Old Post Road Park

our site at Old Post Road campground

our own little piece of heaven

We are at the Old Post Road Campground, a park which overlooks the north branch of the Arkansas River, just below the Dardanelle Lock and Dam in Russellville, AR. It's operated by the Corps of Engineers' Russellville Project. Not only is there a beautiful campground here with a large boat ramp, but right next door (you can walk or bike right over there) are extra picnic shelters, football and soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, the locks, and the Visitor Center for the Arkansas River area. This is a year round campground. In another month, the bald eagles will be seen in the park between sunrise and 10:00 AM.  during December, January and February. That would be cool to see! There have been as many as 30 bald eagles spotted at one time between the campground and the dam. The best time to see them is in these early morning hours and when there has been extended periods of near freezing weather. We're using Eldy's senior pass again, so the rate is 9.00 a night for water and electric, no sewer. The TV antenna can only pull in three channels, so we're not able to watch much TV. That's ok, the air card works great so at least there's internet.

There is a lock between Lake Dardenelle and the Arkansas River, and it sees quite a bit of traffic, so you can watch the boats and occasional barge come through.  There is a decent sized woods behind the campground, and there are quite a few deer running around, even in the daytime! While on a bike ride today, I saw two different big bucks in two different areas of the woods, along with some females. The bucks weren't chasing anything, so I'm not sure if mating season has started yet down here. We've been looking over the literature for the area. There are some really nice state parks close by, we may decide to check those out later in the week. For now, we're taking it easy, and Eldy is working on getting his one knee that isn't doing so hot in better shape to maybe do a little hiking or bike riding. You can ride your bikes in the spacious park, but there are no bike trails nearby except for a little one that goes around the soccer fields next door.  I just discovered a disc golf park in the area! Woo-hoo! One of my favorite things to do in the fall!

This afternoon I met an interesting gentleman at the campground. I had gone down a couple of doors and knocked to ask where to get firewood. First, I spotted the tow car. It was a bright Christmas red Pontiac Vibe,  and it had license plates on the back that said Santa Claus. Who should come out the door after my knock, but a guy who looked like a dead ringer for Santa. He had snow white hair, wire rimmed glasses, and a full snow white beard. I tried not to gawk, and the obvious comment that wanted to come out my mouth was, "SA-A-A-A-NTA!" But I didn't say it. Instead I made small talk about the firewood, he told me some great places to go visit, and finally, I just HAD to say, "Uh, you do the Santa thing, I'll bet, don't you?" A brilliant comment on my part....and he went on to say yes, he did...for old folks and special ed. kids...that was his specialty, and he was going to do more of it when he retired in two years. That is very cool. He told me that big semis pass him, then slow down to get a second look, people driving by take his photo while they are driving past him.  He looked that good! He was going to give me his Santa card, but he didn't have any left. I never did ask him his real name...You just never know who you are going to meet in a campground!