A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 196 miles from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee.
Travel from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee
We drove our coach 196 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map:
Leaving the RV park:
Bubba’s, where we got tasty food during our stay:
An uncomfortably narrow lane due to roadworks:
A break at some truck parking:
I had fun watching traffic cameras to spot us driving by; yes, that’s our coach and truck in the right lane at the bottom:
Another traffic camera showing us:
And another one, showing us from the other direction:
Another snapshot:
Another stop at truck parking:
A snapshot:
A bridge over the Mississippi River into Tennessee; a big milestone for us, crossing this major river for the first time:
Dissapointingly, there was no sign marking the occasion. Probably due to roadworks (with uncomfortably narrow lanes again):
Our destination, Graceland RV Park:
The office:
Our site before parking:
Garbage bin hanging on back of driver chair
Sometimes my Modification Monday posts are about significant projects, sometimes they’re a simple addition. Today is one of the latter.
On travel days we often have snack packaging or other garbage we want to throw away while driving down the road. So we added a small garbage bin (like this one on Amazon), hanging off the back of the driver chair:
Easily reachable from the passenger chair, and doesn’t get in the way of the slide-out when it’s in:
(It’s hanging off the strap for a lumbar cushion… which I could also cover in one of these Modification Monday posts. But it could easily be attached to the pocket on the back of the chair instead.)
A simple but satisfactory solution.
Garvan Woodland Gardens
We visited Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Map:
An interactive map:
An impressive architectural feature is Anthony Chapel, which we had to quickly visit as it was about to be closed for a wedding:
A waterfall:
Model trains:
This was in early November, so they were in the process of adding holiday decorations:
An impressive treehouse:
A very nice garden, highly recommended.
Hot Springs National Park
We visited Hot Springs National Park, an urban park in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Map:
Convenient free parking:
The main feature of this national park is “Bathhouse Row”, a series of historic bathhouses that used the natural hot water of the area; some of which still operate today.
Buckstaff Baths is one that still offers bathing; Jenn did a traditional bath and massage package here:
Ozark:
Quapaw Baths is another that still operates; Jenn did a more modern spa package here:
Lamar:
This bathhouse contains a gift store:
The Maurice:
The Hale:
The Fordyce contains the park visitor center:
Floor plan:
Stained glass windows:
Historic bathhouse exhibits:
Machinery in the basement:
Spring in the basement:
Locker room:
Ladies lounge:
Exhibits:
Gym:
Info exhibits:
A handy reference model of Bathhouse Row:
Superior Baths contains a restaurant and brewery — the only brewery on national park land:
Menu:
Trolley:
Hot fountain:
Hot spring:
The Grand Promenade:
Hot spring:
Arlington Hotel:
We also visited the nearby Hot Springs Mountain Tower, with a view of downtown.
Approaching the tower:
A switchback road to the tower:
Info sign:
Token to go up the elevator:
There are two viewing levels; the lower one is enclosed:
Upstairs is an outdoor viewing level:
Parking area:
View of downtown:
A bit different than the usual national park.
Catherine’s Landing
We stayed at Catherine’s Landing in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A pleasant resort near Hot Springs National Park and Garvan Woodland Gardens.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-29
- Check out: 2023-11-05
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Rain on first couple of days, then sunny
- High temps ranging between 52-66°F, lows around 30-51°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- No road noise
- No train noise
- A little neighbor noise
Site:
- #123, back in, concrete
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front
- Very level; used hydraulic jacks
- Asphalt driveway 30 feet long, concrete RV pad 40 feet long by about 16 feet wide
- Diagonal offset sites, with grass about 14 feet wide
- Concrete patio extension of RV pad, with picnic table and charcoal grill
- Fire pit
- Lots of cigarette butts in fire pit
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 45 PSI water, conveniently located
- Unthreaded sewer connection, very conveniently located (2 2-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Starlink: 15-73 Mbps down, 6-12 Mbps up, 56-99 ms ping
- Campground Wi-Fi: 8 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 36 ms ping
- T-Mobile: 2 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 110 ms ping
- Verizon: 5-10 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 140 ms ping
- AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
Amenities:
- Trash pickup from site
- Package delivery to office
- Closed pool
- Lake/river
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Lovely down by the water
This is a large, well-maintained campground near everything Hot Springs has to offer. We went for one of the Executive back-in sites by the water and loved watching the peaceful scenery. Since it was the off-season, most of the amenities were closed, so $110/night seems a bit much, but the view and serenity were worth it. Our site was perfectly level, which you expect with a concrete pad. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Catherine’s Landing in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Bubba’s Catfish was really good and just up the road.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities (before hooking up the sewer, but you can see the sewer cap immediately opposite the wet bay):
The Power Watchdog had the red light that indicated that the power neutral was missing, which is apparently not a fatal problem (since the dog face wasn’t red), but not ideal:
The site was perfectly level:
After visiting Hot Springs National Park, we added its sticker; the last National Park of 2023:
Ouachita River / Lake Catherine:
Office:
The pool was closed:
Rental boat docks; they removed the pontoon boats for the winter during our stay:
A guest’s pontoon boat:
Ouachita River / Lake Catherine:
Morning mist:
The motorhome that was next to us when we arrived made an annoying compressor noise every few minutes; we were glad when they left about halfway through our stay:
Other sites:
A nice resort; we’d be happy to stay here again.
Bonus: some food samples from our stay in Hot Springs.
We enjoyed some Chinese delivery on our first night:
And some takeout from Bubba’s Catfish and Seafood on another night:
And David’s Burgers:
A nice touch: they bring around bowls of tasty fresh fries while waiting for the ordered food:
A decent burger:
Another nice bonus, free ice cream delivered to the table:
Video: Russellville to Hot Springs, Arkansas motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 128 miles from Russellville, Arkansas to Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Travel from Russellville to Hot Springs, Arkansas
We drove our coach 128 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Russellville, Arkansas to Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east then south then west:
An interactive map of our route:
We had planned to take a more direct but curvier highway route, below, but it was raining heavily, so opted for the slightly longer but safer Interstate route, above:
Rain off the slide topper:
A bit flooded next to the wet bay:
After bringing in the slides, there were a bunch of leaves on the topper:
Our truck hooked up to our coach; the tow bar lit up:
Lake:
We saw a new icon on the Mobileye guidance system, which I had to look up; a little yellow eyeball, indicating that the device had low visibility:
Unsurprising, since it was rather rainy and foggy:
The name “Toad Suck” amuses us:
A break at some truck parking:
Breathe in:
Fuel stop:
A stop we regretted, as we didn’t get the advertised fuel discount, and the pump limited us to 35 gallons, so we did three transactions:
I-30:
Overpass:
Our destination:
Our coach about to back in to our site:
Lake Dardanelle State Park
We stayed at Lake Dardanelle State Park in Russellville, Arkansas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A delightful lake and campground. The nuclear power station across the lake was totally fine.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-22
- Check out: 2023-10-29
- 7 night
Weather:
- Cloudy, rain on last few days
- High temps ranging between 74-82°F, lows around 59-66°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- No road noise
- Distant train noise (across lake), minimal horns
- A little neighbor noise
Site:
- #1, back in, asphalt
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front
- A little unlevel side-to-side; used hydraulic jacks
- Asphalt driveway about 60 feet long by about 12 feet wide
- No site on passenger side; grass and big trees, about 30 feet wide
- Grass and big trees on driver site, about 40 feet wide
- Concrete patio, about 20 x 12 feet, with picnic table and charcoal grill
- Fire pit
- Two tent pads
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, super-conveniently located
- 65 PSI water, super-conveniently located
- Unthreaded sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 55 Mbps down, 17-37 Mbps up, 68 ms ping
- Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 18-24 Mbps up, 98 ms ping
- AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Trash and recycling bins nearby
- Lake
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Delightful state park by a lake
We had a back-in site on Loop A, with a nice view of trees and the lake…and the nuclear reactor cooling tower. This is fine. We were also there during the monthly testing of the emergency evacuation siren. This was also fine. Other than that, it was pretty peaceful. The site was a bit unlevel side-to-side, but not too bad. Walking by the lake and taking the trails through the forest was pleasant. We would absolutely stay here again and try to get sites 10, 12, 14, or 16 that back onto the lake. We camped at Lake Dardanelle State Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map (you may need to scroll it, as the campground might be off the top of the map; look for Campsite Road opposite Ramp Loop):
Our site:
We used our pop-up tent, as there were some bugs (though not as bad as some places):
There was a tent pad connected to the site by a short path (a little hard to see under the leaves):
The power and water utilities were super-convenient; the power was right next to the power on our coach, and the water was right next to the wet bay. The sewer needed two 10 foot hoses, which is fine:
The site post, with a rotating Reserved/Available sign, and a yellow note we added to let the camp host know we’d checked in:
The leveling control panel when we first arrived, showing a side-to-side slope:
Other sites:
This pull-through site at the end of the road, #16, would probably be the best site, with unobstructed water views:
This (#14) would also be an excellent choice:
A Tiffin Allego Bus in site #12:
Another nice site (#10):
Garbage and recycling bins near our site:
The lake:
Nuclear One across the lake; it actually has two power plants — the first uses the lake water for cooling, and the second uses this cooling tower:
Evacuation sign:
Lots of squirrels roaming the grounds:
Swampy area:
A blue heron, swallowing a fish:
Bathrooms under construction:
The nearby marina:
Meadowbrook trail:
Sunset:
A very nice state park. We’d be happy to stay here again, hopefully in one of the sites at the end of the road (see the pictures above).
Video: Choctaw, Oklahoma to Russellville, Arkansas motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 248 miles from Choctaw, Oklahoma to Russellville, Arkansas.