We had booked our trip for Arkansas many months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we still had our vacation time approved, it wasn't until the last minute that we knew whether we were going to be able to travel or not (either of our employers could have cancelled vacations if the surge happened). Even when we knew we could go, we had to contend with the shelter-in-place orders of several different states on the way to (and including) Arkansas.
Day 1 - We left early Thursday 4/10 and drove 14 hours to my mom's house in Arizona. There was some weather between Bakersfield and Barstow that added a couple of hours to our initial drive and we arrived around 7 pm. We had a nice visit that evening and breakfast in the morning. We left around 9 am and headed to our next stop, Sante Fe, NM.
Day 2 - After about 8 hours of driving, we arrived at the KOA campground in Sante Fe, NM. The NM COVID orders allowed RV camping (only self-contained, as the shower and bathroom facilities were closed). The hosts were very pleasant and there was a nice fenced dog run where our two boys could run.
Day 3 - On Saturday we left early (around 6 am) and started the long 10 hour drive to Oklahoma City, OK. We were familiar with this particular route on I40 from our trip in 2018. It is long, straight, flat, and very windy. After a long, uneventful day, we arrived at the KOA campground in the east side of OKC. Again, the facility was experiencing similar COVID orders and there were very few RVs camping. We had a nice rest and let the dogs run in a fenced area. However - during the evening we experienced a very sever thunderstorm passing through the area.
Day 4 - Sunday presented a shorter leg of our trip, but a second thunderstorm system was following the one from the night before. Looking at the weather app's radar, another storm from the south was going to join this one about the time we would arrive in Arkansas. We made haste and left early, trying to stay ahead of the storm. We were nearly to Conway, AR when our first rain started. Our route took us north from here and we missed most of the storm during the drive. We had booked a couple of nights at the Ozark RV Park in Mountain View, AR. The storm finally hit that night and it had lost much of its intensity. This was the last weather we had during our trip. The RV Park was very pleasant and had very few RVs camping.
Day 5 - On Monday, we drove on Highway 66 west toward Highway 65. We looked around Clinton, AR, and headed north to St. Joe (to look at some properties. We moved our reservation for this night to the Gilbert RV park near the Buffalo River National Park. We were one of three RVs camping that night.
Day 6 - We headed north on Highway 65 on Tuesday, heading through Berryville and had a reservation at the KOA in Eureka Springs, AR. This area normally was a bustling resort town, but due to COVID it was nearly deserted. The RV park was nice and the dogs got another change to run around in a fenced area.
Day 7 - On Wednesday, we headed around the north side of Beaver Lake, through Rogers, Bentonville, and Fayetteville. We had reservations at the Hog Valley RV and Treehouse Resort. This was a relatively new RV park and there was active construction. However, the hosts were very nice and we had a nice stay.
Days 8 - 11 - On Thursday, we made the decision to head home a little early. We have viewed several different properties throughout the Ozarks (at least from the roads) and got a real feel for the different areas in which we would like to see more properties in the upcoming months. Rather than stay a few more nights, we hit the road. We headed back to the KOA in OKC, then to the KOA in Sante Fe, then back to my mom's house. We drove 12 hours on Sunday and returned home later that evening.
Thoughts from our trip:
1) We definitely know we would like to buy raw land and build the house to our own specifications
2) We like the St. Joe area and other areas close to the Buffalo or White Rivers
3) There was a very nice Mercedes Dealership in Bentonville (we had our brakes and tires checked for the long trip home).
4) Finding a good place to stop and get diesel or have lunch (our own food in our RV) is not easy in the Desert areas (New Mexico, Arizona, California). Finding fuel is easy, but we like to use a phone app to pay (don't trust the card readers at the pumps). The truck stops seem to be the best places (logistically), like Love's or Pilot/Flying J. However, the app doesn't let the user pay for diesel at the automobile pumps (have to use the Truck lanes). Love's only allows commercial drivers to pay with the app. We usually looked for a Shell, Chevron, or Exxon (apps that work very well).
5) Fuel prices outside of California were amazingly low. In Oklahoma and Arkansas, gas was about $1.30 a gallon and diesel was as low as $1.80 a gallon.
6) KOA parks were surprisingly nice places, as long as you aren't in the city.
7) During the entire trip, we practiced social distancing, wore masks when around others, and washed our hand prolifically. Other travelers didn't seem to practice these measures as well. The gas stations had the appropriate shielding and masks for employees but the travel centers had many travelers not using precautions.
8) For the very first time, we spent 10 nights and 11 days completely self contained. We slept, showered, toileted, and ate in our RV. It was good to "shelter" in our second home away from the masses.
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