1:38 a.m. - I woke up and then had to use the bathroom, so I'll be up for a bit before I get sleepy again and head back to bed. I figured I might as well get an entry in before I read some more of my book. Then I'll go back to sleep.
We are in a KOA in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas, and this was a bit of a "surprise find". I honestly expected an older, rural KOA next to a lake, but it's a new, modern KOA next to a lake resort. And what's cool is that it shares a lot of the amenities that are just across the road on the resort like indoor pool and hot tub, outdoor pool and beach access to the lake, and for a few, there is an "aqua park" with a bunch of those inflatable jumping things. Also in the resort area is a restaurant called Dick's Place, which is where Amber and I ate last night - I had some mozzarella sticks where were hand-breaded and wonderful, and I had a calzone which was good too. And yes, I decided to get the bikes down off the rack and do some exploring, and I was able to motivate Amber to join me in visiting the beach on the lake. And of course I ended up talking with some locals, because that's the sort of thing I do.
All of that afternoon/evening stuff occurred after a LONG, CHALLENGING day of driving. I was really hoping that north central Arkansas was going to be "less hilly and curvy" - it wasn't. There weren't the big uphill and downhill areas but there really wasn't ever and opportunity to put the truck in cruise control and just go. And then when we arrived at this KOA, the hook-up procedure wasn't very user friendly. The sites are tight and all rock, and you have to sort of walk on big rocks around the camper to get around. Whoever designed this campground really didn't know what camping folk need and appreciate. On. the other hand, we made it, and there were things to do. There was also a band that started playing around 8 p.m., but it was so dang hot, that we skipped that idea. The reason why we came this way was to visit Strawberry, Arkansas, as that is the town that Amber's grandparents on her dad's side came from. And we discovered that there isn't much to Strawberry - population 268. But we went there, and we got Amber in a picture with the town sign.
And now on to today. We don't have to be in a big hurry, as we have a lovely 5+ hour drive today to get back to Missouri for our final stopover near St. Louis before making the final stretch tomorrow up the Iowa side. Today's drive isn't going to be much fun either. And now I have a new worry. Apparently there is extreme heat at home, so trying to get the trailer home in the afternoon heat is not going to be a good idea. I'm likely going to be better off putting the girl at Loud Thunder for a few days until the heat comes down...I'll talk to Amber about that.
Things to do for School
- get display project completed
- finalize placement of schools on district map
- periodically add to the RR group history report
- periodically check on mail at post office
- update attendance each week in SDS
- send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
OTHER THINGS
- pay Joe for vb clinic
When: Saturday, August 8th, 2026
Site: Galesburg High School (Kimbrough Fieldhouse)
Classroom and 3 Courts are all air conditioned
Registration: 8:00 AM
Cost: $35.00 in advance or $45.00 at the door
Dress: Casual * Please bring your whistle, soft soled shoes, and a writing utensil
Contact: Joe Thompson - joethompson7@comcast.net (309) 368-1714
Send checks payable to: Foremost Officials Clinic
Attention: Joe Thompson
1035 Dayton Drive
Galesburg, IL 61401-1310- call eye doctor about refill
- eye drops and meloxocam
- grease wheels to camper
- clean slide rails
- remove any unnecessary weight from camper
- get correct measurement of the correct wiper slide material
- order slide wiper conditioner
- get Amber's bike fixed
- mow the yard
- spray weeds
- spray Creeping Charlie
- finish paying knee medical bills and get reimbursed
- use Dick's gift certificate
- a hood light switch for the Ford
- July 18-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
- July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
- July 31 - Adventureland trip
- Aug. 3 - WCOA Banquet in Macomb (Tony is interested)
- Aug. 8 - Galesburg volleyball clinic 8 a.m.
- Aug. 27 - 7:30 a.m. - Appointment with Hussain at ORA Moline
- Nov. 5 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
- What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School? ugh.
- Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page
- March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult
- April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
- April 9 - Walk in labs at Tr
- April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance) 8:45 a.m.
- April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
- April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
- May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
- May 5- returned home from hospital
- May 6 - home recovery
- May 7 - home recovery
- May 8 - home recovery - visited ICE for about an hour - 9-10 a.m.
- May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein
- May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 18 - noon - ORA PT
- May 20 - 8 a.m. - with Brandon; 9:20 - ORA PT
- May 22 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 26 - 3:20 p.m. - ORA PT
- May 27 - 9 a.m. - ORA PT
- May 29 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 1 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 3 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 5 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 8 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 10 - 8:40 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 12 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA PT
- June 16 - 10:20 a.m. - ORA
- June 24 - 9:00 a.m. - ORA PT- Cancelled
- June 25 - 9:25 a.m. - ORA appt with Hussein
