Carrying On Eastbound, Day Five, Can You Say Pecans?

Atkins, Arkansas (sorry, tons of pictures again)

When I woke up on Monday, Apr. 6th it was 7:30. After being awake until 3am, for some unknown reason, I wasn't surprised at my late rising. I don't think I needed the extra blanket last night. I didn't know that Bill had left our little heater on so I was probably too hot. 

Good morning!
Gibbs makes sure Black Beauty
goes NOwhere without him.

It got down to 42F/5C so his reasoning was a good call. We got in motion, knowing it was a shorter drive today of about 300 miles, so no real push. After I had everything packed up inside, Gibbs and I walked a bit while Bill dumped tanks and checked tire pressure. 

Leaving El Reno.
Scissortail Bridge, Oklahoma City
This motor home looked odd pulling
a cargo trailer that was even taller!

We said goodbye to our neighbors, Wendy and Perry from S.D., and pulled out at 9:25. A lovely morning, already 58F/13C as we got on US81 and caught I-40/Rte 66. It was a lovely drive, motoring along enjoying the new but familiar views of budding greenery. 

Passing Tinker AFB in OKC

I much prefer these divided
interstates. This scenery stirs up
the desire to get home.

As much as we love the desert when headed south west, this view is always enjoyable in the spring. 

We stopped near Checotah at an unserviceable rest area. Bill opened a slide for nature calls and Gibbs found grass for his piddles and sniffs. 

These flowers are along the route
today. I'm glad I got to see them up close
at the rest area.

Some pretty Indian Paintbrush flowers that I saw along the drive were here, posing for me. We had our lunch and were back on I-40E 25 minutes later. Temperature is 67F/17.5C, quite beautiful. 

Each day our little traveler seems better
and lays down more often.
He also likes to pose for me.
💘

We are only 1 hour in 'time zone speak' from home and that seems almost impossible! Doesn't seem like we've traveled 5 days already. 

The remainder of our day went perfectly uneventful. Thank you to the good Lord watching over us. We are grateful because we know how things can go........😁 

This was a really nice travel centre
in Arkansas and we were mostly alone.
Whatever is Gibbs thinking? 

We stopped at Clarksville for fuel up at Casey's before reaching our destination.  Another Mudflap discount saving us 9$ to fill at $4.90/gal.

Another water tower and more
greenery.

Taking Exit 101 off the interstate, we followed directive from the Harvest Hosts, turning onto cty Rd 113. I missed a step on my phone when we ended up on gravel, then onto a partial dirt/gravel road arriving at Paw Paw's Pecans at 3:30 pm. This is our Harvest Host stay and I was quite excited to arrive!

There is another entrance/exit to this farm,
but these roads were fine for us in dry weather.
Billy told us of the other, easier way for
another time. 
😀

A long laneway with a plantation home at the end welcomed us as we squeezed through their iron gates and parked between pecan trees, beside the 'fake' rock. After setup inside and out, I boiled water for a cup of tea and sat outside for a while drinking it. 

A couple of selfies while my boys
slept inside.
It was so peaceful here!

It was a calm warm day and all I could hear in the distance were birds and perhaps a far off farm machine.  

Their 200-acre farm is host
to 6000 pecan trees.

There are 6000 pecan trees in this orchard and I couldn't wait to see what our hosts offered inside their stately home. 

We were invited to join them at 5:30 for, wait for it, ribs! Wha???? We spent a relaxing afternoon; Bill and Gibbs dozed and I played phone games and took a couple of selfies until about 5. 

We left Gibbs in charge, he needs to catch up on his sleep!, and walked up to Charlotte Teresa's Plantation.

Billy trained at a culinary school
with the tv personality The Pit Boss
and wanted us to taste his smoked ribs.
Delicious!!
Charlotte baked beans with peaches and I need
to try this!

Billy and Charlotte greeted us at the door with welcoming smiles. We shared a quick introduction and were invited into the kitchen for Billy's prize-winning ribs and Charlotte's baked beans with peaches. We sampled a few of their 12 fudge flavours, made daily, and came away with a box. 😋

Charlotte's quilt shop
where Billy says she spends HIS allowance!

Front entry hall

A nice little store with lots
of goodies.

Oh my! Yes, we were spoiled. We learned a lot but the fact that only 2 of them run this whole operation (which started as a hobby) is crazy!!!

Pecan trees and the fake rock

We had a lovely chat and a tour of the store room and the quilting room. Oh, Nancy, the long arm!! Of course, a few purchases were made and we shook hands and said our goodbyes. 

The reason I wake up and smile
everyday.
💕💕💕

They invited us to walk anywhere on the property and to help ourselves to any pecans (pe-cahns) that we found on the ground. They would just rot otherwise.  

Charlotte's beautiful
Clematis

So, we gathered up Gibbs and walked around the house and grounds with a bag. The little guy was having fun, rolling in the grass and just being happy with Mom and Daddy. The sun was brilliant between the trees, still at 7:20 pm, preparing to say goodnight. 

The home they built themselves
as a second home and eventually
a bnb.
Some rooms can still be rented.
Interesting fact: last year's eclipse had them
with a full house and 64 rv's parked here.

We sat to write blogs and used our laptops to stream any shows rather than turn the tv on. This was a great day, more acquaintances and we'd love to come back another time. 

Such a beautiful piece of property
to share.
We were the only ones here today.

I hope you enjoyed today's visit as much as we did. It reached a perfect 74F/22C with hardly any wind at all.

From our back window.
Good night!

(ps, I picked up a lot of pecans!)

Thank you for stopping by!