On June 17, 2024, we left El Dorado State Park in Kansas and traveled east to Hickory Creek State Park in Arkansas. After traveling most of the day, we were about 30 minutes from our site when we had a trailer tire blowout. Of course, it occurred in rush hour, on a major highway with a narrow sloped side, and on a turn. We called roadside assistance, who indicated they’d come in about an hour. After 30 minutes, the person coming called, and after we gave him some details, we determined he had insufficient equipment to lift our trailer. We initiated the process again with the same kind of wait. One of our sons and his family lived within an hour of our breakdown, so he came to assist and beat the others to the job. It is always lovely to have capable and willing loved ones. We got back on the road and headed to our site on the shore of Beaver Lake. We had a back-in site with electrical hookups right on the shore.
We stayed in this area for seven nights and enjoyed visiting our family. During the week, we went to a beach near the Beaver Lake dam. We swam and played with the grandchildren in warm, clear water. We also visited a museum, kayaked and snorkeled, visited our son’s and daughter-in-law’s home, attended a granddaughter’s baptism, and enjoyed many meals together. It was an excellent opportunity to combine our love for camping and the outdoors with a visit to our loved ones.
We took our son and granddaughter fishing on Beaver Lake with a guide and caught several fish. Fishing with her grandma was our granddaughter’s birthday gift from us. It was fun.
The area and campground were pleasant. The lake was so lovely and warm that we wanted a few extra days, so we moved to Parker Bottoms Campground just below the Beaver Lake dam. It was a quick move that included a stop to replace the spare tire with a new tire for the trailer.
| Nights | Total Nights | Miles | Total Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 251 | 246 | 23520 |
