Mighty Mighty

On Saturday, we headed up to Jasper, Arkansas to meet up with people to float the Buffalo River. It was bitchin'!

Because of low water levels, we had to drop in at Ozark. I've never floated the mid-section of the river before, so I didn't know what to expect.

I love this photo -- River (the dog) is R-E-A-D-Y! Too, Zach's got an apple in his mouth.

Off we go!

I am serious, we paddled no more than 5 minutes before pulling over for our first break. How sad.

"Hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my ragtime gallllll...!"


Taking off, Pt. II:

You could see the bottom of the river in most places. It's kinda weird to float on a few inches of water.

River!  She's a swimmer, for sure.  She would swim circles around the canoes, trying to herd us.  It was awful cute.  I can only imagine how proud her mom & dad are!


The outfitter told us that the halfway point would be when the Little Buffalo River runs into the Buffalo. She said that there was great camping 'round those parts, so we planned on getting out there. On the river, some fishermen passed by & we asked them where does the Little Buffalo River run into the Buffalo? They said that it was "a little ways up" and "it'll come in on your right". Well, there was an intersection in the river that was indeed a little ways up with some water coming in from the right. I was so confused because we didn't spend one hour on the water and here we were already! We pulled the canoes up out of the water and surveyed our camping spot. It was perfect! There was white sand & plenty of room for all of our tents. Someone had already built a fire pit. Even though we couldn't believe that we had already gotten to the halfway point, we were really happy with our spot. We unloaded and set up and sat around.


I know, a buncha "cool breezes" here:




KMHD & I buddy up to find a spot on our island to relieve ourselves. As we wandered towards the middle of wooded area, we noticed a couple of canoes heading our way. We waited for a few minutes, but they never passed us because they veered right; they totally came out on the other side of our island! We were NOT at the intersection of Little Buffalo River/Buffalo River. I felt better knowing that because I just couldn't believe that we had floated half of our trip in an hour. It was making me crazy. Mystery solved! In hindsight, it was good that we camped there because we never did see anything better the rest of the float. Funny how those things work out.

So, dusk descends upon us and it isn't long before the bats swoop in low (awesome!) and the lightning bugs make the darkness sparkle sparkle. It looked like a zillion camera flashes going off in all directions. As Collin said, "Now we know how Steve Perry feels!" All of this combined with the sound of a running water, clear skies, a bright moon, full bellies, soft sand between the toes, no biting insects, cool air/warm fire & laughter made for a perfect evening. I immediately let go of all of my worries. Like, all of them.

One exhausted pup:


Group shot:

Micah found this branch that was very "Blair Witch" and shoved it upright into the sand; after awhile we had to toss it into the fire, it was starting to creep us out:



This is to illustrate how close to the water we were. I'm jealous of past-me!


The morning after. This is where the two "rivers" meet.



Back on the river! Collin's boat had the most (ALL) flair:



I'm sorry, I had to:



We had to do a ton of paddling because there were long stretches of longpool. After awhile, it was tiresome, even with some of the best scenery in the world. At one point, we got caught in some heavy rain, which, for me was one of those "I'm alive!" moments. We (finally) got out at Carver & waited for our shuttle. After much confusion, waiting and other mishaps, we finally hit the road back to NLR/LR. We wanted to stop at the recommended CJ's for burgers in Russellville, but they were closed. We begrudgingly went on to Feltner's Whattaburger. As ATM said, "Whattadisappointment!" I totally agree. I think they've had the same recipes since opening, which people love. Keeping things the same, I mean. I get it, it's an institution, but I've been spoiled by better burgers.

After eating, ATM is so exhausted that Zach takes over the wheel. We drop him off at his home (technically he drove himself home, but you know) and we head to our house where, somehow, I managed to eke out a shower and then pass out, face down.

Here it is, Tuesday, and I'm still worn out. I think when we go back to float, we've got to do the upper Buffalo. And hopefully, the lot that didn't come this time will next!

I've got good plans ahead:  blueberry picking @ Mum's, my tomato plants are producing tomatoes (so, salsa!), a buddy field trip & Florida!