CAMPGROUND REVIEW- Craighead Forest, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Since we are relaxing at this campground, I have a little time on my hands to do a proper campground review!

We found this place due to a series of great reviews on the Campendium App. It's one of multiple apps that we used to find camping spots. We also look on the USDA Forest Service app, Recreation.gov app, and the Dyrt. I also have a lot of campgrounds downloaded with POI, (points of interest), on my Streets and Trips program on the laptop.

This city park is located just on the southern edge of Jonesboro, Arkansas. 

This is from their website:

https://www.jonesboro.org/199/Camping

Craighead Forest Park opened when the Young Men's Civic Club began work on the lake in 1937. It is now a city owned park that is situated in the scenic beauty of Crowley's Ridge. This 692 acre park offers many recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy.

Craighead Forest Park is located at 4910 South Culberhouse Road in Jonesboro Arkansas. The park offers a variety of outdoor activities including:

• Basketball
• Bike/running trails
• Bird watching
• Camping
• Disc golf
• Fishing
• Horseshoes
• Playgrounds
• Softball
• Volleyball

RV Camp Grounds

The RV camp grounds at Craighead Forest Park boast 41 sites, all with water and electrical hook-ups (50 amps). All sites have access to a personal table, patio, fire ring, and grill. We do offer handicap access. The Campground also boosts a modern bathhouse with toilets and showers, as well as pay laundry machines. There is a dump station for all guest and we offer non-guest paid dumping.

We also offer tent sites and a primitive tent area. Pets are welcome at the park and are free to take advantage of the many trails (if properly leashed) or even take a jump and a swim at our dog jumping pier. 

Camping at Craighead Forest Park is now available all 365 days every year. Our Campground is currently set up as first come first serve. We do not offer reservations at this time.  

If you would like more information about camping at Craighead Forest Park you can call us at 870-933-4604 .

This is me now:

The rate per night is $25 which includes 50/30/20 amp electric and water at your site. They also offer a senior rate of only $15 a night. If you choose to stay an entire week, then it is reduced down to $90. That comes out to $12.85 a night!

Cell phone signal is pretty good, and about 30 or so broadcast TV stations on the antenna. We do see other people with portable satellite units set out in open spots to reach the sky. 

The 41 campsites are all spaced along a single lane with a turnaround loop at the end by the water. The only people that really drive down here on this road are the people actually camping here, or the park staff. It's very quiet. You can see the distance between each of the paved sites in the photo below. If you are going to leave your site for the day, the host will put out a red cone to make sure nobody else comes to take your site. As you can see the one in the foreground of the camping van next to us. They just got back from a grocery store run. 

Up near the top of the lane, the campsites are spaced a little closer together. The people there seem very social and came out to greet us as we walked by with the dogs.

And FREE firewood!!! 

--Take what you need, use what you take--

The restroom / shower / laundry building is fairly new and extremely clean and nice. There's additional parking in front of the building if you want to drive there. The building is conveniently located in the center of the camping sites rather than up at one end or down at the other.

This is the women's side, with nice hot showers, and plenty of room in the stalls with changing benches, and hand dryers and outlets on the wall for hair styling appliances. 

The restroom side also has a nice bench to keep your things up off the floor. I noticed the floor is beautiful terrazzo type flooring, which is clean and well kept.

In the front of the building is a small laundry area. Two washers, and two dryers. Someone also left a full bottle of laundry soap in case you forgot your own. How nice is that? So $1.50 to wash and $1 to dry. Our load was finished with only one round of quarters so we did not need to use multiple coins to finish up our laundry.

This is the space between us and the site next to us. We are very appreciative of the green grass this time of year. The dogs moreso than us, appreciate having a place to go. Of course, we pick up after every episode. Each campsite also has a large city plastic refuse bin. Really makes it easy to dispose of your waste and we have noticed there's not any litter around anywhere within the campground. 

The camping loop is on somewhat of a little peninsula with a bay shape overlooking to another pavilion area. This is the view out our front windshield because there's nobody directly across from us. Even though we are not on a waterfront site, we have gorgeous views out the side in the front of our rig.

At the end of the campground loop, there is this beautiful little dock with two benches on to sit and enjoy the waterfront.

We were serenaded by some elegant Canadian geese, and there are some mallard ducks as well as a few domestic ducks that have found their way into the park! 

I brought down some leftover popcorn from our movie night. I'm not sure if I was supposed to feed them or not, but they seem to enjoy the little bit of a treat. 

Here's the map from their website of the park and all of the facilities that it offers. 

There are myriads of trails all around through this entire 600 plus acre park. They are rated by difficulty. Most are paved, some are gravel for mountain biking and one specific section is for ATVs.  We have not gotten out our E-bikes yet to go for a ride, maybe later this week when things warm up in the sun comes back out. 

We did walk on some of the trails with the dogs. This was quite interesting sight back in the woods near the campground. We found this very interesting burl on a tree. 

I believe there may have been some nature directed courses being held here because there was some very interesting log benches erected nearby.

This is one of the many trails that loop around through the park. They are nice wide clean asphalt lanes, with markers to clearly identify the crossroads so there aren't any mishaps.

The sky cleared up the other day and we were able to get out and take a walk around some of the park. We met a few people here and there, but it is not crowded at all. Considering this warm weather we are having for February, even the local newscasters say this is unusually warm to have 60 plus degree days.

I really enjoyed the natural setting and that the park is not overly manicured or completely recreationalized. The reservoir of water which makes up Craighead Lake, ebbs and flows around throughout these little bays. 

There is a walking trail completely around the park that is about 2 mi right next to the shore. Steve walked at the entire way around including across the levy, or dam, which creates the lake.

As far as the other things that most RVers would want to know, within five or six miles are all the major shopping stores, restaurants, chain stores as well as some interesting local shops. We did do a run this morning to a local RV dealer for a replacement screen door latch, stopped at Home Depot for a couple little doodads, and hit up the Walmart to stock up on some of our grocery needs. The Walmart Murphy oil fuel station had diesel for $3.59 a gallon. We topped off the tank so when we do leave here later this week, we are ready to roll. 

All in all, I would recommend this park for a great overnight stop that's only a few miles off the interstate. It's also nice to stay for a week or so and explore the area like we are doing. There are a couple large 40 ft motorhomes here as well as a few small tab trailers and even two or three sites with tents. They are enjoying the use of an electric post with a heater inside of their tent I am sure. Someone actually did an overnight of "car camping"  in the tenting area of five rustic sites. We spoke to her and she was also appreciating the nice hot showers and laundry facilities that went along with her camp fee. 

We would come back here again, for sure if we were in the area! 

Days 6-13 Craighead Forest, Jonesboro Arkansas

 I am finally feeling up to snuff at least 90%. So we decided to leave Cave in Rock State Park in Illinois and head south and west towards Arkansas.  It looks like we were going to be in four different states in one day. 

While we are cruising along, I am writing in my quilted journal. This was a gift from my friend Judy back in Wisconsin. We used it on our last trip out east. So now I started a new section on this trip.

When logging things in, I'm using my pen from my beloved late mother-in-law, Mary Anne Pfundtner. I think these are some promotional pens saying "Happy Holidays" on them from a long time ago, before she passed away. I like writing with it, it makes me smile! The other thing that makes me smile is my sea turtle sticker on my computer laptop. That's from my granddaughter Chelsea! She loves sea turtles and plastered them all over this laptop that I inherited from her. Boy oh boy, that's technology when you inherit hand me down electronics from your grandchildren!

First we had to zig zag our way down along the banks of the Ohio River and cross over into Kentucky near Paducah. From there we had to loop back up into Illinois again! There's a lot of flooding in this area from the high amounts of rain that they've been experiencing the last week or so. 

The big bridge was open over at Cairo, Illinois but the smaller bridge that went over the Mississippi to get around down towards Arkansas was out of commission. So we had to loop over even further north towards Urbandale to be able to make our way south!

Here it is, the Mighty Mississippi! 

I know there are reflections of the window in this photo but it was amazing how much product is shipped up and down this river on barges. Year round everything is always functioning no matter what. Quite the busy piece of transportation that we sometimes forget about. 

So we left Illinois, went into Kentucky, went back in Illinois, and then made our way into Missouri. Once we were in Missouri, we were able to angle our way down towards Arkansas. 

We were headed towards the Jonesboro area. I had read some really interesting reviews online on the Campendium app about this beautiful city park at the southern end of town. I wasn't so sure we wanted to stay at a city park but the reviews really sounded interesting. It turns out it's this huge portion of land was set aside to develop the most wonderful recreation area!

https://www.jonesboro.org/197/Craighead-Forest-Park

It is called Craighead Forest. It has myriads of trails, pavilions, children's playgrounds and picnic areas, as well as even an ATV park and a dog jumping platform into the water. Everything is so well planned out, that the RV section is in a quiet peninsula all of it's own. The only people that come down here are the people who are actually staying in the RV park itself.

The facilities are so beautifully developed and meticulously maintained. Everything is pristine and new and well kept. It is actually all first come first serve for the 41 RV sites. Each one has electric and water. They furnish a large rack of firewood, free for the taking. The bathhouse facility has hot showers and a laundry room with $1.50 wash, $1.00 dry.

What is really amazing are the rates. To normally stay here it's $25 a night. But if you are a senior you get it for $15. That is amazing in itself. But the next best part is that if you stay for 7 days it's only $90 for the entire week! That comes out to about $12.85 a day. 

We drove in and there were about 9 or 10 empty sites to choose from. We chose site 39 down near the water. We walked back up to the host lady and paid for our site. They accept all credit cards except American Express. So we paid with cash. Normally we don't like to pay this many days in advance.  For the great price, as well as how quiet and clean and peaceful it was, it was worth it to save a site for a whole week. We could have paid day by day if we wanted to, because there are no reservations and you could just pay each day to maintain your site--- up to 14 days.

Along the shoreline around the entire lake is a gravel walking trail. Throughout other parts of the park are paved trails for bikes and joggers. The ATV section is down in the lower left part of the park and they are not allowed in the rest of the park. There are mountain bike trails and even a bike park with jumps for mountain bikes. Along the fitness trail are various pieces of equipment, and I will show you later on how we utilized them. LOL

The cloudy skies opened up and bits of blue were shining through. The temperatures were up in the mid-60s and it was absolutely gorgeous!! 

Down at our end of the loop the sites are spaced quite of ways apart compared to up closer where they are a little tighter. This is just exactly to our liking. Green grass, trees, and sunshine with a beautiful view. 

Although we were not on a waterfront site, our front windshield has a beautiful expansive view of the water across the road. There's nobody directly across from us. 

We set out the lawn chairs and relaxed for the afternoon until it was time to start dinner. This is exactly what we were looking for!

In the evening, we set up Steve's Visible phone as a hotspot and plugged in our Roku stick. We were able to catch up on a few of our favorite shows on HGTV and Amazon Prime. There are also about 30 TV broadcast stations in the area so we could catch local news and weather when we wanted to. 

Steve was craving something sweet so I whipped up a pan of brownies in our convection microwave combo. Because it's only a square shape, a rectangular cookie sheet does not work. But my round deep dish pizza pan fits!  He wanted to cut it into big pizza shaped wedges, but I decided it could be smaller squares, with a few odd corners. 

It was after dark, otherwise I would have taken out our propane Camp Chef oven and baked them out on the picnic table. 

With more people around, Nicholas has to learn more of his "camping manners". We really have to be consistent and train him absolutely every single time about barking at anything he sees. He is learning, but he is still a baby at 1-year-old and needs a lot of attention and guidance. He is learning by leaps and bounds. And by leaps and bounds I mean we have to get him out and walk him a LOT so he's not leaping and bounding all over inside of the motorhome!!

On the fitness trail, we found a couple things to keep him occupied and challenge his trust in us... 

We noticed that our neighbor across the road had his water heater compartment open and was draining water onto the ground. Of course, that is the universal sign for any guys to get together to see what they can do to help fix something! The same way a raised hood on the front of a vehicle attracts passerbys to help out.

Steve wandered on over and lent a hand. The problem was a cracked nylon drain plug that was leaking and needed to be removed and replaced with a new one. The only problem was is the old one was not coming out easily. 

They put their heads together and assorted tools were brought out. Soon they got the thing out in pieces without damaging the metal threads!

They had the new one in and put back together in no time with the use of Teflon tape as well as a layer of TFE plumbing paste. The leaks were gone and he was back in business.

We visited for a while, his name was Tom and his wife is Donna and they are from Little Rock Arkansas. He furnished us with some wonderful treats of products that he sells part-time on the side at Sam's Club's. He also furnished Steve with a can of a local honey type microbrew beer. How nice was that? We brought over a couple of fresh brownies on a paper plate in return.

Later on that evening he invited us to join him at his campfire, along with a few beverages of choice. It was a nice evening and we sat out until 9:00 p.m. The temperature is in the '60s and we have absolutely no complaints about sitting around a campfire in the evening with a light jacket or sweatshirt on.

I know the weather back in Wisconsin is unusually warm, and on our security cameras we are seeing the snow banks disappear daily. We also can keep track of our furnace at home via Wi-Fi and we know it's been so warm it hasn't even needed to kick in during the day. This is really unusual for the month of February in Wisconsin.

But we are still glad that we took off and got away for a couple months!

Staying here until the 14th, and then not sure where we are going next. Somewhere further south and west?

256 mi travel today

868 mi so far

Day 3 - 4 - 5 at Cave In Rock State Park in Illinois

Here we are again for three, four and five days of our vacation at Cave in Rock State Park located at the southern tip of Illinois.

For more information on the park, please go to my previous blog post

I'm not feeling the best, a flu bug seems to have caught me. So we hunkered down for a couple more days here at the park. It's a nice location and we are up on top of a hill overlooking the big loop of empty sites. There's only one other camper here so we have it basically to ourselves. They are gone all day and just come back in the evening.

Things are quiet and peaceful. We are parked in a lovely area of oak trees and pine trees. Every once in awhile a random acorn falls down off of the tree overhead and lands on the roof. Plop!

We haven't needed to use the solar on the cargo trailer because this campsite has electric hookups. If you look back a few blogs, you will see that Steve installed 320 Watts of solar on the roof of our cargo trailer. We can use this to supplement our power grid, along with the Bluetti power station.  We can run electrical things directly off the cargo trailer, like charging our e-bikes or running an extension cord out into the campsite for something. Or else we can plug the 30 amp cord of our motorhome directly into the Bluetti to have additional power in the motorhome when we are boondocking. 

We've seen a lot of birds flying around and some noisy crows or ravens have been circling over in the woods and making some noise. Little Nicholas seems to enjoy watching the birds. He perches up on our bed and looks out the window. 

My friend Paula asked how is Nicholas doing after his neutering surgery and not jumping around. Well, he can get up and down off of our bed pretty easily because there's a little step on a platform at the end of the bed and then around the corner up onto the doggy bed. From that platform, there is another platform that actually encompasses our water pump next to the bed and then from there he can hop up onto the bed itself. So it's really like four little steps to get up there so he's not just jumping up and hampering his incision. 

It is still getting cold here at night, down in the '30s. Last night it was down to 29. We are okay with our heated holding tanks. But we also do lose a lot of heat through the single pane windows. Our last motorhome had dual pane and it made a big difference.

We had cut some of this Reflectix insulating silver material to fit in many of our windows last fall. But we just didn't have a roll wide enough to complete the last three windows that were taller than the rest. I had ordered some right before we left and it came in time. We stuffed the roll into a compartment to work on while we were on the road.

Steve decided to get that task done by measuring, carefully cutting, and then marking each one for which window it goes in.

This one he cut very carefully to fit in between the screen door and in the main door. He cuts it a tiny bit more than the exact size of the frame. Then it kind of wedges in and holds there even when the door open and closes. 

He shoved me out of my sick bed so I could snap this picture while he was working on the one for the window over our headboard.

He completed the job on Sunday, so we had the chance to use all the Reflectix panels in every window on Sunday and Monday nights. It works really well! 

Especially noticeable is the one right over the headboard on the bed. I did notice that when I brought the dogs out late at night for a potty run, while looking back at the motorhome I couldn't see any light shining through at all. So it would be a good "stealth camping" tool as well as insulation. Nobody would know you are inside! 

We take them off each morning to let the sun shine in, and roll them up to stow away up on the top bunk. 

Yesterday, the temperatures rose all the way up into the '60s. It was absolutely wonderful. We sat out in the lawn chairs for a while, and the dogs each claimed their rightful seats on each side of me. I felt like a Queen with my Royal Subjects at my sides. 

It was so nice out, we had turned off the heater and opened up the main door with just the screen door in place. This is the new grid we mounted right before we left on vacation. We bought it at Camping World to prevent Nicholas from possibly pushing through the mesh screen if he saw something interesting outside. His puppy enthusiasm could easily take over his sense of being a good dog. We definitely don't want him on the run!

Steve also attached a little barrel clasp to the door to prevent him from just pushing hard to open it. We were going to do the butterfly catch that we did before on our last motorhome, but we couldn't find the right piece at the hardware store. So this barrel catch will work. We can lock or unlock it from the outside by sliding open the slider and reaching around with our hand.

My mid-afternoon, I felt good enough to go for a nice little walk. A few sites away from us there's a sprawling open meadow with a pond down below. 

We took the dogs on down there to take a little look around. Don't know if there's any fish in it or not. I bet it's a popular place in the middle of summer with the kids. The Ohio River nearby is way too rapid and dangerous for any swimming to go on. So I don't know what they use this pond for, but the little pier is cute. 

All in all, it felt really good to get out and stretch our legs for a little bit. The dogs enjoyed the walk and I enjoyed getting a little fresh air.

These kind of temperatures are just wonderful, compared to the cold and damp weather back home. 

We are staying here one more night, and then we will see how good I feel. See if we should travel on or stay here a little longer.

Oh, I should correct myself from yesterday's blog. The website said the sites were $20. But when Steve went to go pay the host, it was only $18 per night. Not sure why. 

Maybe because the shower house is closed? There is running water at faucets in the park.

Our freshwater was getting a little low.  So Steve hauled a couple of our 2 gallon folding water totes and added some to our tank.  It's nice to have options. 

It's time to wrap up this blog now. The chef is cooking me breakfast! 

We will see what tomorrow may bring.