2020 Winter Camping Trip Day5-First time in Arkansas

 2020 Winter Camping Trip Day5, 2020/11/30

We woke up in a calm pretty morning in Arkansas. Previous night was windy, but winds were completely gone in the morning. This was my first time visiting Arkansas. I didn't know anything about Arkansas. Now I know a little. People seem to like camping (at least RV). Although RV, people are still camping in December, which indicates they like camping. I also saw a lot of farming in the area near campground. Farming seems big there. Another thing I learned from Mr.N about Arkansas is Bill Clinton is from Arkansas. Due to that, when he was a candidate it got blue. Hiking-wise, Hot Spring National Park is in Arkansas, but not many hikers are talking about that, so I almost forgot mentioning it here. 

Tent area

The campground is along the river and quite nice. There are a lot of RV sites and separate tent sites. 10-15 RVs were camping in the RV area, but nobody in the tent area. So we were the only group! I always love nobody camping around. 

Morning coffee by fire and river

There was a concrete table set by the fire pit. I put a chair and had a cup of coffee by fire and looked at river for a while. What a quality time! 

On this day5, we drove to New Mexico. First time we entered "The West".

On the way most states are following social distancing practice. Restrooms on the highway are required to wear masks. Most people at gas stations wear masks and require masks even while getting gas outside. However, one state was absolutely no social distancing nor masks: Oklahoma. When we stopped by a gas station, nobody was wearing a mask while they were getting gas. Then we went into a store to go to the restroom. There was a small food court in the store. There were around 10 people eating in the food court area. Not a single person was wearing a mask. The worst thing in the food court was that no single person preparing food was wearing a mask. What the hell!? No mask and preparing food for customers? OMG. SO. BAD. After I went to the toilet I ran to the exit. 

At 10 p.m., we arrived a campground. When we arrived at a campsite very late, usually we grabbed fast food on the way so that we didn't need to boil water in the dark and cold. We got fast food around 5 or 6 times during this trip. These are my thoughts.

1. In-N-Out Burger: Always, for sure always I will go to In-N-Out when I am in the west. I got into In-N-Out when I lived in California. In 2019, I learned that In-N-Out branches exist in Utah. So I was secretly looking forward to having that. Surprisingly we found In-N-Out not only Utah but also in Arizona. I like simple fried potato and animal style. Mr.N hadn't tried or known about animal style, so I introduced this secrete menu and he loved it. I wish In-N-Out existed in the East. 

2. Burger King: I like Whopper. I stick to the regular Whopper and Mr.N tried and loved Impossible Whopper. I tried Impossible and I concluded I like the regular. I was surprised that Burger King and Impossible got agreement, since I thought that people who are into Impossible are not fond of fast food like Burger King. 

3. Five Guys: During this trip I found the option that the meat wrapped with lettuce instead of bread! Wow this is the hit! Also we downloaded the Five Guys App to order in advance to minimize human-human contacts. I found that I can order extra tomato, extra onion (raw) and extra baked onion! I love the App. When I say what to add to a burger, usually a cashier don't understand my English, thus App helps. Furthermore, I can think what to add not being rushed in front of a cashier. 

4. Subway: Subway is not my favorite, but Mr.N' really likes it. Cost performance is not great in my opinion, because one meal at Subway is around $12. My favorite sandwich shop is definitely Ike's Place. The sandwich is very saucy and my favorite bread style is Dutch Crunch. My favorite sandwich is "The girl I was dating for" All of Ike's sandwiches are very saucy and juicy! I first encountered Ike's Place at Stanford. The branch was there. Occasionally my lab mates and I went there or took out. Their sandwich names are weird, so it is awkward to say, "Can I get SF Giants?" or "Can I get ex-boyfriend?" but anyway worth it. I miss Ike's Place. 

Alright, this day's entry is about more food than hiking or camping, buy I love food as much as I love hiking. 

To be continued...