Fishing Road Trip: April 2016

My fishing buddy Mark and I joined with six other fisherman through Ozark Anglers of Little Rock for a 3-day guided, drift boat fishing experience on the Green River in Utah, below Flaming Gorge Dam. The other fellas flew to Salt Lake City and motored up to Dutch John. Mark and I chose to drive to see the scenery and fish some other streams on the way. Our first stop was in Cimarron State Park, New Mexico. Following the preference of staying in local Mom/Pop quaint lodging that Charlcie and I try to experience on our road trips, we spent the night at the Cimarron Inn, after a 12-day on the road. We fished the Cimarron River the next morning for a few hours before moving on up the road to Navajo Dam and the San Juan River. The Cimarron is a small stream that is a protected trout water, but this time of year was subject to runoff which made the stream muddy and fishing not too productive. But we nevertheless caught a few small trout and enjoyed the uncrowded stream and canyon.

 Cimarron Inn Entrance

 View from Bedroom 1 to Bedroom 2 of the "Fishing" themed room

Mark gearing up to fish the Cimarron River

Turkey Mating Ritual

Living at the end of the road and surrounded by forest and field, we enjoy the daily viewing of wildlife of one sort or the other, primarily birds, deer, and wild turkey.  We especially enjoy watching the whimsical and beautiful wild turkeys.  We witnessed several Toms performing for potential mates this spring - this particular Tom tried in vain (as far as we could see) for two days, only to have the hens ignore him and keep on walking - he never gave up as he followed behind at a distance as far as we could see.  Hope he was able to fulfill his dream of being a Daddy.

Sad Day on Trout Lily

When considering the placement of the house on our property, we chose to locate between two of our favorite oak trees due to their size and beauty at the edge of woods and pasture. Unfortunately, the excavation for foundation and septic lines resulted in too much damage to the root systems, and the trees did not survive. We had to have them cut to avoid potential personal injury - we did direct that the main trunks be left intact to provide a food buffet for our several species of woodpeckers that visit often.

Birthday Boys!

Our little buddies just turned 3!! We joined friends and family for a train-themed party at Ben and Myka's. The boys had a few of their friends join in the fun and they all had a big time. We sure are proud of Charlie and Tucker, they are such a special part of our lives and we cherish any time we get to spend with them (and their parents!).

Another hike with the twins

Whenever we have some time with Charlie and Tucker, they usually request two activities: a trip to the Library and,when the weather allows, a hike in the woods. A perfect balance of great indoor and outdoor stimulation. Ben was able to join us on today's hike, which made it special for us and the boys. Any stroll through the woods must be paced to allow for gathering of twigs, limbs, pine cones, and leaves. Also, many stops must be made to allow for tossing of rocks into any body of water. As much as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle and dictated by current technology, we seem to always return to the basics, the simple pleasures in life to refresh mind and body.

 CiCi and the boys tossing rocks into the stream

 Dad and CiCi watching the boys carrying on a boy tradition. Splash!

Shipptown, Alabama

During the years we lived in Birmingham, I had the good fortune to work with Katheryn Shipp, and even more blessed that Charlcie and I became lifelong friends with Katheryn, her husband Franklin, and their family. Since our families were all back in Arkansas, the Shipps became almost like family to us while in Alabama. In fact, we have long dubbed Katheryn and Franklin as Ben's Alabama grandparents due to him spending a lot of time with them when Charlcie and I went away for week-ends or just to let Ben enjoy good country living and time spent with a great family. Their entire family and even some in their community treated Ben like family. We know that Ben has always appreciated the fun times he had with them and the mutual love that they have for each other. And we share that sentiment. Unfortunately, Franklin passed away a few years back, and we miss him. And also unfortunately, Katheryn has had a rough go of it the past year and is fighting like a real trooper. As she is embarking on another round of treatment, and with her birthday coming up, Charlcie and I decided we really wanted to go visit Katheryn and her family. And we are so glad we did! We had a great visit which reinforced our love for these folks. Hopefully we will be able to get back down there more often. We also took one day to visit our other great friends from Birmingham, Gene and Linda Murdock. Regrettably, I forgot to get the camera out for a pic.

 Sweet Katheryn with her Birthday cake

 Birthday dinner

 Eating is a great way to celebrate together

Who's going to cut the cake?

Hiking with Charlie and Tucker

Another beautiful March day to play with the boys. After we spent a couple of hours at the library, we went back to the Arboretum trail at Pinnacle Park where Ben met us for the trip around the trail. The boys enjoyed having their Daddy along for this outing! Of course, every time we crossed a stream we had to pause to throw rocks in the water. Has there ever been a boy, young or old, that does not seriously enjoy throwing rocks in the water? Didn't think so!

Spring in March! Trout Lilies in bloom

We had the unusual opportunity to name the two streets to our house off of the county road. The one to our front door we named Trout Lily Lane, to recognize the trout connection and a woodland wildflower that we have liked for some time. Due to the mild winter and early warming so far, the trout lilies appeared about a month earlier than we recall. This global warming thing does have some upsides!

Annual outing with our soccer ex-travel group

This was the 15th annual get-together of our group of friends that are stilk hanging together after our road trips following Comets Soccer ended. Some years we get together for a week in Colorado. A great time of fellowship with longtime friends - lots of serious laughing attacks, overconsumption of food, and most of the time a little physical activity,such as hiking,etc. This year we stayed in a lodge at Lake Ft. Smith State Park - this is a top notch facility in all aspects. We had access to a full-size outdoor basketball court so we had a fun few minutes of hotly contested roundball. No, we didn't play full-court nor did we compete for the regulation time periods. Luckily, we had no serious injuries and no fist fights broke out. A great week-end!

Group pic after the basketball game - thankfully no one was injured, even though it was a spirited contest!

Another big day with the twin Tabors

Another lively day with Tucker and Charlie. Started with a trip to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. Strolled to the pond, viewed all the exhibits at the Visitor Center, and then went to the Arboretum trail for a quarter-mile jaunt through the woods. And then the boys insisted on going to a Library, so we made a first-time visit to the Maumelle Library. We enjoy our time with them so much - they are so inquisitive and entertaining. And they are usually so happy and sometimes - so much fun!

 Early Valentine treats

 Naturalist pointing the way

 Crank that "thang" and it will talk to you

 Another naturalist giving a lesson

 Giddyup!

 At the Visitor Center: Pinnacle Mountain State Park

 That's a pretty large tree!

 Usually always include a trip to a Library

Shrek makes a nice reading nook



January pics from White River Valley

Weather for January continued to be tolerable. Started off the year with a brunch at the Hnedak's in their fantastic home. And then we enjoyed a visit from Tami and Kevin and we were able to take another nice hike to the waterfall at the back line of our property. From time to time, we drive to the upper boundary of our neighborhood, up to the cul-de-sac at the top of Fletcher Mountain to view a large expanse of the White River that is highlighted by impressive sunsets. We are where we need to be!

 New Years Day Brunch at the Hnedak's: Friends and Neighbors

 Hike to the waterfall: Charlcie and Tami

 Larry, Charlcie, Kevin, and Tami on the hike

 View of the White River from Fletcher Mountain in our neighborhood

Fabulous sunset views over the river from Fletcher Mountain

Hike at Twin Rivers Park

What to do on a nice sunny day in January? Well, Tucker and Charlie love to explore outdoors, so we went for a walk across the pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the river at Two Rivers Park. Little Rock has a very nice system of trails that we are able to enjoy while down there. We thought a nice long hike would prep them for an afternoon nap - nah!

 Folks gotta take a rest after walking all the way across the bridge

 Love this spot and this shot

 Always treasures to be found - tree bark and pine cones included

Theoretically, they're not supposed to be able to get thru the rails - I'm not so sure! 

Post-hike rest

Winter hike on our property

One of the features of our little 15 acres is a nice terrain for some hikes through the woods and along small creeks. After the unusual rains in January, we got to enjoy a lot of small waterfalls and one fairly large one at the back of our property. The weather was accommodating enough for a perfect hike down to the bottom of the small canyon and then back along the stream to reach the larger waterfall. Had a lot of fun enjoying the outdoors with our friends and neighbors, the Abbes and the Ives. We are really blessed with some very fine neighbors that are always up for fun activities.!

 Devin, Michelle, Charlcie, Larry

 Michelle, Charlcie, Larry, Bitsy, Devin seeing their reflections in the water for the first time!

 Charlcie resting and taking it all in

 January sun following cold night produces some interesting images

 Larry and Michelle Ives, Charlcie and Larry, Bitsy and Devin Abbe

Charlcie, Bitsy, and Michelle

Museum of Discovery and Hillary Clinton Library

Whenever we are in Little Rock tending to the boys on Saturday, we always look forward to adventures with Charlie and Tucker. They love the library, so that's usually on the agenda. Given the weather in December, we also visited the Museum of Discovery. The boys are just so smart and cultured - and did I say handsome!?

 Museum of Discovery: Dog house construction

 They love the library, although it's difficult to stay still forever

 Crawling through the pipeline at the museum

 Painting the walls with brush and roller

They can reach the top!