Greetings From Toad Suck

I've wanted to be able to say that ever since I read about this place in Nick Russel's Gypsy Journal travel blog. As we travel we often come across strange place names and wonder how in the world they got their names. Yesterday we passed through Bucksnort and Mousetail Landing in Tennessee.

This place is the site of a traditional crossing point for the Arkansas river. In 1823, a primitive ferry was set up to convey a horse and his rider over the shallow water. Downstream, the water was deeper, and allowed a ferry boat to travel up river to a landing below the fording spot. A wood yard was established at the furthest point north that the ferry boats could navigate so that they could pick up fuel for the return trip down river. A tavern was built some time between 1830 and 1850 and served as a gathering point for the rivermen. The crews enjoyed the tavern so much that a local remarked "Them fellers suck at a bottle and swell up like toads". The name became applied to the tavern and the crossing and remains to this day. In May, the area celebrates a Toad Suck festival.

Today, as you can see, there is a bridge and dam spanning the river. On the far side from us is a lock to permit passage of river traffic. We are staying at the Toad Suck Ferry COE campground. Our Senior Pass from the National Park Service gets us a site on the river with water and 50 amp power for $10 a night. Can't beat it with a stick! Like all of the COE campgrounds we've stayed at, this one is well kept, friendly and beautiful. Oh, under the lip of the bridge are lines of nests of chimney swifts that come out at dusk to feed on the insects over the river.

We kind of stretched things out to get here yesterday, traveling 360 miles after awakening to 41 degrees and rain in Nashville. We left at about 9:00 local time and drove to Jacksonville, TN, where I filled up for $3.88 a gallon, the best price I saw between there and here. Fuel in Arkansas is a little higher at $3.99.We drove out of the rain after about 50 miles but really didn't see much of the sun until we crossed the Mississippi river. If the land approach Memphis seemed flat, the land after the crossing was much more so. I guess it was made more evident by the size of the farm fields. I'm sure there were continuous plots of 1000 acres or more. Dramatically, as soon as we reached Little Rock, the land became hilly again. The campground is about 30 miles northwest of Little Rock, another place name I wonder about.

With views like this we could stay here a week but today we push on to Oklahoma.