d normally choose. We may have stopped in both Arkansas and Tennessee for a few nights, but we barely glimpsed either state nor did we spend enough time to do any proper exploring. Despite the lack of in-depth regional experiences along the way, we did get bare snapshots into the rural areas around a couple of state parks.

Millwood State Park lies along Millwood Lake, a 29,260-acre body of water home to a fully outfitted marina and supposedly excellent bass fishing (and catfish, and crappie). Since we only spent one full day at Millwood, I didn’t bother to get an Arkansas fishing license so I can’t report any first-hand experience. We spotted quite a few boats on the water and fish actively breaking the surface in search of breakfast during the early morning hours. The park offers 45 campsites ranging from full hook-ups to primitive tent sites. The park flooded in 2015 destroying a camping loop that was never rebuilt, leaving these remaining sites as mostly full hook-up 50 amp “Class AAA” sites (27 in total), 15 water and electric sites, and the three primitive tent sites. The non-functional loop appeared to be water and electric sites, which probably explains the mismatch between what’s presently available.

We had reservations for two nights, leaving only one full day to explore the park. Visitors can hike two trails totaling five and a half miles in length (one short at one and a half miles, the other longer at four miles) or spend time on the lake boating and fishing. Alligators are present in the area, so visitors should stay alert when near the water (although we didn’t spot any during our stay). These gators can grow up to 12 feet long and clock in at over 800 pounds – probably why the park doesn’t allow swimming and pet owners are reminded to keep a close eye on little Mr. Fluffy.

Our visit coincided with Halloween weekend and the park had holiday activities planned across two days. The campsite decorating competition didn’t attract heavy participation, but the nighttime wildlife hike followed by a bonfire complete with hot chocolate and scary stories pulled people out of their RVs. The noisy group tromping through the defunct camping loop likely chased off most nocturnal creatures, but we did spot a few whitetail deer scattered through the trees. While the “scary” stories were definitely G-rated jokes for the kids, we did hear a small amount of folklore about the local Bigfoot legend. The fabled Sasquatch is rumored to lurk in the deep forests throughout Arkansas, with the elusive specimens around Millwood Lake attracted to marshmallows. You can keep these towering hairy beasts at bay by tossing a marshmallow or two into the dark woods surrounding your campfire. The raccoons likely ate well that night after the bonfire died down and parents carried their sleepy yet sugar-laden children back to their respective campsites.

Millwood is a quiet, small park in a wooded area along a lake. The facilities are well-kept and the staff is friendly. If you enjoy fishing, boating, or simply spending time along the shores of a lake, Millwood would be a choice destination for your next outing. Just watch out for gators and Bigfoot, and maybe carry some marshmallows in your pocket just to be safe – although you might need some chicken legs for the alligators, that’s up to you.

Our next stop took us over the Arkansas border into Tennessee, all the way to Memphis. And before you ask – no, we didn’t go to Graceland while we were in town. In fact, we didn’t even see any of the city. This was one of those times traveling without a small car limited our exploration options since we chose not to bike the ten or so miles from T.O. Fuller State Park into Memphis, or drive the RV into the city. And that’s OK – we know we can’t see everything during this RV adventure, and we’re content knowing that we could visit a city on different terms in the future. Elvis will just have to wait, even though his love won’t. That’s an Elvis joke in case you missed it. In a line of lyrics from “It’s Now or Never”, the King claims his “love won’t wait.” Isn’t it funny now that I’ve explained it? Probably not.

T.O. Fuller is located conveniently close to Memphis, for those campers choosing to drive into town and see the sights. The camping area is fairly small, but typical of most wooded state parks. The facilities are a little rundown and the campground had an unpleasant aroma on the evening of our arrival, but the breeze overnight cleared the air and the offending odor didn’t return. The park features eight miles of hiking trails, one of which is easily accessible by short connectors from within the camping loop. The Discovery Trail leads to the Chucalissa Archaeological Site which has a museum open Tuesday through Sunday. We, of course, visited on a Monday so the museum was closed.

The Chucalissa American Indians inhabited the land around the Mississippi River outside of present-day Memphis between AD 1000 and 1500. They constructed earthen platform mounds used in ceremonies and as housing for high-ranking officials within their culture. This particular site was discovered in the 1930s during construction of the park (which was originally built during the Jim Crow era and established as the Shelby County Negro Park). The C.H. Nash Museum opened in 1956 on the Chucalissa site and features a hands-on archaeology laboratory, exhibits on prehistoric and historic occupants of the region, a nature trail, arboretum, and an array of native plant species used for medicines, dyes, and other ancient purposes.

This early group of Native Americans are thought to be the first to settle the Mid-South. Their descendants include the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Quapaw, and Cherokee tribes which still live in the region. If you’re interested in prehistoric native life, as well as unique archaeology, check out the Chucalissa site and accompanying museum. The site is even a lab for training archaeologists and open to the public to learn more about this particular branch of science. Just don’t arrive on a Monday, or the only thing you’ll see is the outside of the museum building.

Two state parks in four short days…next up – Florence, Alabama. Home to one of Ashley’s early handcrafting mentors and sewing inspirations, Alabama Chanin. Coming up in the next post!