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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, May 5, 2013

No rain today!

Finally the sun came back today, so I decided to take myself out for lunch.  Going out to eat is not a big thing in my life, so this was a bit of an event.

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I headed a few miles down the interstate for the exit for Wiederkehr Wine Cellars.  It’s on the Arkansas Wine Trail.  I really wasn’t interested in another wine tour, but wanted to visit their restaurant to try some Swiss food.  After perusing the menu, my first instinct was to order the Rueben sandwich, but I thought I ought to try something different.  I chose the Quiche Lorraine dish.  I’ve never had that before.  I like quiches.  Well, this was the heaviest quiche I’ve ever had.  I could only eat less than half of it.  Don’t know if it was the heavy amount of Swiss cheese or the way too thick, non-flakey crust, but I left wishing I had gone with my first idea.  At least I didn’t have to cook.

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What I enjoyed the most about the outing was driving the back roads through the Arkansas wine country.  The rolling hills and grape vines reminded me of the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York.  I sure wouldn’t mind being here in October when the wine festivals occur. 

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Heading back to the rig on US 64, rather than the interstate, I followed a sign to another COE park along the way.  The entrance road to the park curled up a mountainside to an overlook.  Lots of folks were out picnicking in the finally nice weather.  I stopped at the overlook for a view of the dam along the Arkansas River.

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It sure was a surprise to me to see the Aux Arc COE Park across the river.  As I looked east of the lock and dam, I could almost see my campsite.  It’s located just before the bend of the river on the right.  This gave me a new perspective on where I was actually staying.  It’s not often that you get a view of  your location this way.  Cool beans!

Late this morning, a young couple with a little boy moved into the site next to me.  While I was out driving around today, they went out fishing on the river in their boat.  They actually caught something.  I was curious, so I went over to ask what they caught.  The husband had three big catfish that he was fileting with an electric knife.  I’d never seen that done before.  Only took a couple of minutes, and he threw the remains back into the river to feed the turtles.  I’m not a big fan of catfish, but this gentleman was thrilled with his catch.

I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning for a campground in Missouri.  It’s just north of Joplin.  It’s a private campground, and I need to do some laundry there.  The reviews of this stop are good, so we’ll see.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

16 comments:

  1. Neat picture of your campsite, quite the view!

    Hope you get to wine and dine in the area in October. :c)

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  2. How did we miss the wine country part of Arkansas? I wonder how Arkansas wine tastes. Ever have any?

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  3. Glad you got out and enjoyed some nice weather. Oh, and by the way, we owe you a very big Thanks! Yesterday, as I was getting ready to give the schnauzers a bath, I found we had nothing coming out of the hot-water side of the faucet. I remembered your problem with the check valve, so I told Jim to see if he could replace ours. Not much more than an hour later, we had a new check valve and hot water - so thank you for sharing your experience!

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  4. Travel safe my friend.
    Should be arriving April 23rd.

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  5. Have an enjoyable and safe time. Your photos are lovely.

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  6. A nice day for a nice drive ... hopefully a nice day for both of us tomorrow as it is moving day for us as well.

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  7. Happy your rain stopped we are heading to a few days of it here.
    Great pictures

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  8. Didn't know they had a wine country either. If we ever get that way we shll have to find it. Ruben are always my first choice if I see one on a menu. I make then at home too, when my diet allows me to eat bread and cheese.

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  9. What a beautiful area. We have friends in Little Rock and have been trying to get up to see them, but the weather there is so often crappy that we just keep putting it off!

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  10. Our Internet connection is not good here in Cannonville, Utah. Will have to check pictures later. Hope you have safe travels today.

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  11. yaaa for sunshine. . .yes! Hate that you had a bad experience with the quiche. . .I'm a big fan of trying local cuisine or different cuisine. . .so kudos for you for venturing out.

    If you don't like catfish, then it wasn't prepared properly (unless you just don't like fish in general). . .if prepped and filleted correctly it is a fabulous piece of pure white flaky goodness just waiting to take on whatever seasonings are added.

    I trot line fished and caught catfish with my Daddy my whole entire life. . .good stuff!

    Loved the pic of your campground from afar. . .very nice!

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  12. We usually try to stay at COE parks..As a rule, they are located on a river, lake or stream...and the spaces are very big and nicely kept..But, they usually just provide water, electric and a dump station..and sometimes the water is your own...There is a great Army Corp park in Texarkana, TX at Wright Patman Lake. I believe the campground is called Clear Springs..Lots of great forest and some lakefront sites..Another plus is that there is an RV repair place 2 miles down the road (which we have use;-) If you go, make sure you enter from Rt. 59 and NOT the Rt 67..The railroad tracks on the road off 67 are NOT crossable by campers or motorhomes.

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  13. Glad the rain stopped so you were able to get out and take some pictures. Safe travels today and I hope the campground is as good as the reviews.

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  14. so glad you went to Wiederkehr ... sorry about the quiche though ~ There is a lot to see on your way to Missouri ... should be fairly good weather... again, glad to be able to meet you ;)

    Hope you do come in October ... it is gorgeous in Arkansas in the Fall ... each area has a different
    'color' time ... you can drive from one end end to the other and follow the color.

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  15. If you soak that catfish in milk for a while before you cook it. It really helps make the taste better. Arkansas is a beautiful state.

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  16. It sounds like they should stick to making wine:)

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