Buffalo National River

Grabbed a picnic lunch and headed to scout out some of the Buffalo National River today - scouting for future floats. Starting at the Highway 14 bridge and then to Buffalo Point. This is the primo natural resource in the state in my opinion - on the week-ends it is loved to death by folks in canoes, kayaks, float tubes, etc. We are planning on enjoying it during the week when crowds are minimal even during the summer season. Charlcie also grabbed some flower shots over the past couple of days.

Killin' Time

Generation from the dams continues to be too high to facilitate wade fishing and is expected to be that way for some time. Weather is too hot and humid to get too excited about many outdoor activities (enough sweat generated doing the mandatory yard maintenance). Too many ticks, chiggers, poison ivy and snakes keeping us from working on the property. To keep from becoming too lethargic we have engaged in activities to get us out of the house and to learn more about the area: early-morning picking of blueberries (yummy - and healthy!), live music on the square, live music at the library coffee shop, bird-watching, and scenic drives are some of the things that fill our days. We're always sure to encounter wildlife such as young wild turkeys, herons, doe with tiny twin fawns. Lately, we have been invited to join the weekly Sunday pm "Ramp Party" at Rim Shoals - which offers some respite from the heat as the cool mist is carried by breezes off the river. This gathering of new and very interesting friends tops off our week as we assemble on one-half of the ramp,and in between issuing performance scores for trailer-backing skills for the departing fishermen, there is lively discussion, storytelling, wildlife/bird/fish spotting, and hearty laughter. Have I said that we are having fun?

I can fish again!

After weeks of flood control releases from the Dam, the Corps has initiated some hours of zero generation until the lower White gets back to normal levels. This opens up some wading opportunities to chase hungry trout that have been eating well with little pressure from people like me. The result was an amazing day of fishing with friends Bruce Ritter and Clay Henry who drove over from Fayetteville. On the river by 6am on a beautiful day (nothing so refreshing as standing waist-deep in 60 degree water on a 95 degree day). We were so successful that we stopped counting early and many of the fish, primarily browns, that were in the 14"-17" range. My highlight was catching a dozen of these beauties on a dry fly during a prolific sulphur mayfly hatch. As far as I'm concerned there is no better thrill in fishing than sight-casting to a trout with a dry fly - and feeling that line zing off the reel!


Sunrise on the river - the mist lasted for a couple of hours - very soothing

Not a good picture, but these brown trout are a great combo of brawn and beauty

Butterscotch fins and vivid spots

37 Years

37th Anniversary! How to celebrate? Go out to dinner and eat until we're in a semi-coma, get a dessert to go to finish before bedtime. Does it get any better than that? By the way, the chocolate coconut cake was mighty tasty! And we are still in love after all these years!

Celebration Week-end in Branson

We traveled to Branson for the week-end to spend time with Charlcie's sister Tami and her husband Kevin - and to celebrate Tami's birthday and our 37th anniversary that are coming up this week. It was a full week-end starting on Friday night with our participation in the Relay for Life - Tami and Charlcie were troopers; Tami was there from 3pm until 5am the following morning, and Charlcie lasted until 3am - and both of them walked several miles in the stifling heat. Kevin and I lasted 'til midnight after helping to set up several of the participant tents - he returned at 5am and I slept in. We don't know many people whose lives have not been touched by cancer. Our families have certainly been impacted, so we were thankful to be able to participate in a small way to honor those that have been affected and to help raise money towards the search for cures. The lighting of the memorial luminaries and the silent walk around the track to view them was an impressive and moving moment.


Luminary lighting




After some sleep on Saturday morning we went to see the Legends show at the Dick Clark Theatre. I'm not one that necessarily gets excited about Branson shows, however all the ones that Tami and Kevin have taken us to have been very good. This Legends show featured some very talented impersonators and was a real hoot - featuring The Blues Brothers, Martina McBride, The Temptations (these guys can perform anywhere!), Michael Jackson, and Elvis. Capped off the evening with an excellent meal at Red Lobster - we would highly recommend their current 4-course $15 special - one heckuva good meal for the money.
We capped off a really cool week-end with a 4-hour Table Rock Lake tour on T&K's pontoon boat on Sunday morning.


Sun gazing: Charlcie couldn't resist showing my expanding forehead!

Memorial Week-End: Visit by Ben and Myka

Enjoyed having Ben and Myka up for the holiday! First opportunity they have had since they were here for Christmas. The high water on the rivers curtailed fishing activity, but we did get to spend some time exploring Dry Run Creek and the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. And we were able to share some of our favorite dining establishments in the area: PJs on the White River for fine dining, KTs BBQ, desserts from the Shady Ladies/Heidi's Crazy Cakes at Shady Grove Country Store, and dinner with new friends/future neighbors at White River Valley Estates. We had a great visit and are looking forward to the next visit from our "kids".



In front of PJs; excellent food and atmosphere!


At Bull Shoals Dam overlook; 17 spillway gates open



Stealthy Ben trying to get an underwater fish pic


Nice cutthroat trout


Rainbow trout rising for a bug

Higher Water

We have heard reports that the releases from Bull Shoals dam are as heavy as they are going to be this go-around. We thought we had witnessed the peak levels yesterday, but returned today to see just what forces are released with 6 generators and 17 floodgates open. We joined a parade of folks that were walking across the bridge to capture images. Many houses, docks, businesses have been trashed - we see entire large trees floating by from time to time - pretty powerful stuff!

Record water releases from Bull Shoals Dam

Lots of homes and other properties being flooded downriver from Bull Shoals dam as Beaver, Table Rock, Norfork, and Bull Shoals lakes reach flood stage - water must be released to mitigate the potential damage. For those of you familiar with the Cotter Access and Roundhouse Shoals, this is an even more jaw-dropping scene. Where we are staying and where we will eventually build are both far removed from flooding danger. We just have to find a hidy-hole occasionally due to tornado warnings this spring, as we know a lot of you have had to do. Stay safe!


Cotter Trout Dock under seige - swimming hole to the left is no longer a hole




Water flowing over the berms and through the parking lot


Top of island: Roundhouse Shoals


Bottom of island: Roundhouse Shoals

Charlcies flower pics

Clipping Fins

Along with others, we volunteered to help Arkansas Game & Fish trout biologist clip adipose fins on Cutthroat trout before they are released. This will help identify this group in the future to determine growth rates, survival rates, movement, etc. This class averaged 11" in length, which is larger than the normal stocking size - it is hoped by releasing larger fish their survival rate will be improved. I don't know how many we clipped (in the hundreds), but a total of 12,000 will be marked in a two-day period.

Toy Story

Finally had a chance to take our Polaris Ranger to the land for our initial ride in it. Although we've had it for awhile, we couldn't seem to find the right time to take it for a spin. I imagine when the house starts, we will have it out there often. We enjoyed exploring the hills and valleys.

Cicada

This is the coming out year for the 13-year periodical cicadas throughout the south (called the Great Southern Brood). These guys have been living underground as nymphs for 13 years, and are coming out now to shed their shells, mate, and then die. As a survival mechanism, they emerge by the millions to satisfy the appetites of their many predators. The idea is that the predators will gorge on the plentiful prey until they can't eat anymore - leaving the surviving cicadas to lay their eggs to produce the next generation - coming to you in 2024. To attract mates, they congegrate in groups and when there is a forest full of them, produce sounds like a distant jet engine. We were out at our property and heard this relatively loud noise that we initially thought was bulldozer work going on in the area, until we started seeing many of these little guys (about a third of the size of the black/green larger ones we are all familiar with) buzzing about. They're colorful little buggers.