Maiden Voyage Of Ol’ Leaky

This is Ol’ Leaky. We bought this thing in July for $1,500 and thought we either got a good deal or something was wrong with it. What was wrong was the roof leaked like a sieve. It had a big air conditioner on top and the roof sagged noticeably. After doing some research on the Internets I found out that this particular model requires special braces from the manufacturer when installing one of those aftermarket air units. It had no special braces. So I removed the air conditioner and sold it on Craigslist. Then I installed a roof vent and patched up some other stray holes and replaced the weather proofing on the roof seams. The seat and bed cushions had also been wet in the past so they were pretty stinky. We tossed out the big bed cushions and washed the upholstery and replaced the foam in the bench seats, which helped with the smell.

It was hot as hell around here until just recently so we hadn’t had a chance to take the thing out for a shakedown trip until Saturday. We plotted a course for Buffalo Point in the lower part of the Buffalo National River, hitched up Ol’ Leaky to the truck and headed out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the thing tows really well. You can hardly feel it back there. I was especially happy that the tires didn’t shred at highway speeds. We got us a good spot with electricity in the RV campground and enjoyed roasting hot dogs in the campfire before going to bed. As is customary with my luck, a nice soaking rain moved in to test my roof-patching job. A test that the roof failed miserably. Water pooled in the sage in the roof and made its way around the waterproofing near the vent. Fortunately, I brought a bucket for just such an occasion. However, the bed areas stayed nice and dry and we got a pretty decent night’s sleep. Even with the leaky roof, it beat the hell out of a tent. (Check here for my thoughts on tents.)

Our camp was near this massive gravel bar and we took a long walk on the rocks and tried our hand at a little fishing.

Earlier in the week I went to the Wal-Marts and got Abby a real fishing rod to replace her toy Barbie rod. I got her the Zebco Ladyfish model. It comes complete with pink anti-breast-cancer ribbons painted on the reel. She got pretty good at casting, but we didn’t catch anything. Gina allowed her to play in the water and her clothes started coming off one piece at a time as they got wet.

Pretty soon she was down to just her shoes and underwear. The freedom to run around in public in your underwear is probably the best part of being a kid.

On Sunday morning we headed to the nearby ghost town of Rush. Rush is a former zinc-mining community the National Park Service has made into an exhibit. A few old buildings still stand as time and weather work their magic.

This is the old blacksmith shop. The weathered wood has that reddish color that you see on old buildings out West but seldom in Arkansas. The buildings are all fenced off so you can’t get up really close.

The last store in town operated into the 60’s.

We were hoping to see some great fall color, but it was sporadic with a lot of green still left.

On our way back to Little Rock we stopped in Marshall on Highway 65 for some down home eats at Kelley’s Country Kitchen. All-you-can-eat buffet with catfish, beans, ribs, hushpuppies, etc. Unfortunately, we got there about 1:15 and they weren’t putting any fresh food out on the buffet. It was dry and mostly cold. They don’t take credit/debit cards. I can’t recommend it.