How do you beat this?

Ignoring the potential for rain that had been predicted and had threatened all morning, after lunch Charlcie and I decided to take a trip down to our property and while there get a little exercise and fresh air. With temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, beautiful foliage, and the White River at perfect wading levels, how could we stay indoors. Of course, I was able to get in a couple of hours of fishing at our walk-in access to my favorite place to fish over here - Charlcie enjoyed her exercise walk, taking photos along the way, and then kicked back in her lawn chair with a good book in hand and watched the river roll by. Oh my, how do we deserve this?

View from Fletcher Mountain at White River Valley Estates 

 Getting geared up at the walk-in access

 Autumn Brown trout

 Colorful rainbow trout

Our favorite stretch of river

Papaw's Pizza and Grandpa's Birthday

From time to time, Papaw Tabor fixes his famous homemade pizza for the family and it's always a fun gathering. A raucous card game usually breaks out after everyone has eaten enough to require a belt loosening. Didn't manage to get enough good pics to post to include everyone there.
We got up the next morning to visit Charlcie's Dad to celebrate his birthday. Our travels this week-end included awesome displays of the Ozarks autumn colors as we traveled Hwy 412, I-540, and then up Arkansas 59 from Ft. Smith to Siloam Springs - a stretch of rural Arkansas that has changed appearance very little over the past 50 years. We were able to take Charley to his favorite dining venue - the famous Catfish Hole in Fayetteville - it was as good as ever. The evening was capped off by watching the Razorbacks notch another gridiron victory - over South Carolina. Lots of fun with our families!

Papaw tending to the pizza over and everyone else chowing down

Arkansas 59 Highway

Happy Birthday Charley!

Fishing ain't always about the catchin'

I hadn't fished the Catch-and-Release area directly below Bull Shoals Dam in some time. Since it is closed to fishing November through January to protect spawning brown trout, I awoke early on Oct. 31, and arrived at the access before daylight. With the air temps in the high thirties and water temps in the 50s, dawn is magic and surreal with the mist rising from the river as the sun provides some daylight before the direct sunlight dissipates the mist. Although generation of 5 units prohibited wading, I fished from the bank for a couple of hours - enjoying almost total solitude in this setting is what it's all about. And to catch a few quality fish at the same time - that ain't bad either. I did catch a 20"+ fat male brown trout that I didn't get a photo of - he had a couple of strands of monofilament line wrapped tightly around his head/eyes, and after spending some time freeing him from his predicament, I didn't want to stress him further and so released him without the photo - take my word, he was absolutely beautiful!

 

Sun starting to peek through and reflecting on the water

Catchin' definitely enhances the experience

Cardinals fan meets Lou Brock

Cardinals great Lou Brock's playing days were over before Ben was born. But Ben is a huge Cardinals fan, so he knows some of the history of the great franchise. So when he had the opportunity at an Arkansas Diabetes Association event, he grabbed a shot with his cell phone. That's my boy!

Steve and Kelly in Cotter

We had a great week-end with my brother Steve and his wife Kelly. They were up from Ft. Smith for the first time, so we packed in a lot of activities, in between periods of relaxin'. Seems like it has worked out this fall that we are able to enjoy Razorbacks and Cardinals victories with family - this time it was a Razorback victory over Vandy (another heart-stopper) and the Cardinals winning the World Series! But first, we began with an early 2-mile hike on the Cotter trail along the White River -actually Steve and I added another mile, up the hill to our house, because someone, who shall remain unnamed, didn't grab the keys to the shuttle car before beginning our hike - luckily, we were only a mile from home! Between games, we went on part of our standard tour of Bull Shoals Dam, the Visitor Center, etc., and included another 2-mile hike along the upper White River, on Gaston's Nature trail.
Sunday, we toured our property at White River Valley, Rim Shoals Resort, Norfork Dam and National Fish Hatchery, and Dry Run Creek.
Probably left something out - it was a busy, but relaxing and very enjoyable week-end. Perfect weather in the middle of an Ozarks autumn, spent with special people - priceless.

Trailblazers

Beginning of Cotter trail

Ending Cotter trail at Rainbow Bridge

Along Gaston's Resort Nature Trail



Week-end with Ben and Myka

We were invited by Ben and Myka to join them for a night on top of Petit Jean Mountain - with lodging at one of the Pines Houses at the Winthrop Rockefeller Convention Center. How could we refuse? Getting to spend time with them is a treat in itself, but spending the time in such a wonderful place was indeed a bonus. Friday night at Ben and Myka's, we enjoyed a lasagna dinner that Charlcie had prepared in advance. On Saturday, we had to get going early due to the need to find a place to watch the Razorback game on the way to Petit Jean. Since the early kick-off prevented early check-in at the house, we had to stop en route at Conway. Other than the stress of having to watch the Hogs struggle against Ole Miss before finally pulling out the win, we had a great time at ZaZa's at The Villages at Hendrix. Happy with the outcome of the game, we then enjoyed the beautiful Ozarks autumn drive up through the farm/ranch countryside and then up the mountain. We were able to get the steaks off the grill before the rain and the next Cardinals victory was televised. We had such a fun and relaxing time with our "kids", before heading home, taking time to stroll along the Buffalo River on the way.
I don't know what we've done to deserve it, but Charlcie and I are so blessed to be able to truly enjoy a fun-filled retirement, to experience all that we have, and especially rewarding because we are able to spend more time with family and old and new friends.

Buffalo River at Grinder's Ferry access

Buffalo River looking downstream of Hiway 65 bridge

Charlcie and Tami on the Katy Trail

While I was hosting my Dad and brothers for the week-end, Charlcie and her sister were spending some quality time together on the Katy Trail in Missouri. The walking/biking trail traverses Missouri in some very scenic locales and is dotted with wineries and nice places to grab a meal. They capped off their trip with a couple of days in St. Louis with Tami's oldest son Ryan (our nephew) and his wife Kalen. This was the latest in what has become an annual Sisters Retreat.

Papaw and Sons

My brothers Ronnie and Steve brought Dad up for a long week-end together. Charlcie was in Missouri for a long week-end trip with her sister, so it was a bachelor party at our house in Cotter. We had a great time together, highlighted by taking Dad to catch many large fish at Dry Run Creek. We are all big St. Louis Cardinals and Razorback fans, so we enjoyed watching the Cards clinch their division series and the Hogs defeating Auburn. It was really a great time for the four of us to be together for a few days! Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot to get pictures of all of us together. Anyway, we were excited that Dad did so well fishing. I failed as a guide - although I rigged him up with the right flies to catch the fish, I managed to not net the very largest fish that he caught before they broke off - I'm simply not experienced in catching such large fish, a couple that exceeded 24".

Credits

It has been pointed out that I should give more credit to Charlcie for the pictures on the blog.  Although we sometimes are confused about which one of us has taken a particular picture, I must admit that my favorites were taken by her - the trout on the home page, the man in the boat on Taylor Reservoir, and the panorama of Taylor Reservoir with mountain ranges in the background.

Returning Home

After a very fun three weeks, we headed back to the Ozarks today. Although we missed the scenery as we traversed Slumgullion Pass, we were able to enjoy the aspens one last time in morning light as we approached Creede. The beauty is endless in these parts - including the upper Rio Grande that parallels the highway for a good distance.

Engineer Pass

On our last day in Lake City, we loaded into the Jeep and headed up Engineer Pass - unfortunately, rain storms were brewing and greeted us soon after we started the ascent. Greg and I were high and dry, but Diane and Charlcie were in the rumble seat and were getting the brunt of the rain, so we had to retreat.

Max and Tess were so worn out by our visit, they crashed end-to-end

Gold Mountain - Vickers Upper Ranch Steak Cook-out

We were lucky to be here for the last steak cook-out of the year on top of Gold Mountain. The folks at Vickers Ranch have a weekly cook-out in-season on their upper ranch. The 4-wheel drive up to the picnic area is worth the trip in itself. We have to say that this is the most incredible setting we have ever enjoyed a steak in.

Cinnamon Pass - American Basin

Took a jeep ride by Lake San Cristobal, up through Cinnamon Pass to American Basin. This 30-mile round trip took three hours - what has always been a 4-wheel drive road should be designated jeep-only this year(and luckily we were in one). According to the locals, they have never seen it this rough - we're ready for the rodeo now after that drive. But it was well worth the trip. American Basin is not covered with the wildflowers that are normal in spring and early summer, but is still spectacular and the road up is incredible, made even more so with the peak aspen colors.

The ladies in the rumble seat