Maumelle Park

 

    The past 2 days have reminded me the title of this series is "Summer of 2024".  Making our way south, the heat increased to the point that the Cab A/C couldn't manage and at a rest area I started the generator and turned on the roof A/C to help.  I used to think this was wasteful but as the temperature was now approaching 100 and the heat index now at 111 it was a necessity.  We arrived at Maumel Park at about 4:30, checked in and made our way to our assigned pull-thru campsite.  This is a beautiful Core of Engineers Park situated between the Arkansas River on the east side and Pinacle Mountain to the west.  We had stayed here once before and decided it was a great primary first stop for any travels to the south or east.  

The heat was stifling and I ended up leaving the cab A/C on for a while after we got set up just to get it comfortable inside.  It was 8:00 before the sun fell behind the trees and the air began to cool.  I decided to rinse off the salty sweat my shirt could no longer absorb and take a cool shower.  The water pressure here at the park was dismal, so I decided to turn on the water pump for better flow.  NOT what I was expecting.  I didn't take into account the water tank on the RV had been in the heat just like the rest of us and the cold water tap produced nothing less than 90 degree water so, off with the pump and enjoy the low pressure cool water.  

Overnight low was only 76 and todays high is 97 with 95% humidity.  A perfect excuse to stay inside and catch up on the blog.    I ventured out a few times this morning.  Toto and Bilbo were eager to follow and make their mark on the campsite.  We had a cool breakfast of toast and some juicy peaches we found at a roadside stand on the way.  I just love farm fresh tree ripened fruit so much more than anything we can find at the grocery, there's just no comparison.   Already 90 degrees by 10 am.  we snacked on a couple hard boiled eggs from the fridge and sat down to enjoy some music.

We topped out at 97 and the RV topped out at 85 inside.  I managed to reset the A/C and got her back down to 77 which is what my background in HVAC tells me it should be able to do.  In all that heat, It was a great opportunity to make a walmart run, the A/C in the car would get us back to comfortable, Lynn would shop for items that wouldn't need more than the microwave or fridge.  Of all things, the temperature was only 89 outside walmart, but I watched it run right back up to 96 as we drove back to the campsite.  Did I mention it was hot?  

OK, it's a cool 71 inside now, I'm finishing up the blog post for today and planning the trip to Tennessee tomorrow morning.  We'll be stopping overnight at Chickasaw State Park in Henderson, TN then a few more hours east and a two night stay in Winchester, TN.