Arkansas River Trip -- Days 25-27

Day 25: Lots of motoring again. We anchored at Cypress Creek, mile marker 168, which had a large sandy beach. Major enjoyed digging in the soft sand. I was digging the big sandy beach. No mud. No ticks on Major. Almost like South Padre !

You might notice in this picture that the Sherpa is rafted up to Caprice rather than being towed behind us. We found that this method works best for towing the Sherpa when the water is smooth and we are motoring.

Day 26: We started out early today and motored about 10 miles to Cadro Settlement Park. We tied up at the old steamboat wharf and went hiking on some of the trails. It's a historical area and really makes you think about the "Trail of Tears" and how Native Americans were treated.

We left the park and our next lock was this one. The name comes from the 1800's when there was a taven located here. Lots of heavy drinking resulted in one traveler remarking, "Those fellows suck at a bottle til they swell up like toads."

After the Toad Suck lock, we were able to sail again and enjoyed great sailing all afternoon. We went up Palarm Creek at mile marker 136 and anchored for the night. We had to take the masts down to get under a railroad bridge but the sky looked like it might get stormy and we wanted good protection. No storm came but we were good and protected anyway.



Day 27: We arrived in Little Rock about 4 pm today. This is a beautiful city of parks, restaurants, shops, hike and bike paths, and sculpture gardens. We tied up at a floating dock (old, small barge) and went up the stairs to the Riverfront Park. We went to dinner at Bosco's which is famous for its beers and spent a week's food budget on one meal. It was great !! I can't wait to explore the city tomorrow.

We just now moved the boat away from the wharf (at midnight) and anchored across the river. There was a homeless dude that seemed to be keeping an eye on the boat from the shadows above. We had seen him earlier in the evening and then, around 11 pm, Chris stuck his head outside and the guy was watching the boat from the railing above. He asked about the boat and if it was just the two of us traveling down the river. None of that seemed so bad, but when Chris turned off the computer (lights) the guy had moved into the shadow of the stairwell and was staring down at the boat. Chris kept an eye on him and something just didn't feel right about it. When he started down the steps, we quickly untied the boat and vacated the premises !! Maybe we've been away from civilization too long but my belief is that if your instinct tells you to do something, you better listen. So now, as long as the anchor doesn't drag and we don't get run down by a barge, we are good to go for another night :)