Fun Day in Arkansas

[IanC]

First, a guy on his little houseboat ran out of gas and drifted onto shore by my camp, so we spent the morning hanging out - interesting fellow. I asked him about snakes in the area. He said he had only seen a couple in the years he had been coming here. Cool, right?. THEN within 10 minutes he yelled "call your dog". There was Todd standing with his goofy curious look staring down a water moccasin a foot from him, reared back to strike. Thank God he comes when I call him. First it was the rattlers in Arizona and Texas, now this one. WTF is up with me and venomous reptiles? I mean WTF?!!!!
Then, this afternoon, a van pulled in (I've been here by myself apart from the boathouse guy). It was a young couple from Australia. They had bought the van in California and are traveling the US for a year. Very fun evening spent chatting with them.
Here's the funny part about that. The reason the found this spot was that they had read a review I posted on freecampsites and it went up just minutes before they logged on to look for a spot for the night. Weird huh?

The best part about this whole trip has been the people I've met - plenty of the isolation I like and just enough interesting folk to keep my language skills.

 

[rvpopeye]

You got a nice spot Ian.

 

[IanC]

Looks like a nice spot. That little island in the background is why I like to have a canoe/kayak along if possible.

Guy

This lake is mammoth (Lake Ouachita) There are dozens of little islands all over it. The guy on the houseboat had actually gotten lost among the islands and spent the night drifting. His girlfriend had called the sheriff to report him missing and a whole armada of small boats - rangers, sheriffs, water patrol and some volunteers showed up - they had spent the morning looking for him. The old Arkansas boy asked the sheriff in his Arkansas drawl "could y'all tow me back". The sheriff looked at him like he was nuts "You GOT to be joking right?".  Finally the guy's girlfriend came to pick him up - she had driven the 3 hours round the lake, through the mountains.  Dude wasn't phased - I was lmao.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Ahh, that's what i'm most worried about on the road. My dog and snakes. His prey drive is through the roof and I'm not sure what he'd do if he encountered one. I'm actually gonna get a few chickens in a couple of weeks to start training him not to chase everything he sees. I'll have eggs for the summer as a bonus. And a chicken dinner if he doesn't do well with his training and gets one of them!

Looks like a great spot and some great company. Meeting people out on the road is one of the greatest parts about traveling. I met a few kids my age in Hawaii in 08 and we've met up a few times since and keep in touch.

 

[IanC]

Ahh, that's what i'm most worried about on the road.  My dog and snakes. 

I do too, but when I'm this isolated he enjoys being loose so much and exploring that I hate to keep him tied.  After the snake incident I went swimming and, believe me I was scanning the surface of that water.  In Arizona I heard they have a place where they have rattlers with the venom glands removed and you can bring your dog to get bitten to teach them to avoid them, but I don't know if I could do that.

Chickens rock - you're going to have such a cool little homestead built you won't want to leave

 

[BradKW]

great looking campsite!

 

[BobBski]

2 thumbs up on the site, very nice.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I do too, but when I'm this isolated he enjoys being loose so much and exploring that I hate to keep him tied.  After the snake incident I went swimming and, believe me I was scanning the surface of that water.  In Arizona I heard they have a place where they have rattlers with the venom glands removed and you can bring your dog to get bitten to teach them to avoid them, but I don't know if I could do that.

Chickens rock - you're going to have such a cool little homestead built you won't want to leave

I forgot all about that place that did the snake training, I think I would do that.  A little pain for him has gotta be a lot better than the pain and then potential death from a poisonous snake bite.  Thanks for that reminder that such a place exists.  


I know, I'm kinda shooting myself in the foot every time I add something over here.  I sure know how to make myself want to leave a place!

 

[IanC]

I know, I'm kinda shooting myself in the foot every time I add something over here.  I sure know how to make myself want to leave a place!

If I had it to do over, I would have tried harder to find a way to keep my house.  I'd love to have a home base and just travel 6 on and 6 off, but for me it was a choice of keep the house and work two jobs to do it or this option.

 

[rvpopeye]

When I had my dog she loved to play with carpenter ants .............picking them up with her mouth and dropping them down over and over until they didn't move anymore then she would eat them...
She tried out some fire ant playmates down south and came running up to me with a very strange look on her face and them latched onto her lips and paws , I pulled them off for her and after that all the carpenter ants didn't have to play with her anymore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Queen]

Always enjoyed my dog eating big bugs and then depositing the gooey remnants on the floor a while later.

 

[slynne]

It never even occurred to me to worry about snakes and my dog. Yikes.

I dont think getting bitten by a snake would deter my dog. She is obsessed with bees, wasps, yellow jackets etc. When she was a puppy she found a wasp nest and was stung so much that she nearly stopped breathing. She swelled up like a balloon! Luckily she didn't stop breathing and the emergency vet is minutes away. She still gets stung several times a year because she chases them and bites them and the sting her inside of her mouth. *sigh* She swells up, I give her benedryl and then the swelling goes down and she looks like a shar-pei.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

If I had it to do over, I would have tried harder to find a way to keep my house.  I'd love to have a home base and just travel 6 on and 6 off, but for me it was a choice of keep the house and work two jobs to do it or this option.

That's how I've always traveled, I either was in between apartments so when a lease ended I'd hit the road for a few months knowing that I'd find another apartment in the area I lived when I got back or I had a house and I'd just shut her down and take off until I felt like coming home.  I do love owning a home, so I often wonder if or how long i'd last on the road before wanting another one.  6 on 6 off sounds like a pretty good idea.  

Look at real estate in other areas.  I've seen houses for 10 and 15k in some areas over the years.  I  think upstate NY has lots of cheap options and parts of Ohio.  I'm sure lots of areas in Rural America can be had for under 20.  

Here's one in PA after a quick search
https://albany.craigslist.org/reo/6066351195.html

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

It never even occurred to me to worry about snakes and my dog. Yikes.

I dont think getting bitten by a snake would deter my dog. She is obsessed with bees, wasps, yellow jackets etc. 

I had a Husky growing up that was like a venus fly trap.  He'd sit perfectly still if he heard a fly buzzing around as soon as it flew near his snout, gulp and down the hatch it went. I don't think I ever saw him miss one, first try everytime.  It was great, never had any flies in the house.  He learned that trick didnt work on bees after being stung so he was flies only after that.

 

[ArtW]

Buddy can snap a fly out of the air, but toss him a biscuit and it hits the ground, every time lol

 

[IanC]

Well, that little bit pf paradise was short lived. In the original post I forgot to mention I had the place to myself EXCEPT for a schizophrenic homeless dude living in a tent on the other side of the camping area. I don't even know how he got there - I mean that place was really remote. When I got there he pounced like white on rice. I hooked him up with a bag of groceries, some smokes, coffee and let him charge his phone on my truck battery. He parked outside my door - I'm not even sure he isn't dangerous - his ramblings got pretty violent sometimes. No matter how I phrased it I couldn't get rid of him - he was even spooking around my site after dark, knocked on the door after I was in bed wanting a ride into town - yeah, dude, miles through these rutted roads and mountain roads so you could get a can of chew. Finally I got hard ass and he disappeared for a day. Then, when the Aussie couple showed up they became the target, banging on their van at night and early in the morning - they left first thing and I hooked up and left too. Overnight my dog tie-out cable disappeared. So that was short lived - traded my forest spot for this Petro truck stop outside Little Rock. Hopefully the lot lizards in Arkansas take no for an answer.

 

[Gunny]

Damn IanC, when did you move into my apartments?

Rob

 

[IanC]

Look at real estate in other areas.  I've seen houses for 10 and 15k in some areas over the years.  I  think upstate NY has lots of cheap options and parts of Ohio.  I'm sure lots of areas in Rural America can be had for under 20.  

Here's one in PA after a quick search
https://albany.craigslist.org/reo/6066351195.html

I think my home owner days are passed.  Buying that house was a bunch of flukes - I was a renter there until the owner died and I bought it from his estate and I had a pretty once-in-a- lifetime job that paid well enough for me to qualify for a mortgage.  Can't forsee that happening again.  I'm no one to offer advice, but if you have a place you like, I wouldn't be too quick to let it go without being real sure you're in the position to replace what you've given up down the road if you decide to.  I know, I'm not.  Not to say, I have total regrets - I'll just have to go back to being a tenant again if I decide to cut this short - but there will be no gardens or woodshops in the garage my future as a tenant.

 

[Crow]

My grandad raised bird dogs. One of them got bit on the snout by a rattler. There was no vet within 60 miles of this small West Texas town, but there was a small hospital so grandad took the dog to the emergency room in back. The doctor told him this was a place for people, not animals, and to get his dog out of there. Grandad had a short discussion with him about the value of his dog's life vs the value of the doctor's life, next thing ya know the dog was getting a dose of the antivenom.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Gunny]

I don't know if you reported the guy at your campground or not, although I very seldom have contact with the Rangers or cops, nor do I want any, I think I would have made someone aware of the nutcase.

I pretty much mind my own business, but this guy could be a danger to someone not physically imposing or armed.

Rob