Holy hell it’s hot! Not that we expected frigid weather traveling across the mid-west in July but go figure we pick the summer of record temps. Today’s high was 107 with a feels like heat index of 110! Makes getting outside to enjoy the gorgeous places we’re finding a little sticky and gross.
Today was by far our shortest day in the car. From one side of Arkansas to the other. We’ve been on the road for 11 days and we’ve gone way more than half way so it’s time to start driving less and enjoying more. Not that we aren’t loving this adventure but we’ve got plenty of time to savor. We’re pretty much right on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border at a place called Lake Fort Smith State Park and it’s gorgeous here! I have to say that I am super impressed with Arkansas state parks. With Arkansas as a whole for that matter. Whodathunk!? It’s one of those states I’ve just never heard much about but it’s beautiful and everyone is really friendly!
We set up camp, a process we are getting so much better and faster at, then ventured into the nearest semi-decent-sized town. A few days ago Ellie started scratching at the side of her face a lot and by yesterday she was sneezing constantly. Add to my dog-mom worry, I found a tick on her neck last night that, though I know hadn’t been there long, was fat and happy. So first task for today was a trip to the vet which resulted in allergy meds for her and tick prevention for the whole pack. We have to keep an eye on her just in case she starts developing symptoms of a tick borne illness but hopefully we got the little bugger out in time. We never had to worry about ticks in Florida so I never even considered getting them on a preventative before we hit the road.
When we got back to camp, Don and I couldn’t resist the lure of the park swimming pool. We even played in the kid area since it had the coldest water. It felt so damn good!
After dinner, we took a walk around the campground. In one short evening stroll we saw three deer, an armadillo, lots of fireflies and a weasel-looking thing that ran across the road. Excuse the crappy picture of the deer but it’s not easy “sneeking” up on bambi with three crazy dogs that want to give chase.
We’re putting the pack in doggie daycare again tomorrow so we can have a human play day. In fact they’re going to have a sleepover! It will be weird not having them with us but we need a little life outside the forest.