Looping east and north

The downside of my travel plans for the last two weeks was that there were a lot of places I stayed and a possibly a couple of breweries I stopped at. Factoring in the need to finish my purchases at other breweries and time has gotten away from me. Needless to say, I have now camped in 25 states since the start of my adventure. I have been close many times to spotting Big Foot but so far, no luck. One must never give up hope as hope is very powerful and can sustain us when we fall short of our goals.

I started this installment in Oklahoma. I checked out the only micro brewery in western Oklahoma - Longbell Brewing Company. They have been only open for a month or two so they are pretty new but the have dialed in the proper atmosphere for a brewery. I credit the owner's experience in the hospitality industry plus they have a bartender who spent 4 years in Wisconsin including time in bars in West Allis. One can only appreciate the ambiance of a bar if one has spent time in West Allis. While I didn't see Big Foot I enjoyed sitting at the bar and talking to the locals and bartender so it was a success after all.

I took this picture as I was worried I would forget the name.

Good selection on tap with a solid range of options for all drinkers. That is merely a nonalcoholic beverage and certainly not another beer. 

I liked looking at this tree, until I realized it was dropping some type of sap on my truck. Not too happy about that.

Reservoir near the campground. Love the colors 

First campground in a long time that had a bar. Not much to report about it but I always like a sassy sign. Salad was primarily iceberg but what can you expect from a campground off the interstate in the middle of nowhere.

I then moved to easter Oklahoma. This started getting more tree covered and not just the sap dropping variety but real trees that don't seek to make my car dirty from sap. They chose pollen. I enjoyed the campground as there was a lake nearby along with some goats and chickens. Ozzy is a huge fan of barn yard animals and insists on saying hello as loudly and as often as possible whenever he sees them. While I appreciate his friendliness I am not sure the other campers appreciated him as much. Alas. I headed over to Muskogee Brewing Company while in the area. Beer was quite good and after I had one I took some to go and try later. No sign of Big Foot but the bartender was quite hairy so there was that.

Muskogee Brewing. Conveniently located right next to a police station. I feel that is a form of goal tending and shouldn't be allowed.

After Oklahoma, I was off to Arkansas and Petit Jean State Park for the Easter weekend. Allow me to confess right away. I failed to check out the local brewery. I could blame the steep winding road for my failure but the real issue was I enjoying hanging out and hiking in the woods. The best I could do was check out the lodge for the "Southern sytle" cooking. I had something called Chicken Fried Chicken. I figure repeating the words is a southern thing (like Foghorn Leghorn) but I was disappointed they didn't come with potato mashed potatoes and instead just regular mashed potatoes. I did have a local Arkansas beer and was sufficiently impressed to need to return to the various breweries and see what they all have to offer. I was on a deadline though so I couldn't linger. 

A view of the lake

Siting in my chair and enjoying the sky and trees. I know that sounds odd, but I like to just breathe sometimes and this helps.

The trusty exploring trailer

A closer view of the water. It was quite lovely and peaceful.

Lucy wanted a selfie. 

Ozzy felt he needed equal time. 

Since I didn't do much in Arkansas I felt it was only appropriate to also just enjoy the trees and the trails in Tennessee. Again no sign of Big Foot and I have nearly the entire campground to myself so I could look over the Mississippi River and the enjoy the grounds of Fort Pillow. 

View of Mississippi River from camp ground. 

Next stop was Cape Girardeau in Missouri. The campground was not as nice as other state parks I have been to despite being right on the Mississippi River. I suppose the train horns in the middle of the night detracted from the place although that seems unfair to the park. I did explore Cape Girardeau though and since it is also a college town I was able to find a local micro brewery for lunch and a beverage. Minglewood Brewery had a great selection of food and drink and was a great hangout spot for the day. I waited a few hours but there was no sign of Big Foot so I moved on.

Again great bar seating and plenty of options on tap and good selection of food. I had a Cuban. 

Mississippi River from the MO side. This was the general view from my trailer.

After that I headed north as my travel plans dictated. I still have a few more days in Missouri before heading to Iowa for some minor updates to the trailer. Then onto Wisconsin. I am still on track for being in Wisconsin at the end of April so I can see people and of course, C's graduation from St Norbert College on Mother's Day. I am very proud of both B and C and happy they they both have achieved this milestone in four years and both have jobs upon graduation. 

As I mentioned when I started this blog, I have now camped in 25 states since last May 22nd when I started this nomadic adventure. Some states I have been in longer than others and many of them I have camped in before so this was an opportunity to see different areas. I will write more about this when I celebrate my one year nomadiversary. 

Until next time,

Thor

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