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 3

No computer.  No conference calls.  No work.  No TV.  Mountain life is peaceful and refreshing.  I wish I was still there.  We woke up slowly and made our way to the deck in the back that looked down the mountains and watched the sun rise through the trees.  It was quiet.  No traffic.

On this morning we had a nice cup of coffee and leftover rainbow trout and buttered toast.  The breakfast of champions!  What's in that spray bottle, you ask?  Well, that's Tricia's homemade tick spray.  We smelled strongly of cedarwood, geranium, and citronella essential oils with apple cider vinegar and water. It seemed to keep the ticks away (along with any other people we came across).

Mornings on the deck with a mug of hot coffee and the Bible are a great way to start the day.  I highly recommend it!

We drove off to Sylamore Creek and rented kayaks and a canoe and explored the creek heading upstream.  We had to lift our watercraft over rocks in some places, but the water was nice and cool and clear.  We could see many trout swimming in the creek.  The boys had the kayaks...

Tricia & I canoed.  The canoe is the same model that we have at home.

The scenery was magnificent with rocky bluffs overhead.

Right where the Sylamore Creek empties into the White River, the boys found a rope swing and had a big time swinging out and plunging into the cooooold water.  The rope had been fastened to very small tree.  They were unsure if it would hold their weight, but it did.

We sought out a swimming hole nearby called the Rosa Hole, but there were many, many people there.  We found ourselves back at Gunner Pool.  It turned out to be our favorite swimming hole.  It is right outside of a small town called 56, Arkansas, with a population of 173.  We enjoyed stopping and shopping for snacks at a tiny Mom & Pop Old Fashioned store there.  When we got to Gunner Pool, we were excited to have the entire place to ourselves.  We jumped off the cliff from the lower area (below) and then a much higher area.

We could have stayed there all day!

Mountain View, Arkansas was founded in 1873 and is called the Folk Music Capital of the World.  They have many places to listen to great bluegrass and Gospel music.  We got coffee and ice cream and enjoyed listening to these folks play.

Then we walked across the street to the grounds of the courthouse where people set up benches and lawn chairs and listened to great bluegrass and Gospel music with banjos, mandolins, fiddles, guitar and doghouse bass.  Some got up and danced, others just listened.  The courthouse is located in the town square and old trucks with American Flags flying from the back drove around and around.  Just the best ever!

We packed up our chairs and headed back to the cabin knowing we had only one more day...

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!