Crossing the Border

At the end of the trip, we drove to the place the idea for the trip began . . . Arkansas. Crossing the border was pretty amazing. It was like driving from one world into another. When we stopped for ponchos and umbrellas at a Dollar Store, my NGF marveled at the same thing. I told her, "This side of the border is rather . . . humble." But what it lacks in obvious care and prosperity, it more than makes up for in natural beauty!

Arriving at Leatherwood Lake (and trail), we peered into the water only to see clear to the bottom or at least as far as the Christmas tree looking plants growing up from the bottom would allow us to see. The lily pads, hints of fall foliage, and misty Ozark Mountains made for quite the picturesque scenery! But don't let the cloudy skies trick you--it was a moist and muggy trek! Around the entire lake. Which was almost four miles long.

This was one of those rustic trails that our children love. One of those off the beaten path, over slippery slabs of stone, tripping across raised roots of shallowly planted trees, teetering on the edge of the lake that looked oh so refreshingly cool (until the kids spotted water snakes at the bridge). We'll get back to that part of the adventure later.

This is the first picture in series that could probably be turned into a short book about Mr. Buck's fishing adventures. Once he randomly found an abandoned water bottle wrapped in fishing line, he became the hunter-gatherer of fishing tackle from the wild. Here is the youngest member of the trek giving me the, "What is Mr. Buck doing in the lake?" look. "Can you believe that guy?" Ha!

We all loved the bridge and took about 100 pictures of it, on it, around it, and under it. Amazingly, during the explorations, Buck and Graysen spotted a snapped off fishing pole--with a hook still attached to the line! This hook was the missing ingredient in Buck's collection, which already included a wine cork for a bobber and a metal nut to help the hook sink. The kids quickly hunted small prey to become bait--although the little girls were pretty bothered that the cute lizards were getting a hook through their bellies in the near future.

Amazingly, our NGFs' oldest son spotted a shiny hook just laying in the middle of the bridge we'd all be running back and forth across! It turned out to be an upgrade from the snapped pole find, and Buck's fishing set was officially complete.

The kids watched eagerly over the side as the hook and bait sank from sight. The first tasty treat, a grasshopper, proved a free lunch for some hungry fish. Next . . . the lizard . . .

and . . . viola!! Buck caught this massive green sunfish!! Okay, so it wasn't massive, but it was very pretty, and pretty amazing that he had a fish in hand in less than five minutes :) Here's the bad news . . . the fish must have been really hungry, because it swallowed that hook clear down to its belly. Buck tried very gently to remove the metal object and to return the little fishy to its natural home--a shockingly steep drop from a tall bridge. As it hit the water and floated sideways, the kids all watched to see if it would perk up and swim away. Things did not look good for the green sunfish.

As we parents encouraged the kids to move along to the lengthy second half of our hike, the hook-finder told Buck he should have a fishing show or write a book. Buck gave him the "I'm not so sure about that, given this recent fishing experience" grimace/grin. To this young Mr. NGF quipped, "You can call it--Humane Fishing with Buck." Lol! We all got a good laugh out of that one. AND lest you readers be concerned about the state of the fish, there were general reports that it did indeed revive after its impactful landing and with a big splash swam away into the cool depths of its native home :) See, happy ending!

The second half of the trail had a few more open spaces/washouts, rather than the dense wooded path of the first half of the hike. This is also where we discovered the dinner plate sized spider in the nook of a tree (GASP) just off the trail (DOUBLE GASP) where we were walking (TRIPLE GASP!!!) The child who spotted the snakes "Who lifted their heads up and swam at us with scary eyes," (QUADRUPLE GASP!!!) also spotted said spider. From that point on, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hike near him . . . or not! :) 

When we broke through a clearing and rediscovered the lake, we could see our van in the parking lot--just there on the other side of the water! This was a very heartening moment, knowing it couldn't be long until we were mopping our brows and letting the air-conditioned flow (well, not our NGFs', theirs was broken, but we would have gladly taken turns) of our van's cooling system reward our toasty toils. We should have made a swim for it. Snakes and all. It was sooooooo far still around to the top end of the lake! When the path started heading uphill--in the opposite direction of the water--I about sat down and cried. But, sitting down on a trail at my age and fitness level is a semi-permanent decision and I hadn't seen any rescue vehicles drive by recently ;)

Actually, Buck and I have been walking together every almost every morning for the past few weeks. Our NGFs and those with shorter legs ended up a bit behind us, and the tweens and teens were ahead of us (we could sometimes hear their voices through the foliage), so Buck and I had the middle trail to ourselves. He kept me moving :)

I think round trip it was two or three hours? long after lunch anyway, when we emerged soaked with rain and sweat, stumbling up the last hill (picture people in the desert crawling desperately across the sand dunes to an oasis--I want this to be dramatic), finally reaching our goal with just ounces of energy left . . . to find the teenagers with flower crowns and blooms in their hair, playing near the water on the docks. What?!! WHAT happened to us!?? Lol!

Really the only thing we could do, once the rest of our group caught up, was go get some southern bbq for lunch :) In Eureka Springs they are even more strict than in Missouri. We found very few dining rooms open (and some doors listed death counts for the area due to Covid, that's a bit much when all you want is a piece of fudge), but the restaurant we chose had plenty of covered outdoor dining space. And it was very tasty and very much appreciated after the big calorie burn of our morning hike!

After lunch, we drove around the quaint little mountain town. The architecture was beautiful, the streets were narrow, the shops were mostly open, and Gabby found the caramel apple she's been looking for since those braces came flying off her teeth :) On the other hand, the southern mountain town seemed to follow the weird counterculture, spiritual tampering pattern of its distant western neighbors, the Rockies. While walking by one of the store fronts, the nine-year-old in our group remarked, "Well, that's disturbing." She sure hit that descriptor on the head! Oddly enough, when we returned home, the things most people asked us if we'd seen were the glass church and the passion play. I think those might have been refreshing stops in the middle of some strange soil. Talk about an oasis!

After a very Sound of Music looking performance of the national anthem by the children still interested in playing along to their mothers' photo op ideas . . . we did a little shopping and tried, once again, to get the kids a treat. The eight-year-old on our trip remarked, "It sure looks like it's going to rain. We'd better go inside and get some ice cream." If only that brilliant plan would have worked out! Except, first--it had stopped raining, and second--all the ice cream shops were mysteriously closed. We gave up after the third try. 

The agreed upon plan was to return to the resort, enjoy pizza for dinner, and let the kids swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub. This was a really great plan. Except the rain clouds from Arkansas followed us back to Missouri. It POURED at the pool, which actually made the experience a lot more fun for the dozen children . . . except for when lightning exempted them from aquatic time for 30 minutes. (Nice focus on the hand railing instead of the children in the hot tub pic, right? I blame the rain that was slowly soaking me, once again. I can't remember the last time I spent almost an entire day . . . damp).

Also . . . outside food wasn't allowed in the pool area. This we realized after it was hot and ready in our NGFs' van. So, under the guise of a stack of towels, and with my husband assisting in the subterfuge while I took pictures, my NGF snuck past the busy bartending lady when her back was turned, and plopped the pizza stack on a table out of security camera range in the inside pool area. Later this poster was issued . . .

You really have to be careful who you vacation with these days ;) Ha!

One of Buck and Mr. NGFs favorite Eureka Springs finds was a tobacco shop that sold corn cob pipes--made in Arkansas, no less :) They bought some apple flavored tobacco, and after we returned from swimming (how the kids had energy for that after the hike, I only vaguely remember in my own youth) they built a fire in the back yard of the cabin and tried out their new pipes :) For guys who don't smoke, this was a unique experience that wrapped up their vacation nicely. 

When we got home and talked about all the fun things we did on vacation, the kids unanimously pointed to this day of hiking and swimming (minus the shopping in town) as their favorite day of our trip. I agree, this was a pretty special day--and leftover pizza and Lambert's at the cabin wasn't terrible either :)