Monday 7/25/17     When we were in Arkansas a week and a half ago I was researching things to do. One interesting place I found was Blanchard Springs Caverns but we were running out of time and it was too far from where we were staying. So we decided to backtrack and head back to Arkansas after Branson. Blanchard Springs Caverns is in part of the Ozark National Forest. The closest town to the caverns is Mountain View with a population of only 2,860. This whole area is beautiful and Mountain View's slogan is "Your Place in the Mountains". The trip from Branson, MO to Mountain View, AR is only 115 miles but there are no main roads. When we left Branson we were on Route 65 which is a decent road. It snakes its way south-east through hills and valleys to the small town of Marshall. Once we turned off of 65 we were on a two-lane that ran through the Ozark Mountains. We were on this road for close to 2 hours driving around 35 MPH and sometimes slowing to 15 MPH to make it around some of the curves. It was quite a drive. 

I had made reservations for three nights at a campground called Anglers Holiday Mountain Resort. One of the reasons I picked this place was that they accepted my Passport America Card which let me stay there for $15.00 a night. We had a hard time finding it and when we got near we pulled to the side of the road to check the map. We were in the middle of nowhere and there was no cell service so we couldn't call them or use Google Maps or Google Earth. One thing I'm afraid of is taking the truck and trailer down a road where there's no place to turn around. We found a very skinny road that we thought was the right way. As I pulled into that road I had second thoughts and stopped. I was just about ready to back up onto the main road when a guy in a pickup pulled around me. I got out of the truck and asked him if he knew where the campground was and he assured me it was down that skinny road. He was right. After about a 1/4 mile we found the campground. 

This place is located on Swinging Bridge Road. But luckily the entrance of the campground is before the swinging bridge because it's a single lane cable bridge with wood decking. I don't think it would hold the weight of the truck and trailer. Once I got my site number at the office I had to do an S turn down a steep hill and over an old single lane cement bridge to the site. This campgrounds big draw is the creek that runs along the property. As we drove across the bridge we could see people swimming and fishing in the creek. They also have canoes and kayaks to use but right now the water is too low. The roads in the campground are dirt and gravel along with the trailer sites. It's a pretty large campground with around 100 spaces but probably only 25 were taken. They put us in the back row and our closest neighbor was about five sites away. Once we got set up we walked around to check the place out. It's not really a terrible place but it needs some work. The location is beautiful, next to a winding creek in a heavily wooded valley, out in the middle of nowhere. Our cell phones can't even pick up a signal. If you're interested in getting away from it all, this is your place.