Saturday, July 31, 2010

CARANCAHUA CREEK HILLBILLIES!

We've made it home from our annual trip to Arkansas. It's sure good to be home!

Big John's dad, brother and his family live in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, on the White River. If you're any kind of fisherman (and I'm NOT) then you just started drooling when you read "White River." It is home to some of the best trout fishing in the country. We try to make the trip every chance we get - and for a schoolteacher, that means summertime. As a straight shot, it's a good 12-hour drive. Fortunately my sister gives up a week of her life to come down and animal-sit, allowing us to travel worry-free.

For the past two years, we've made a little detour - through Vernon, Texas. This gives us a wonderful chance to see Su and Dyke.



We sure do miss them here - Dyke and Big John were big fishing buddies, while Su and I were partner teachers, and junkers, and crafters, and ... It was a match made in heaven! Vernon is at least 8 hours away, so we can only make that trip in the summer, too. But it's worth the drive!

If you'll recall, Daisy was one of Su and Dyke's puppies from last summer, so we had a chance to see Daisy's family - mom: Penny, sister: Jess, and loveable brother: Tuff. If Su hadn't been there to say NO, Tuff might have come home with us. He's a big ol' bear - and not much of a hunting dog, according to Dyke. He sure is good at digging holes, though!


That's Penny on the left, Jess in the front, and Tuff in the back. Daisy looks just like them!

For some unknown reason, the camera stayed in the back of the Jeep 95% of the trip. I'm usually great about taking pictures, but this whole trip felt a little rushed and I just didn't think about it - until we'd zoomed past the gorgeous old courthouse or the Red River or the amazing mountain. Because of an "unexpected" route this year, we saw sights I'd never seen before. But none of that is captured on film. I did finally take one picture of the Ozarks when we stopped for gas.



Not very scenic.

It seems that every return trip from the Ozarks means we're packed to the gills with "stuff" to bring home. It doesn't matter what vehicle we take up there, it will be full when we get home. This year's haul included a bobcat that Big John's brother killed. Kevin's wife isn't interested in storing "Bobby," so he's been relocated to South Texas! He's going to have a fantastic home above the sailfish, with the promise to return to Arkansas if he's ever wanted!

We were quite a sight traveling down the highways and byways with this load!




And yes, those are 3 crates of Arkansas peaches - second only to Texas Hill Country peaches! We missed peach season here (busy building stuff!) and had planned to bring back plenty of peaches from Arkansas to put up for the year. Looks like I'll be busy for a couple of days! Yum!

It was a wonderful trip - beautiful sights and awesome times with friends and family - but like Dorothy says, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I clicked my ruby red Yellowbox flip flops together 3 times, and closed my eyes. Just like that, we're back at the ranch!

1 comment:

  1. Loved your recent posts about your trip, and the chicks! I am waiting to get my pics from NYC etc...so I'll be posting soon! Really love Bobby too! He'll look great in your beautiful home! Talk soon!

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