Bluff Spring Journal
Oct/8/05 Where to start? I suppose the present would be just as about as good as any. It's 3:45 am and I've been awake for about an hour. Awakened by a Corgi giving my hand the slow lick assurance that all was well with the world and that she, as always wanted her belly scratched. For reference, her name is Annie and she is truly one of a kind. Stories will follow about her antics but for now she and I are just happy to start off a new day together.
Coffee is on and my mind is going over the gear that I'll need as I head over to Richland Creek and the 'Nars' as the locals call them. I plan to scout out some locations for fall leaf photographs, as prime viewing time is not far away. I've also got a line on a smoked meats establishment that promises a great turkey sandwich.
Mmm, Java. Nothing quite like a warm "Cup of Joe" to get the morning started. The U.S. Navy used to allow alcoholic beverages on U.S. Navy ships. Grog, Ale, and Beer were the supplied as a beverage in the general mess. When Admiral Josephus "Joe" Daniels became Chief of Naval Operations, he outlawed alcohol on board ships. He ordered that coffee should become the service beverage on the ships, hence the term "Cup of Joe." Sailors are generally cold and they wanted their coffee hot. The term hot cup of joe was used, then it was shorten to hot joe, then hojo. Or so they say.
Gear list.
It's a cool 36 degrees and I look forward to getting reacquainted with all my 'warm' hiking gear. You may be thinking clothes but my mind jumps to a little 3 ounce wonder. This portable stove will boil water in about 3 minutes and I have enjoyed many a cup of hot coffee or hot chocolate out on the trail. It's become sort of a tradition and I almost never travel without it. I'll give details later and also post one of the best hot chocolate recipes that I've found.
Camera gear, 3 oz wonder stove, hot chocolate mix, walking stick, bug spray, boots, gps, flashlight, maps and extra memory card. The usual and the unusual make it into my pack. I forget from time to time what all I have in there. Oops, left over trail mix that is a little on the 'ripe' side.
I'm off. I'll post some photos later and give you a full report on that turkey sandwich.
Afternoon of October 8th--Narrows Gallery
Back at the homestead again. My exploratory trip to the Narrows near Woolum Ford was successful. I found some great places to take fall color photographs. No matter how I many times I go away, I always enjoy the trip home. My lovely wife has made chili and chocolate chip bars, I think that heaven can't be far from here. Now back to reality. I filled up my 1 gig memory card and downloading all those files, processing them and choosing the keepers will occupy a good deal of time. Here's a preliminary one I found interesting. You can see a little color starting to creep into the landscape.
This was the first time I had been to the Narrows. I followed the directions I'd been given which took me straight to the river with no problem. It was still dark when I reached the banks of the Buffalo. The river was about 30 yards wide and I couldn't see see how deep it was on the other side. Having been stuck up to my bumper in river gravel before I wasn't about to cross without a look see. So. I rolled up my britches took off my shoes and socks and waded across. The water was cool and only half calf at the deepest point. Now back to the vehicle to swiftly clean off the grit and get back into my shoes. Of course you never get all the grit cleaned off and later I would pay for my hurry by having to take off my boots again to get that one last tiny gravel that was irritating the heck out of my big toe.
I put the Honda in granny four will (pun intended, because it will go about anywhere) drive and keeping up some good speed I crossed the ford without incident. The sun was still below the horizon and I was relishing the thought of a good sunrise picture. Off down the road I went paying close attention to the details I had been given in my directions. Only problem was that I soon ran out of recognizable landmarks. Swallowing my pride I back tracked to see where I had gone wrong. I forded the river again and drove down the campground road until I ran out of road. Looking around with a what do I do now thought, I noticed a couple of guys unloading canoes at the river. Never be too proud to ask about what you don't know. As I got out of the Honda one of the guys must have seen the perplexed look I was exhibiting and asked, "How you doing?", which is guy talk for 'you look lost but I'm not going to embarrass you by asking if you are'. I responded that I was doing fine and that this was my first time to this area, and by the way, just where were the Narrows? He graciously gave me directions to exactly the place I had just been, but with a few more details that I was sure would take me to my appointed destination. A special thanks to Joel and Philip for the kind help. They had brought a youth group from a church in Little Rock and were sharing God's creation on a personal level. Thanks again guys!
I headed back to the river, forded it once again and found my way to the Narrows. (35 57.27N --92 54.176W) Just in time, as the sun peaked over the ridge and illuminated the fog filled valley. (I'll post the rest of the photos later in their own gallery) What a great place. I climbed up to the ridge line and carefully made my way to one of the high points on the east side. This little stretch of rock is only three to four feet wide at places. One wrong step and it's a long way to the bottom. I quickly set up my tripod and remote shutter release and began taking photographs in an almost 360 degree vista. The river was quite and several of the reflection shots turned out nice. I also found a blue flower that I couldn't identify. I'll have to spend some time in Don Kurz's Ozark Wildflowers book to give this one a proper name. So much to shoot and so little time as the fog was burning off. I filled up my 1 gig card and did a little preview culling so that I didn't have to use my extra memory card to shoot the last few scenes. Back at the Honda I stored all my gear in a record time. I had a line on an especially great smoked meats establishment by the name of Courseys. Back to ford the river again. No laughing if you are counting. I think this makes number four. I drove back to St. Joe and then headed south to find Courseys. It is just past the turn off to Gilbert on 65, if you are heading south. I was not to be disappointed. The young man that was single handedly manning the shop helped me to one of the best smoked turkey breast sandwiches that ever crossed my lips. It smelled so good that I had to buy some to take home. Now if I can only keep my lovely wife away from my prize. Not to worry, I think there is enough for two.
After exchanging some common grief about our shared favorite football team, I said my good byes and headed north to take Hwy 123 back across to Hasty and onto Jasper. If you're ever down toward Woolum, the short drive to Courseys is well worth the trip.
I headed to Jasper to check on the cabin progress. I guess this is my first mention of the cabin. For a little background, we are building a 'Little Cabin in the Woods'. This is a whole story in and of itself and I will not take the time now to give you the whole load. Safe to say it has been a journey of highs and lows. I'll elaborate at a later posting. For now my wife is standing at the fridge with her hands on my smoked turkey.
October 9th, 2005
Ok, Ok. I blew it. I didn't know that some of you were standing at your stoves with water boiling or I would have posted the hot chocolate recipe yesterday as promised. I just had a cup this morning and again attest to it's goodness. I have not as of yet acquired the Pam's Good Blessing Seal of Approval. Pam is the queen of trail cocoa. You would only have to experience the look of serenity on Pam's face as she has just taken that 1st sip of hot cocoa to know that she is 'The Expert' on trail cocoa. I do have my application in and I am waiting with *bated breath for her judgment.
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process) I like Droste Cocoa. The Dutch process makes a smoother cocoa for hot chocolate.
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Hot water
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix evenly. Seal in a trail proof container for transport.
I like to use 3 to 4 heaping tablespoons for a 12 ounce cup of water. My trail cup is 12 ounces and is a couple of ounces larger than your normal coffee cup. Stir well. You don't want to leave any of the goodness in the bottom of the cup.
Annie waited until 5 am to wake me up this morning. She's having trouble with allergies and I've nicknamed her 'Thumper' for the time being. She's so short that when she scratches, her paw thumps the floor with a resounding rhythmical cadence that can be heard through out the house. I give it a 3, great rhythm, but it's too fast to dance to. She and I are looking forward to a good frost to kill off the allergens.
All for now. I've got to get my practice rope out to rehearse my knots. Against the better advice of my lovely wife I am taking up rappelling. This should provide for some interesting journal fodder.
*bated breath, refers to a state in which you almost stop breathing through terror, awe, extreme anticipation, or anxiety. Shakespeare is the first writer known to use it, in The Merchant of Venice : “Shall I bend low and, in a bondman's key, / With bated breath and whisp'ring humbleness, / Say this ...”. Nearly three centuries later, Mark Twain employed it in Tom Sawyer: “Every eye fixed itself upon him; with parted lips and bated breath the audience hung upon his words, taking no note of time, rapt in the ghastly fascinations of the tale”. Reference: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bai1.htm
October 10th, 2005-Just hangin' out.
Literally. Thanks to the guys at Dynamic Earth I now have the equipment to explore the vertical sides of some tremendous vistas that I've only been able to enjoy from a distance. I am amazed by the technology in the gear. The engineering is incredible. Safety is a first concern with these guys. They have thought of just about every possibility of danger and have engineered solutions to keep you from going there. I am beginning to realize that the weak link in the equation is the human.
Not wanting to wait till I was near a bluff I sacrificed a few limbs on a tree out back and set up a practice rope. I repeatedly went up and down the rope until I was sure of the procedures I needed to make a safe descent and assent. I hope no one was watching for it surely was a comical site with me climbing up and down, up and down a 30 ft. tree with no apparent reason of getting anywhere or doing anything. My arms and upper body were getting quite a work out and I am afraid I'll have to do some serious exercises if I am going to be successful with something taller than the tree in my back yard.
October 11th, 2005
Up early this morning again. I can't blame it on Annie this time. I don't know if it's this getting older thing or if I just have too many projects on my mind. My current climbing project has my full attention. I have discovered muscles in parts of my body that I never knew I had. I'm continuing to practice the knots and am looking forward to going to a climbing practice gym this evening. The establishment is called Petra, nice touch, and I have promised my lovely wife that I will take lessons from the pros. I don't think this is going to stop her from worrying but at least she will be able to tell the children that she wasn't to blame just in case I do something stupid.
Evening
The rock climbing gym was great. The Petra staff were very helpful in teaching even this old dog a few new tricks. Amanda and Scott shared some of their favorite Arkansas climbing spots and I'm anxious to try out my new skills. There is especially one photograph that I want to take on the upper Buffalo when all the leaves are in full glory. I'll post my results, if they are good enough, as the fall season progresses.
October 16th, 2005
Great news from the ongoing cabin story. As I have mentioned before we are giving birth to a "Little Cabin in the Woods". This has been quite the experience. With moments of humor and impatience on our part we finally have basement walls. Not only do we have walls, they are also sealed from moisture and protected with backer board. We are now awaiting some gravel so we can put in a drain around the outside of the foundation. After that they will backfill against the basement walls, and pour the concrete basement floor.
I am learning more about construction than I really want to know. My appreciation is growing daily for the guys and gals who do this for a living.
2:50 am I needed to head out early this morning so that I could be in one of my favorite places to catch the setting of the full moon at 5:20 am this morning. Even though the moon sets at 5:20 you will miss it by a long time if you plan on being in one of the valleys. So.. off I go, with a good supply of coffee. My lovely bride's last words were, ‘don't get sleepy driving'. She doesn't have any thing to worry about. The curves and hills of Newton County will always keep me awake.
I was a little early for the moon set so I stopped by Steel Creek for a spot check on the moon's reflection in the river. What a crowd! The whole campground was filled. Some, if not most were probably deer hunters. Muzzle loader season starts today so you really have to be careful about wearing lots of hunter orange so you don't ‘get shot' with a gun while trying your trying ‘get shots' with your camera. Go here for a ‘What's Open for Hunting' in Arkansas . Remember those of us who aren't armed!
After leaving Steel Creek I traveled on to get a few full moon photographs. This sight never ceases to make me pause in wonder at the moon turning bright orange as it settles into the horizon. It was a little chilly this morning and I didn't want to take the time to change into my long pants as I was continually setting up at different angles to the setting moon to get that perfect composition. Pretty soon I noticed that I was shivering. No time to stop now. I continued to shoot as the last of the orange disk dipped into the forest. Back in my vehicle I savored the last of my by now luke warm coffee that felt pretty good to my shivering body.
I now had time to drive to our cabin site before daylight and take a short nap before catching the sunrise from our bluff.
A purple sky greeted me as the sun peeked above the horizon. What a great time to be alive. A cool morning, a beautiful sunrise, and the promise of a color filled fall.
Soon after I was finished with the sunrise photos I traveled into Jasper for a quick breakfast before I had to get back to the cabin site to help with the basement wall sealing. The folks at the Ozark Cafe were great as usual. It was good to see the back table filled with familiar faces. It's comforting to know that these 'good folk' are keeping up the tradition of sharing good food and good stories. I can not vouch for the 100% accuracy of these stories, I mean what good would we be as Ozarkers if we didn't spin a few yarns now and then.
Basement wall sealing was interesting. The technology they have now for applying sealant sure makes the job go faster. I fully admit that I was not much help other than providing moral support, explaining to a passing deer hunter what we were doing and occasionally flattening out backer board. Having the job completed by noon was an extra because I now had time to stop in at the Neighbor's Mill Bakery and Cafe in Harrison. Mike and Karin Nabors are great folk who give back to their community in many ways. I escaped with only two loafs of Apple Cinnamon Almond and Greek Olive bread. My eyes and stomach usually get the best of me and several Cinnamon Rolls have often found their way into my sack. Don't know how that happens!
October 18, 2005
Fall is definitely here. What a treat to be welcomed every morning with a glorious carpet and canopy of color.
These are just a couple of the first images that will make up a fall gallery. I hope to get that special photograph if the weather and leaves will cooperate. Did I say it involves about 200 feet of rope?
October 22nd, 2005
A busy day awaited my lovely bride of 18 years and I as we left for Cassville before dawn. Today is a special day for our family as we are remembering a special girl who left us far too soon in a tragic car accident. Whitney (Whit) Cline lived life to the fullest for 15 years with a "I Can" attitude. Today we are celebrating her life by attending a fund raiser for the "Whitney Cline-I Can-Scholarship". Whit's parents, sisters, teammates and friends are spending the day in a variety of activities. Silent auctions, 21 inning softball, a 5K and 15K run along with many other events will raise funds to provide scholarships for deserving youth to follow their "I Can" dreams. If you would like more information about the scholarship please email us for details.
The trip from Cassville to Mt. Sherman was amazing as we traveled through valleys and hills that were ablaze with color and others that were still 90% green. I have this theory that there are several microclimates in the Ozarks. This theory is not based on my qualifications as a meteorologist but just from being out in the woods and observing nature. I would be glad to hear from anyone who has defending or contradicting information. Weather has always interested me. I'm glad to have a meteorologist in our family who can explain the wonders of weather to me. Usually I just stand, watch and say, "Isn't that amazing". During the lightning storms my lovely wife is usually saying, "Get in here before you get toasted!".
On the way over from Ponca to Jasper we stopped in at the Low Gap General Store. Best place to grab a quick sandwich and hear the latest news. Barb is always friendly with one and all. She's never too busy to share the latest happenings around the hills and hollars.
The above image was taken just below the bridge at Pruitt. The water is very low and you can walk across the river on rocks at several places. These and other fall images are available in the Fall Foliage Gallery.
Fall is gearing up for the final few weeks. Mother natures hasn't put on her entire coat of colors yet. Let's hope she's feeling especially fashionable this year.
October 28, 2005
Heading toward the hills. Just the thought of spending the night under a blanket of stars already has put my mind at ease. It was going to be dark by the time I got to the cabin site so I was in no hurry and had time to stop in at the Ozark Cafe. It was just about closing time but someone was looking out for me and there was a piece of pecan pie left just for me. I know that pecan pie is not exactly diet food but it was my father's favorite pie and I along with him just couldn't resist all that goodness. Dad has been gone for about 18 years now but my memory of him savorying every bite of my mom's pecan pies is as clear as if it were yesterday. Dad did a lot of good things while he was hear on earth, but I thank him most for passing along his love of pecan pie and picking a good mom for his sons.
Stocked up with pie and coffee I headed for the cabin site. I thought this cold clear October night was a good time to build a camp fire by the emerging cabin and share some pie and dreams about what was going to eventually be built on the site. I quickly gathered the wood and before long I was warm, sipping coffee and dreaming of future campfires with all our family and friends. The only thing missing was my lovely bride. She was traveling for her job and couldn't make the trip but was with me in my thoughts. As the fire died down I did my boy scout trained duty and made sure it was out by burying the remaining embers with dirt. Since it was pitch black I decided not to pitch the tent and quickly crawled into the back of the Honda to spend the night.
2 am--Boy was it cold. Nature was calling so I put on my shoes and unlocked the back door of the Honda. All, &^% broke loose or so it seemed. Little did I know that if you unlocked the back door without the remote and while the front door was locked, the car alarm would go off. I'm sure it was a comical site, me desperarly searching for my keys in the dark, horn blarring, lights flashing out in the middle of the dark woods. Finally I found my keys and shut off the alarm. I'm sure several critters in the area were having a good laugh at my expense.
Up at 6 I quickly packed my gear and headed towards Steel Creek and Roark Bluff. I wanted to catch the sunrise from the top of the bluff and get that special picture I was after. What a great view. I got to the top in time to fire up the 3 oz. wonder stove and soon it rendered a piping hot cup of cocoa. I sat 200 feet above the river on a shear bluff, watched the sunrise and enjoyed my hot cocoa and a slice of Apple Cinamon Almond bread from the Neighbor's Mill in Harrison. Life could not get much better. Then with a shearing cry out of the sunrise came a huge bald eagle flying up the bluff line. I quickly grabed my camera and fired off a few shots before enjoying the graceful soaring of this magnificant bird. He was out for breakfast and I finshed mine before setting up my camera equipment to capture the beauty before me.
Below are a few of the preliminary photos. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed capturing them.
After satisfying myself that I had all the shots I needed I headed back down the ridge to cross the river and head back home. As I approached the river bottom I entered the shade from the bluffs and was pleasantly suprised by 'Frost Flowers'. According to the Missouri Conservationist the 'flower' is formed when moisture is pumped through the skin of the plant to form these beautiful and delicate ice sculptures. I quickly changed lenses and photographed these interesting displays of nature that would be gone in about an hour.
Frost Flowers
I packed up my gear and headed across the Buffalo to check out the Elk at Ponca. Much to my dismay the Elk were not out this morning. I was taking a chance by stopping to photograph the 'Frost Flowers' but it was well worth not seeing the Elk to be able to caputre these ice sculputres.
Not having any Elk to photograph I headed on down to the river and enjoyed just rock hopping around the river bed. Hikers were out in force this morning and it was interesting to listen to their conversations as they treked down the Buffalo River Trail. Several were wearing orange vests, which is not a bad idea this time of year. Wouldn't want to get mistaken for a deer in the sights of a groggy eyed deer hunter.
I did come upon some leaves that provided an interesting photograph. The disappointment of not having the Elk to photograph was quickly replaced being able to capture the beauty of these leaves.
