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...