North to Ely MN

We departed Big Spring CG about 10:00 AM on August 27, after 4 nights camping and 2 days paddling.  By leaving a day early we were successful in missing the remnants of Hurricane Laura, which did make landfall that morning and was predicted to continue northward up the Mississippi River valley.

We negotiated scenic US highways through eastern Missouri stopping for the night fairly early at Riverfront Park, a city park in Canton MO.  Riverfront Park is on the banks of the Mississippi River just below Lock and Dam No. 20.  The park was very convenient, only about a mile off the highway.  It had full hook ups with 50A service and the price was right.  Our neighbors offered to share their shrimp dinner, but we gratefully declined.  At dusk, folks made fires right on the banks of the river.  It was a neat place.

Lock and Dam No. 20.  This photo was lifted from Wikipedia

Our camp at Riverfront Park

About a dozen barges locked through while we were at Riverfront Park

Camp at sunrise with a barge up-bound

Stopped at a rest area in Iowa

We spent the next night, August 28 at a Walmart in Pine City MN, about 65 miles north of the Twin Cities.  After leaving Missouri the temperatures dropped dramatically. It was very pleasant at our camp in Canton MO and downright cool in Pine City MN.  We never ran the air conditioner in the coach after departing Missouri.  The drop was not due solely to moving north; temperatures were generally cooler through the whole midwest.

Camp Wally World at Pine City MN

We finally arrived at Ely MN, one of our favorite places, and checked in on site 15 at Fall Lake campground.

Site 15 at Fall Lake

Some sites have a private path to the lake.  Not ours though. 

 

Franklin's ground squirrels are frequent visitors in the campground

Day-paddling on Garden Lake

You can fix anything with duct tape

A pair of ruffed grouse near camp

So true

This is the forecast for the next 10 days starting today Tuesday September 8.  FROSTY!!!!!!

We will put in at Lake One for our 2-week wilderness trip on Wednesday Sep 9.  That morning the low temp is forecast to be 30 degrees.  BRRRRR!  Thankfully however the temps should rise in the next week or so, and there is no rain in the immediate forecast.

Paddling on the Current River in Southern Missouri

We spent 5 nights at Buffalo Point.  On Sunday August 23 we packed up and headed to our next adventure on the Current River near Van Buren MO.  When I retracted the jacks the air bags again failed to fill. CRAP!  It looks like it will take a trip to the shop to get it repaired.  Thankfully, my long-stick-to-the-bypass-valve hack is still working, so we were able to pull out with little delay.  

Our destination this day is Big Spring Campground on the Current River near Van Buren MO.  The Current River is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways comprising primarily the Current River and Jack's Fork River in the Missouri Ozarks.  We have paddled both rivers end to end several times on long camping trips, the last time in 2012.  

Big Spring

During our time at Big Spring Campground we continued to be blessed with uncomfortably high temperatures

The Buffalo and Current rivers are in different parts of the Ozarks and have some similarities, but also some major differences. The bluffs on the Buffalo are higher, more frequent and just plain fantastic.  The Current is characterized by its springs and blue/green water.  While it can be difficult to paddle the Buffalo during dry spells, the Current can generally be paddled year round.

Over sixty percent of the Current River flow comes from seven major and hundreds of other smaller springs of various sizes within the park. Big Spring, one of the largest springs in the United States, has an average flow of 276 million gallons of water per day. The maximum recorded flow in one day was 840 million gallons in June 1928.

We paddled 2 days on the Current, one day above Big Spring and the other day below Big Spring.

The path of Hurricane Laura

We were originally scheduled to be at Big Spring CG for 5 nights and depart on Friday Aug 28.  That would leave just 1 night to drive 950 miles to Ely for our scheduled check-in on August 29 at Fall Lake.  Doable, but why kill ourselves?  Consequently we decided to leave Big Spring a day early on August 27 for 2 reasons.  First, we would not need to change our Fall Lake reservation in Ely and could spend 2 nights on the road to get there.  And second, Hurricane Laura, a very serious storm, had just made landfall at Louisiana on Aug 27.  The remnants of Laura were predicted to continue north up the Mississippi valley, exactly where we were.  By leaving a day early on August 27 we would likely outrun the foul weather.  It's good to live in a house on wheels.  

Life is good.

Paddling on the Buffalo River in Northern Arkansas

 The Buffalo River is one of our all time favorite rivers.  We have paddled long sections of the river as camping trips about a half a dozen times over the years, but the last time we had been on this river was in 2013, seven years ago.  Wayne had suggested visiting the Buffalo and paddling a few days on our way to Minnesota.  That was a grand idea, so we made a plan.

After our late start leaving the Smokies we did not make up any lost time in eastern Tennessee.  The coach pulled the hill over Newfound Gap nicely, and we easily coasted down the Tennessee side of the hill and out of the park.  However, shortly after leaving the park there was a long delay for a construction back-up. After clearing that mess we took the bypass around Gatlinburg, but experienced incessant stop and go traffic through Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.  Finally we arrived on I-40 east of Knoxville and were free-sailing.  Or so we thought.  After fueling up in Knoxville we hit another slowdown and creeped along at about 10 mph for most of an hour.  All in all, not a great day for making good time on the super-slab.  The rest of the day there were no more delays.  We spent the night at a Walmart in Jackson TN after driving a very long 376 miles.   When we parked at Walmart we found a level place to park and did not extend the leveling jacks.  Consequently I don't know yet if the problem filling the air bags after leveling still exists.  

The next morning we continued west on I-40, crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis and turned north towards the Arkansas Ozark mountains.  We arrived at Buffalo Point Campground on the banks of the Buffalo River by mid afternoon after diving 281 miles across mostly Arkansas back roads.  

The Pyramid in Memphis is now a hotel and Bass Pro Shop

Crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas

Wild Bill's Outfitter is located near the Buffalo River near Dillard's Ferry, Buffalo Point and Yellville AR. When we did our Buffalo River camping trips we always used Wild Bill to shuttle our vehicles.  Wild Bill's also happened to be the closest place to our camp to find a cellular signal, so we visited there every day or two to catch up on the news from the outside world. 

It has been hot and humid all summer at home in NC.  The forecast predicted no break from the heat, although the humidity may have been a bit lower.

The Buffalo National River is America's first national river. Established in 1972, the Buffalo National River flows freely for 135 miles and is one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the lower 48 states.  It is by far one of the most scenic rivers we have ever paddled.  On this trip we will be paddling on the lower section of the river near Dillard's Ferry, which has fewer tall bluffs than the more scenic upper reaches.  Enough talk.  Sit back and enjoy the ride