It was a dark and stormy night...

[Wayfarer]

In fact, every one of our three nights at Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Mena, Arkansas, was dark and stormy!  We signed up for four nights but left after three nights of almost being blown away.  I mean it, the wind coming out of the valley and over the mountain plateau where the campground is located was 25-30 MPH during the day and 45-55 MPH from about 6 pm in the evening until around 9 am the next morning.  And cold!  The night-time temp was in the low 40's but the wind (gale force!) chill factor took it down in the low to mid 30's.  Not a good time for popups or hybrids!  The campground was full every night, mostly big fivers and motor homes, but one hybrid (ours), two "hi-low's," one Casita, and two couples camped in old suburbans!  A bunch of RV's would pull out every morning and then a bunch more would come in every afternoon.  No popups showed up, although I understand TrlrBoy was to be there the weekend of Oct 31.  Be interesting to see how they made out.  

Every morning we thought the campground was fogged in but found out later that it was the damp, damp clouds that cut the visibility to something like 30-40 feet and soaked you to the skin.
If you could see enough to get down the mountain in the early AM the sun would be shining and the temperature some 15-20 degrees higher and winds only about 15-20 MPH.

We made it through Monday and Tuesday nights without any real problems.  Made sure that everything was either inside or tied down, but Wednesday night the wind felt like it was going to tear the rear bunk-end tent off.  I'm not fooling...at times I could feel the bed lift about an inch.  Before turning in we had folded up the front bunk and hooked up the Roo to the F150 so we could get an early start.  Mickey slept on the dinette but I decided to brave it out on the back bunk.  Bad move, but when I realized it the winds were running around 55 MPH and I was afraid to chance trying to fold up the tent.  In the morning I accepted the offer of a neighbor camper to help me hold down the rear canvas so I could fold it up.  Believe me, it wasn't easy.  

As for the trip to enjoy the fall foliage it was a complete wipeout.  The Arkansas Tourism website had predicted the end of October for the peak of color but they missed it by a mile.  Not only was there almost no color - most of the trees up on the mountain were dry and almost bare of leaves.  The website posts a weekly update of the foliage predicted change in each region of the state every Thursday.  The October 23 post, the Thursday before our trip, predicted the color for "the end of October."  The update for October 30 predicted the peak color in the Central Arkansas region of the Ouachita Mountains  for "Mid- November."  And not only did the prediction change in the post of October 30, they had the gall to go back and change the post of October 23 to predict the middle of November instead of the end of October as originally posted.  So much for truth in advertising.  Guess they couldn't bear the thought of any potential tourist canceling their trip.

So much for our camping experience.  I will be making a "Campground Review" in the Mid South forum and posting some photos on my website as soon as I get things together, but wanted to share our windy camping experience.

[slowpez]

You know Wayfarer, DH and I lived in the Texas Panhandle for several years (come to think of it, we got married there).  Anyhow, I seem to remember seeing Arkansas blow through several times on its way to heaven-knows-where.  Maybe the gods wer getting even with you for past sins.  
Glad to hear you made it though without any damage - those winds can be really scary.

[tlhdoc]

Glad you made it home safe and sound. :S

[Turn Key]

Hi Chuck,

Looked at your pictures and get the impression the park is a bit short on trees.  Am I correct?  We were at Petit Jean SP last fall.  Very wooded.  Got a lot of rain but no wind to speak of.  Also got a lot of the fog/mist/clouds you speak of in the morning when it wasn't just raining.
 
I agree with your assesment of their ability to predict foilage color.  They were way off when we were there as well.
 
Glad you made it home with no damage.

[Wayfarer]

Looked at your pictures and get the impression the park is a bit short on trees.  Am I correct?

Yes and no.  Some trees running directly behind and next to the RV sites but not many anywhere else in the immediate area.  Of course, once you left the immediate area of the Lodge or the RV's you were still in the park and in the forest.