More For Little Rock Arkansas

While waiting for our RV to get fixed we ventured out to see some more of the surrounding area and visited Pinnacle Mountain State Park which is just outside Little Rock Arkansas.

The cone shaped peak of the mountain raises above the Arkansas River valley over one thousand feet with two trails available to take you to the summit.  We decided to hike up the West Summit Trail which is 1 1/2 miles long round trip.

West Summit Trailhead.

The sign did state that the trail was steep, rugged, and required strenuous walking, and I would say that it was 100% accurate.  Once you get to the face, it almost requires climbing.  After we made it to the summit, I was thinking maybe it was too much for our five year old daughter and Misty, since she was in the early stages of pregnancy (13 weeks).

Arriving at the West Summit Trailhead.

So far the trail does not look too awfully hard.

So up the mountain we go.  It was a beautiful day for hiking, but the closer we got to the top of the mountain, the stronger the gusts of wind got.  There was a couple of times I questioned our decision of climbing the mountain and wondered if maybe we should turn back, but the kids would not have it.

Ian, Ethan, Avery, Tia, Chloe, and Courtney playing on the rocks while climbing up to the summit.

At this point we are about half way up Pinnacle Mountain to the summit.

The trail is starting to get steeper.

Misty is taking it like a trooper and brining up the rear.

Onward and upward!

It just keeps going.

A beautiful view of Lake Maumelle on the Arkansas River.

At this point we were .3 miles from the summit, but I was thinking maybe we bit off more than we could chew, but we were so close, so we kept trucking on.  Plus the kids were burning off lots of energy, which is always good.

You Are Here

Tia, Courtney, and Chloe taking a break.

Courtney, Tia, Ethan, Don, Ian, Chloe, and Avery.

As we got closer to the top it became apparent that we had our work cut out for us.  What on earth were we thinking?  This is way too much for us to handle!  Push on we must!

Courtney is still smiling.

So are Tia and Chloe while taking a break.

The boys are still climbing and getting too far ahead of us.

Courtney and Misty bringing up the rear.

As we get closer to the top, we can see the parking lot below.

Here is the view from the parking lot up to where the previous picture was taken.

As you can see in the next set of pictures, the trail is getting a lot steeper and treacherous.  Its not like we are scaling Mount Everest, but we do have to be watchful of the kids and where we step, because a fall up here would not end well.

The wind was also blowing which could make you lose your balance and fall which would have been a bad thing.  The unexpected gusts were the worst, because they would catch you off guard.

We were lucky that it was early spring and not hot enough yet for snakes.  I would have to figure they would love all the rocks and if we saw one, then the hike would be over because Misty and Courtney would both probably have heart attacks.

The closer we get to the top, the steeper it gets.

Courtney is holding on so the wind does not blow her away.

Now, in the picture below you have a drop off on the right and the steep trail on the left.  While navigating the mountain, we look over and some of the kids, to include Chloe, were climbing up this narrow ridge to the crest.  I thought Misty was going to have the baby right then and there.

After I recovered from my heart attack, I politely asked the kids to keep to the trail so as not to fall off the mountain.  Of course by politely I mean on the inside, because, you probably could have heard me a mile away screaming at the kids. 

If you will notice the individual at the top of the picture next to the pine tree, you can get a better idea of just how big and steep it is.

The ridge up to the crest of the mountain.

This is what was on the other side of where they were climbing.

The face of the mountain were the kids were climbing next to..

Needless to say, our hearts did skip a beat when we saw where they were climbing.  The thought process of "What in the heck are we doing?" kicked in again, but we are so close to the summit, we just can not quit now.  I've always heard that what does not kill you only makes you stronger or stupider?  I'm not quite sure now.

Finally after a good bit of climbing we made it to the saddle between the two peaks of Pinnacle Mountain.

One of the two peaks on top of Pinnacle Mountain.

The view from top of the mountain.

Avery, Chloe, Dad, Ian, Ethan, Tia, and Courtney on top of Pinnacle Mountain.

Looking down towards the parking lot of the park.

Courtney, Avery, Ethan, Tia, Chloe, Dad, and Ian standing on top of the World.

Don and Misty posing for a well deserved picture on top of Pinnacle Mountain.

The kids taking a break on top of the mountain.

Taking it easy on a natural couch on top of the mountain.

A pantographic view from the top of Pinnacle Mountain.

Now starts the trek back down the mountain, which was harder on us than the climb up.  It was like going down a set of a thousand steps.

Tia and Chloe starting back down the mountain.

All in all it was a good day out with fun and exercise.  No one was hurt while climbing up or down the mountain except for maybe some sore muscles the next day.

Probably the most fun the kids had though was playing at the playground at the bottom of the trails in the park.  We have no idea where the kids had the extra energy stored since our legs felt like jello afterwards and we felt too exhausted to take another step!

Kids having fun playing at the playground.

Once again we are so blessed to be able to see all the places we do as a family and know there are many more places to see before we are done.  God is good to us and keeps us safe in our travels.

We are also blessed with all of the people we meet along the way.  We have met so many good families and individuals on our journey and hope to meet more in the future.

So we survived our Pinnacle Mountain expedition and lived to tell about it.  It is someplace you need to visit if you ever have the time in Little Rock. 

Safe travels and God bless you and all those you love.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

States we have visited so far.

Big Dam Bridge

While stuck in Little Rock, Arkansas getting our RV worked on, we ventured out to see some of the sights and stumbled upon the Big Dam Bridge which is claimed to be the longest pedestrian bridge in North America at 4226 feet long.

The kids posing at the "big dam bridge".

We parked on the Murray Park side, walked across the bridge to Cook's Landing Park and then back to Murray Park.  It was a nice leisurely stroll with the kids running a head of us burning off their extra energy.  The bridge also spans the Murray Lock and Dam that construction started on in 1964 and finished in 1968.  The lock and dam is the same age as me, if you go by the start date.

Beginning of the bridge from the Murray Park side.

The middle of the bridge over the Murray Lock and Dam.

The other end of the bridge at Cook's Landing Park.

With this being a pretty day in early February, there was a good bit of foot and bike traffic on the bridge.  For the most part there were no issues, but we did have to ensure the kids were not blocking any bikers coming through since they could overtake you quickly.

The bridge spans the Arkansas River which is part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System which was completed in 1971.  It is 445 miles long starting at the Mississippi River and ending in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Looking west up the river you see Murray Lake, Two Rivers Park, and Pinnacle Mountain which is a state park.  I plan on doing our next blog on our adventure climbing to the top of Pinnacle Mountain, so make sure you check back so you can read it.


Looking up the river towards the I-430 bridge.

Another view of the I-430 bridge with Murray Lake, Two Rivers Park, and Pinnacle Mountain in the background.

Looking east down the Arkansas River towards the Mississippi River which is 125 miles from this location.  The Arkansas River starts in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and travels 1450 miles until it dumps into the mighty Mississippi.

Looking down stream towards the east.

The bridge also overlooks one of the generators of ten for the North Little Rock Hydro-Electric System.  All of these generators have the potential to produce three billion kilowatt hours of electricity that can sustain power for three million households for average power usage for a month.

Hydro-electric plant at Murray Lock and Dam.

All in all it was nice to get outside and get a little bit of exercise.  I would guess we spent around an hour or an hour and a half walking on the bridge before we loaded back into the van and came back to the RV.

We hope to have all of the body work completed on the RV here soon so that we can leave Arkansas and visit some place where we have not been yet.  It is nice though to be able to visit the attractions in the area, but we have been in this location way too long.

So if find yourself in Little Rock, Arkansas and have time, take it, to visit the longest pedestrian bridge in North America.

God bless and may He keep you safe!

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

States we have visited so far.

Broken Down In Little Rock, AR

20 Feb 2016 ** UPDATE AT BOTTOM ** 20 FEB 2016

You always wonder when it will happen, when will something break on the RV that stops you in your tracks?  Well for us it was January 2016 while leaving Little Rock, Arkansas for Dallas, Texas.

We pulled out of the RV park on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock and made our way to I-30 W towards Dallas.  Misty was following behind the RV in the van, since we do not have it rigged for towing, and noticed smoke coming out of the engine compartment.

She called me and I pulled over at a Love's truck stop which was just a couple miles down the road.  The engine temperature gage was reading normal and there were no other warnings or anything to indicate a problem.

After stopping I started to investigate to see what was wrong with the engine and noticed that the pulley barring on the air conditioning pump was cherry red, so knew it had locked up.  Just then the serpentine belt broke from the heat.

Air Conditioning Compressor.

If you look closely between the pulley and clutch plate you can see a slight glow where it was cherry red which caused the belt to break.

Frozen clutch on air conditioning compressor.

Broken belt due to heat generated from frozen clutch on air conditioning compressor.

The first thing I did after parking the RV was talk to the manager at the Love's truck stop to make sure it was OK for me to park the RV there, put our kitchen slide out, run the generator, and stay the night in the RV.

Since it was a Sunday I could not get a hold of anyone to assist me since all of the service centers in the local area were closed, so we just slept in the living room/kitchen of the RV with the kids on the floor, Misty on the dinette, and me on the couch.  It was not very comfortable for any of us, but it worked.

Our living area while stranded in Little Rock, AR.

Luckily we got stopped before the engine overheated so the only damage to the RV is the bad AC compressor and the broken belt.  Also our extended warranty will cover the cost to get it repaired and Coach-Net will cover our towing cost, which is around $900.00 for our size RV.

One of the main reasons I decided to blog about this event is to let everyone know that you absolutely need some type of road side assistance service to help in situation like this.  

Prior to calling Coach-Net I called my extended warranty company, CornerStone United, which covers towing along with the repairs, but requires you to call around and get service.  This was not an easy task and proved to be very challenging to line up a tow service and service center.  Plus CornerStone will only pay up to $500.00 for a tow and the cheapest I could find was $950.00 with taxes.

So I got smart and called Coach-Net roadside assistance service.  We have the Premium Coach plan which costs $149.00 a year plus $10.00 the first time you sign up.  It is well worth the price since towing is included in this plan.

I used their Request Roadside Assistance app on my iPhone which made it very easy to contact them.  They follow up very quickly and it was only a couple hours until a tow truck arrived.  It would have been sooner, but the truck had a blowout on the way to us and so had to have that fixed first.

Coach-Net Request Roadside Assistance App.

Parked at a Love's truck stop waiting for a tow.

Waiting in a Love's truck stop for a tow.

So the tow truck is on the way and all is good.  But that is not the end of this tale.

The tow truck has arrived.

In order to tow the RV they have to disconnect the drive shaft and strap it up, which I did not think about, but makes sense.

RV almost ready to be towed.  Wheels still need to be strapped down and driveshaft disconnected.

On the very first right hand turn the passenger side mirror was busted off.  No big deal, the tow company will just have to buy me a new one which is good because they cost almost $1300.00 to replace.

So we get to the garage doing the work and then it happens.  The tow truck driver forgot to set the brakes on the RV when he lowers the tow arm and the RV starts to roll back toward a busy highway.

I'm standing there watching it roll away just feeling like I'm in a bad dream.  Luckily another person who was with the tow company jumped into the RV and got the brakes on before it rolled into the highway, but not before the front end was ripped off.

The damage is done.

So the A/C compressor was replaced by West End Garage along with the belt and other parts which took about a week to accomplish due to waiting on parts.  The total cost was just a little over $3000.00 of which I had to pay $900.00 out of pocket.

New A/C Compressor and belt.

We were very happy to find West End Garage since they were very knowledgeable of how to work on a big Class A RV, very courteous, and professional.

Our extended warranty paid up to $600.00 for a hotel and meals since the RV was out of use, which pretty much covered three nights in a hotel due to us having to get two rooms since there were eight of us.  We were lucky that we have friends in the area we could stay with while the RV was being repaired.

Now we have to get the body work done which is estimated to cost over $15000.00.  We are going to use Crain Automotive Team to do the body work on the RV which is located in Little Rock, AR. 

It is a good thing that we do not have to pay anything on these repairs since it is the responsibility of the tow truck company.

It is going to take four weeks for the new parts to come in from Fleetwood and we are not sure exactly how long it is going to take for the repairs.  So we are going to travel some until the parts come in and then come back for the body work.

I have been told stories by other RVers about how they went through a similar situation and it taking over six months for repairs.  I guess we can consider ourselves lucky that it has not taken that long.

We will be sure to keep you updated on the body work and how everything turns out.

Until that time, God Bless and may you have safe, trouble free travels.

20 Feb 2016 ** UPDATE ** 20 Feb 2016

Well while driving from Little Rock, AR to Dallas, TX today Misty heard a loud bang from the back of the RV and then saw a puff of smoke, while following it in the van. 

It seems that the new AC line they had made could not hold up to the pressure and so came apart at the coupling.  So now we are going to have to call the garage and get it all repaired again.

Hose coupling on A/C compressor that is missing the hose.

Another view from the top of the missing A/C compressor hose due to a bad coupling.

So let's see who claims responsibility for this and how long it takes to get it repaired.

I guess when it rains it pours, but at least there was no major damage and no one was hurt.  Praise God!

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...

States we have visited so far.