The Ozark Trail Family Vacation

Dad & Mom organized a big family vacation for Christmas this year.  They rented from Airbnb a five bedroom lodge between Yellville and Harriet, Arkansas.  They rented a 16 passenger van and Mom and Dad, my sister, her husband and her six boys, Tricia, me and Laura Lee, Russ, and Benjamin departed the morning after Christmas.  Unfortunately, my brother and his wife were unable to make the trip.

We live in flat country in South Louisiana.  There's not a rock in sight.  We were anxious to get into the Ozark Mountains and do a little hiking and have good family fun.  That afternoon late we arrived at our destination.  The lodge was absolutely perfect!  Here's Dad & Mom in front of the fireplace.  It was cold, but we brought firewood and kept a roaring fire burning.  We also lit a fire in a fire pit out back.  The first night, my brother-in-law cooked quail that he had raised and injector marinated.  They were delicious!

It was so relaxing.  We woke up early, read the Bible and prayed while watching the sunrise.  So spectacular!  It was peaceful.

We brought two 18 count packages of eggs from home and cooked big breakfasts of bacon and eggs, grits, ham, toast and bagels and lots of coffee.  There were wild turkey and deer at the bottom of the hill that the boys spotted.

The lodge had a game room with a pool table, foosball, and other games to keep the crew occupied.  We also played a big bingo game in the family room and worked on a puzzle at night.  There was a pond below the lodge that was completely frozen over.  We aren't used to ice being that thick that you could actually walk on.  The boys were running and sliding on it.

It was still cold, but warming up a little.  While we were standing on the ice a big crack went all across the pond.  Probably not a good idea to stand on it for too long!

Once everyone was fed, we loaded up in the van and headed to Buffalo Point where Mom & Dad hiked the Buffalo River Overlook Trail.  We hiked the Indian Rockhouse trail.  The scenery was gorgeous!

There were numerous caves and rock formations to explore.

The highlight of the trail was the Indian rock house.  This was a shelter for native Americans many years ago.  Archeologists excavated the cave and found all sorts of tools, food remains, and other relics.  The Indians used this as a shelter and meeting area.

There was a perfect chimney in a part of the roof of the rock house.

Not only were they protected from the elements, but a creek ran through the cave at the end.  They could get fresh water without leaving.  

It was the most perfect day for hiking.  The sky was blue, the sun shone brightly, and we all worked up a sweat on the hike that was about a 3.5 mile round trip.

This was a tree lined trail at the very end.  You can see that it had warmed up.  Tricia had her coat tied around her waist.

We brought lots of food on the trip and stopped in parks and made sandwiches, but on this day, we drove into Yellville and found a pizza joint and ordered 7 pizzas.  There was a large kitchen in the lodge where we did some cooking, too.  We made a big chili.  We enjoyed chili dogs and frito pie!

We organized a scavenger hunt at the lodge, breaking up the kids into two teams and set them out on an adventure to find local items.  Some of the more memorable items to find were: a piece of ice from the pond, fire, two different types of wild animal poop, photos of a live animal seen around the lodge, and another odd item for them to collect.  They had a real good time.

The next day we loaded up and went to Rush, Arkansas.  It is a ghost town of sorts.  During the first World War, there was a town here of approximately 5,000 people mining.  They built the smelter below hoping for silver, but found zinc.  They used it for the war effort.  It was called the Morning Star Mine.

Old entrances to the mine dotted the hills, but they were closed off.

At the base of the trail was the Buffalo River.  The water was crystal clear and cold.  In fact ice was floating in the river.  It didn't stop Russ from rolling up his pant legs and wading out there!  The boys skipped rocks across the river.

Just a beautiful sight!  Living in Louisiana, we aren't accustomed to seeing the bottom of the river.  Our water is MUDDY!

This little tributary was flowing into the Buffalo River.  I think its called Clabber Creek.

The next morning at 7AM we loaded up the van and headed back home.  It was sad to leave.  Arkansas is a beautiful state.

It was a relaxing vacation and we all made memories to last a lifetime!  Thanks Dad & Mom!!

To The Mountains - Part 4 (The Final Day)

While we were gone, we still had lots of animals to take care of: A dog (Belle), A cat (Ginger), Five Cows (Rosie, Clarabelle, Luna, Aussie, and Clarabull),  Four Goats (Annie, Buckwheat, Agnes, Matilda), and Seventy-something Chickens (We don't name all of them!  We call them all Sally Henny Penny).  Our neighbor's grandson agreed to feed and water them each day, and he did a good job.

The night before we were to leave to head back home, we planned to hike down from our mountain cabin to the creek that you could see from the deck out back on the following morning.  We rented the cabin from Fireside Retreats in Mountain View, Arkansas, and I have to put in a very favorable review.  What a fantastic get-away!  Our cabin was an A-frame that was very modern and had all the amenities that you are looking for on a vacation.

The deck out back had an incredible view.  We spent a lot of time out here just soaking in the sights.  It was so VERY quiet.  The cabin is secluded and away from any traffic.  You could really take in all the wonders of God's creation out here.

The A-frame sleeps 6 people and has a loft up top.  That's where the boys stayed.  Down the hall to the front door was the bathroom on the right and master bedroom on the left, with access to each through barn doors.

The bathroom had interesting and cool fixtures.

The kitchen was modern and stocked with anything and everything you'd need.  We cooked every single day.

So the final night of our stay, we were awakened by gentle, rolling thunder and then rainfall.  We could hear the rain hitting the roof right over our heads.  It was relaxing, soothing, and restful.  That's exactly what you want in a vacation, right?  We woke up in the morning, had coffee and a devotion and looked out on the deck.  It was still raining.  The hike down to the creek was off.

But you know what?  That's okay.  Checkout time was 11 AM, and we had three hours remaining in the mountains.  We all climbed up into the loft and laid in bed, talking about the memories we made while watching the rain continue to fall.  So nice.  A perfect vacation only 8 hours away.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arkansas - The Natural State.

Leviticus 26:4

“Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

To The Mountains - Part 2

"Vacation, all I ever wanted

Vacation, had to get away..."  --  The GoGos

The next day started off with a quick drive down to the White River.  We rented a boat for four for the day to try to catch Rainbow Trout!  We asked the attendants at the dock if we could swim in the river?  His answer: "The river is too cold.  Heart attack inducing cold."  Well, heck. 

We bought bait and loaded our gear onto the boat.  We were instructed to cast upstream, let the bait sink, and reel in and the trout would hit it. As we headed upstream, it was cool.  How different the weather is just 8 hours north!  It was pleasant. 

There was a nice fog rising from the river. The mountains rose on either side with big bluffs and lots of trees right up to the river bank.  The current was strong, rushing downstream at a 6 mph clip.  The weather couldn't have been nicer.

Russ as the captain of the vessel

We looked above to see a majestic bald eagle fly overhead and land in a tree.  America!  We also saw a fawn eating at the riverside, river otters playing on the bank, and lots of turtles.  Our plan from 8 am to 5 pm involved motoring upstream for 30 minutes, turning the boat sideways, and casting our lines upstream.  The current would push us downstream toward the dock and then we'd repeat the process.

At some point the sun began beating down on us and it got hot.  Russ decided to cast caution to the wind about the heart attack and got in a tube we brought along before we learned that was crazy.  Russ said it was very cold, but refreshing.

We began to catch fish.  Rainbow trout!  Such a beautiful fish...

We all fished and when someone caught a fish, another would put down their rod and grab the net to secure the fish.  Benjamin was particularly adept with the net.  We gave him the moniker than was truly earned.  We called him "Benjamin Net an Yahoo!"

We've caught speckled trout before in south Louisiana and love to eat them, but this was our first opportunity to catch rainbow trout.  What an experience!

Benjamin's rainbow trout

Tricia got an opportunity to drive the boat.  She was a pretty darn good boat captain.  She also packed us lunches and boat snacks.  What a great day we had!

We did a lot of boating upstream, viewing the sights and surroundings and then floating downstream while fishing.  We burned an entire tank of gas.

Oh Captain, my captain.

We laughed and talked and sang and just enjoyed good family time together.  It was a peaceful time.  Well, at least once we got the hang of the current and the boat.  At first it was a little unnerving to be in a river with a brisk current.  We're used to slow moving bayous with next to no current.

At the end of the day, we caught seven nice rainbow trout.  Of course there's always the big one that got away.  Benjamin had two like that.  All in all, we caught enough for supper and made some great family memories in the process.

When we got back to the cabin, Tricia pan-fried the trout in butter and lemon.

Fresh-caught rainbow trout for supper.  It was heavenly!

We even had leftovers!  It wasn't over yet...

To The Mountains - Part 1

Once we dried off the cows, we took an 8 hour drive north to the Mountain View, Arkansas area to relax and recuperate for a few days.  We stopped in first to visit an old friend and his wife.  It was great catching up with them.  They gave us a tour of their beautiful home, barn, and property and showed us two Trail Trees in their yard.  I had never heard of that before.  Apparently they are markers made by Indians or early settlers to point toward springs, caves, etc.  My friend has a theory of what the trail trees were pointing to and had us follow him and his wife.  After a brief hike, we arrived at the shelter cave below:

We then journeyed on to an old train bridge in the area, but were too chicken to drive over it.  It looks like they poured concrete over it.  We watched as people drove across it, but we just walked.

Blanchard Springs Caverns were closed due to Covid-19, but we did hike around the area and see where the springs come out of the rock:

It is hard to believe that if you just drive 8 hours north there are mountains and crystal clear spring water (no mud!). 

The sounds of the water in the creek flowing over the stones in the creek bed are so relaxing and peaceful.  We wanted to stay here all day!  Arkansas is called the Natural State.  The views we take in of nature are gorgeous.  We talked more than once about the beauty of creation that our Creator made!

The park is well maintained, clean and has nice walking trails.  No litter and not congested with people.

Despite our protests, Benjamin hopped out on a moss-covered rock in the middle of the creek.  We thought he might slip and fall and break his head open.  But, alas, he did not.  The water in the creek was COLD!

Mirror Lake was right down the road and lived up to its namesake.

We arrived at our cabin on top of the mountain that we rented from VRBO.  It was a really neat A-frame.  Clean, modern, yet rustic, and comfortable.

I'll show you more of the cabin later, but here is a photo off the deck in the back, looking down the mountain at the creek far below.

Beautiful, relaxing, peaceful.  But it didn't end there!