Best day to see a fall

 Waterfalls! The road to Kyle's landing suggests 4x4 only.  Phil was nervous. James was nervous. I said let's go for it! 

After a very steep road and river crossing we arrived at Twin Falls.   

After a heavy rain Twin Falls becomes Triple Falls! The mist and wind surrounding the falls made us feel like crazy weather channel reporters facing mother nature!  It was absolutely worth the steep brake killing road.

Buffalo National River Float

Water makes us happy.  We rented a raft rather than trying to fit 4 people and gear in a canoe.  Rafts are slow and hard to paddle.  But we still had a lot of fun.  T loved the raft because he could move around without tipping it! We could hit a rapid at most any angle and not tip!  

The clear water makes it possible to see rocks and fish on the bottom.  I was easily distracted by the bluffs and just watching the current flow.  T just didn't want to paddle.  He wanted to sit on the boat side and act like a puppy dog.  James was the captain and he did his best to keep us all in line :)

 A gravel bar made a perfect lunch stop. We laid back and people watched.  Watching other boat is always a good time. The water was very cold. But we couldn't pass up the chance to float our bodies down the river.  James is becoming quite the mountain man.  He is not cutting his beard until our trip is over!  This photo of James says it all.

The clifflines are outstanding! Buffalo National River is our 1st national river for a reason.  Please come visit. While you are there checkout the historical garden at the Visitor's Center.  As a service project for Jr Rangers, we helped spread mulch.  It was nice to have time in a garden. 

Devil's Den State Park

Welcome to Devil's Den State Park, a former CCC camp.  We started our stay with the boys playing Hunger Games.  They set up the tent, found wood for a fire, hid in the woods, made snares, and tried catching fish.

Our resident rock hounds made a river crossing.  They could have just walked through the creek but it is always better to play with the rocks!





E is becoming quite the fisherman.  He is learning to be patient and enjoy the silence.

Night brought a laser battle! For years I have been against the boys having lasers.  Well, they each got one.  This photo was the night they got them back.  The night before a child shined it out the car window (after being instructed not to) and it hit a car. A police car.  A state trooper. Yep, we got pulled over. The officer was close to drawing a gun, then he saw the kids. So I suggested he have a talk with them.  Luckily no one went to jail, no tickets, and I confiscated the lasers.  We haven't had a problem since.

Devil's Den has amazing crevices. Many of them are off the trails in an attempt to protect them.  Also all the caves in Arkansas are closed to people.  Hopefully the closures will help STOP the spread of White Nose Syndrome.  We took a ranger led hike and learned the history of the crevices and the park.  Our ranger was  full of life! She sang, danced, and taught us a lot.

This photo is for Mrs. Cooper, the art teacher at Boyd E. Smith. T thought of you and wanted to sit and sketch the creek and trees.

Arkansas National Parks

Arkansas Post National Memorial- So many people have fought over Arkansas, note the variety of flags.  E gashed his leg and couldn't walk for a few days.  He was happy to use a wheelchair!

Our next stop was Central High School in Little Rock.  This is where I realized I have a problem pushing the kids to do Jr Ranger stuff.  It was a hard book with a lot of history.  They understand the emotions in the pictures and audio but the court cases and the hate and/or indifference was confusing to them.  Heck, it's confusing to me.  Hopefully what they learned here will be remembered as they learn more history.  

Beyond Climbing

 This is what we do in climbing areas when we aren't climbing.

Lincoln Lake gave us time to be silly, hike the dam, and use saplings as slingshots.

Getting in and out of Cowell was an adventure! Love Dove has more power than one would expect. She is a syncro at heart :)   Syncro is a 4 wheel drive Vanagon. 

 Exploring scenic vistas and natural areas is my favorite thing to do on climbing rest days. However, laundry, car maintenance, grocery shopping, paying bills, and some work needs to happen on those days too.  Life on the road still involves many of the everyday things we do in a house. That's another post.

  Here are some great scenic shots from a day of hiking to waterfalls. The hike to Pam's grotto was along the base of a cliff line.  The cliff line James and Phil were climbing.  It was a strenuous hike up; finding dead animal bones made the trip less arduous for T.  The cool mist and and pounding waterfall added to our delight. The icing on the cake was the trail back to camp; we followed the creek. Along and in the creek were HUGE moss and lichen covered boulders, hollowed out logs, and hundreds of mini waterfalls created by rocks.  E decided to play mother nature and move some of the rocks, thus changing a few mini waterfalls, create a whirpool, and build a dam.

Haw Creek Falls

And just for good measure we throw a few craft projects into our beyond climbing moments. Grammie sent us all new crocheted hats for Christmas.  James' was a little big so I unraveled a few rows which gave me enough yarn to create the old man beard for Terje!

I cannot even fathom how much beauty our country holds. We have barely scraped the surface of natural lands and each day I am in awe of the quiet places tucked away in our busy lives.

Friends and Columbus

Surprise! We spent the afternoon with a Cincinnati friend, Yelena, in New Orleans! We picked her up at the airport, walked the French Market, had tea/coffee, and made sure to take a group photo.  It was comforting to see a familiar face.

We also tried gator jerky and gator sticks.  It tasted very much like gator.  I wonder why? Seriously the sticks were gross but the jerky was good.

Our long time friends, Josh and Brandy Reed, hosted us in Louisiana.  They more than graciously opened their home to our family.  Our kids lived like siblings for almost 2 weeks.  They played, fought, learned, ate, and shared rooms together.   Other than the birthday photo I didn't take a group picture! Too busy playing I guess. 

J&B just bought a new house, which meant their honey do list was large.  James was able to help out.  He is very competent when it comes to Honey do lists:) James and Josh built shelves, replaced toilets, replaced lighting fixtures, and tried to beat Brandy and I in cards.

Brandy and I organized books.  She has tons of books. Her children are very lucky to have such an amazing collection in their own home. We also painted this awesome chandelier white for her daughter's room.  Oh, and we won some card games :)

We took a group field trip to see replicas of the Nina and the Pinta.  They were fascinating but the true learning experience of the day was an in depth talk with Yoda.

He revealed the secret to life: Have fun and play with the kids! So that is just what happened!

Thank you Josh, Brandy, I, G, and E! We were so grateful to finally visit you in your new home state!

A Spicy Birthday Celebration

My baby is a decade old! And my Husband is 4 decades and 1 year old! Time to celebrate!

Because we are staying in southern Louisiana it was only proper to do something spicy! We visited the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island. We went with our long time friends and their kids. 

I learned some interesting thing about Tabasco. The one I want to  share is Tabasco is sold in over 160 countries and labelled in 22 languages! I also learned James would be a good pepper picker, look at those skills:)

After the factory tour we sampled Tabasco products.

• ice cream- yummy
• cola- loved it
• original sauce- yummy
• chipotle- E's favorite
• buffalo- T's favorite
• hot jellies- delicious!

Yes, I forgot about my nightshade intolerance for the day. I have always loved Tabasco and I miss it! So itchy legs for a couple days and I was mostly better:)

E tried the Habanero Sauce. He didn't read the bottle and he took a big scoop.  He survived and I got a funny picture! He says it felt like death. T tried it too and he agrees with E, death.

After a smokin' hot time we headed back to the Reed house for birthday dinner and cupcakes.  We were all tired after a long day of driving and being tourists but cupcakes made it all better.

I L-O-V-E Namaste cake mixes and so did everyone else at the party!

T was gifted temporary ownership of these fabulous toads. He named them Thin Line and Fat Line, based on the width of their markings.  From Mom and Dad he got a new bow and arrow! He was so excited he could barely contain himself.  He almost knocked me over with gratitude.  

I wish both of my birthday boys another wonderful trip around the sun!   

From T: The cupcakes were really good. I was happy to get a bow. The toad in my left hand is Fat line. The toad in my right hand is Thin line.  We found them coming out of a hole in the concrete.