Buffalo National River

We lived in SW Missouri for over 20 years before we retired and hit the road. The area of SW Missouri and NW Arkansas has some of the best paddling rivers in the world. Kim and I have spent very little time enjoying this amazing resource. Shame on us!

My son in law, Brian sent me a message a week ago and told me about a trip he was planning to do on the Buffalo National River. The Buffalo is an area managed by the National Park Service. They have done an amazing job protecting the river and keeping it in its natural state. The river is 110+ miles of beautiful Ozarks country. It is an amazing resource.

The trip that Brian was doing was with the Springfield Parks and Recreation Outdoors Activities Group. When Brian invited me and my sons to go along, we all hesitated but then agreed to go. This would be a 3 day, 2 nights camping along the river trip. As the time to leave got close, I got very excited. Kim decided this would be a guys trip, so Brian and my sons Scott and Mark were going. Sadly, my son Michael decided not to go.

We met in Ozark at 8:30 AM on Friday, July 8. Here is a shot of our crew:

Scott, Me, Brian and Mark

We were being led by two employees of Springfield Parks, Justin and Elizabeth. They were great. One reason I decided to go on this trip was to learn from them and use that knowledge to plan future trips. We also had 4 others that signed up for the trip, Paul, Larry, Serena and Clarissa. We had no drama on the trip and the group quickly became one cohesive unit.

We put in at Rush Landing, which is the beginning of the 24.4 mile section called the Lower Buffalo Wilderness. It was truly wild. We did not see another person on the entire trip. The solitude was awesome!

Rush Landing

I was using my Sea Eagle 420X for this trip. Using an inflatable for this trip could be an issue and I would have preferred to have a solid boat, but I had no issues.

We left and paddled along the glassy water. There were a few small rapids, but most of the trip was just floating along and enjoying the scenery. There were deer along the shore and many different birds including Bald Eagles, Hawks, Blue Herons, Green Herons and Belted Kingfishers.

Clarissa and Elizabeth in the Green Canoe

Mark and Larry in the silver canoe

Justin, AKA Marty in the light green kayak

We only planned to go about 5 miles the first day. After about 4 miles we hit a major thunderstorm. We had fairly intense lightning, so we stopped and took to the cover of the trees. 

A short time after getting going again we found a place to camp for the first night. There are many gravel bars along the river to set up camp. There are no improved campgrounds, so being ready to filter water and be totally self sufficient are required. My battery for my CPAP did great and was only 50% drained after two full nights.

Brian setting up his hammock

Brian, Scott and Mark slept in hammocks. They had rain flys, which would come in handy on that first night. I slept in my tent which handles rain without an issue.

Mine is the far tent

We all hung out together and cooked our dinners. The food was provided as part of the trip and was different than I would normally eat on a trip like this, but it was very good. We were assigned a cooking partner. I cooked with Brian. Scott cooked with Larry and Mark was lucky to get Serena. After dinner we played a very enlightening game of Cards Against Humanity. That is all I will say about that. We finished the evening with a nice sunset.

We went to bed early and were awoken many times during the night to hard rain and lightning. It was quite a first night out.

We took our time getting on the river the next morning, but we knew we had over 10 miles to go on the second day. Along the way, we saw a Bald Eagle up in a tree overlooking the river. He posed for pictures.

Look Closely for the Bald Eagle

We had a long day of paddling. The scenery continued to be amazing with high rock bluffs and more wildlife. I surprised a mom and spotted fawn right along the river bank at one point.

After the long paddle we spotted our goal for the night, Elephant Rock. Elizabeth knew of a great campsite right across the river from the rock. It made for a great camp for the second night. As soon as everyone arrived and set up camp we hit the water and just soaked for a long time. It was HOT.

Here are a few shots of our camp. I decided to camp next to the boats on the river. Everyone else went up on the bluff. That would prove to be fortunate.

My tent next to the river and Mark making a fire

Elephant Rock looming over our campsite. We spotted an Eagles nest just to the left of the rock.

I went to bed early again, but for some reason awoke at about 1AM. I looked out the tent and noticed one of the boats was floating and one of my stakes was in the water. The water had risen about 2 feet. All of the boats in the picture above would have been in the water the next morning. I got up and moved my tent and all of the boats as far as I could up on the bank. I then shoved a stick in the ground at the waters edge that I could see from my tent. The good news is that the water did not rise any further as we approached morning.

I awoke first and made coffee and enjoyed the quiet morning and a heavy fog. Something caught my eye to the left along the river and then saw a huge Bald Eagle cruise down the river right in front of me about 10 feet off the water. It was a magical moment.

We got moving a bit quicker the second morning. We paddled about 4 miles to the junction point of the Buffalo and the White Rivers. There we saw a very large rattlesnake swimming across the river. Scott and I got a very good look at it. Sadly, no pictures of this impressive creature.

The final act of the trip was a 3/4 mile paddle against a strong current up the White River. The water quickly changed from the 80+ degree water in the Buffalo to about 50 degrees. It felt we went into air conditioning. It was a hard paddle after 3 days on the river, but we all made it without incident. We pulled into the landing at Buffalo City. We got loaded and headed back to Ozark. The trip home was quiet with some of the team sleeping.

It was a great trip and I could not ask for a better group of people to paddle with. I want to thank Brian for asking me to go. I am so glad I went. And a special thanks to Elizabeth and Justin for making the plans and leading us through one of the most beautiful and untouched parts of the US.

I took some GoPro Video along the way and added some music and came up with the video at the link below. Check it out.

Buffalo River Trip

Here is the URL: https://youtu.be/FybPywMg59A

We are going to stay at the ranch for about a week and get ready to get back on the road. We are planning to head back to Bull Shoals for about three weeks and then heading to Colorado for about a month. Check back to see how that all works out.

Small Town 4th of July

We have been back at the ranch since June 28. The last day we were at Bull Shoals, Kim and I took a paddle around Beaver Creek that was out our back window. We had a great time. I fished and Kim kept the boat in place.

Nice sized Bluegill

Selfie Time!

When we got back to the ranch, Two local Professionals Riders were at the ranch training for the week. These are two awesome young men and we really enjoyed hanging out with them and watching them ride and train. They will be riding the National Enduro in Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks. Harrison is 23 and Logan is only 17. Man can they ride motorcycles. I wish I had a camera when I was watching them, I could have gotten some great shots. A few local riders came out to train with them also, so things were busy for the first week we were here. The temps were in the low 80's so that was nice. I even got some riding in.

One thing that I have to do each year is take Kim to a fireworks show. We were thinking about going down to the big show in Rockaway beach which is about an hour and a half drive, but on the 4th a friend told us about the smaller show up in Hartville. That is only about 30 minutes away. Kim gave the nod to Hartville.

We got there at about 6PM and enjoyed the free food including ice cream.

They had a couple of local Gospel and Blue Grass Bands playing on stage. It was a very friendly atmosphere. The event was made possible my many donors and volunteers.

We found a place along the lake to see the fireworks. They had someone tell the history of the town and lake and park. It was very interesting. They have a nice park along the lake.

The fireworks show was better than I expected. It went on for over 30 minutes. The only problem was there was not a whisper of wind and the smoke held down in the valley and over the lake. The result is that the fireworks were obscured by the smoke. Oh well, I still got credit for taking Kim to the fireworks.

I was also given extra credit because I showed patience when we left. I didn't even start the car, and just sat and played on my phone until the traffic had cleared. I hate crowds and usually am at my worst when we are leaving a crowded venue and get stuck in traffic. See, retirement has made me a better man. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Kim and I have been discussing many things related to our lifestyle and potential upgrades and purchases. Every time we discussed it, things got back to the fact we were not sure how we stood on the weights of both the trailer and truck. I have not been sure if we were overweight Vs. the maximum payload ratings. I have been told by other RVers that we were way overweight. So, yesterday we hooked up and went about 30 miles to Cabool to get on a Truck Scale. I weighed the truck by itself and the truck and trailer together with and then without the Suzuki DR 650 on the rail on the back.

The good news is that we are below our weight limits on both the Truck and Trailer. That was a relief. Now we will proceed with some changes and upgrades I will talk about in future posts.

When we got up today, we saw a big storm approaching on radar. When it hit, things started flying. We had some significant straight line winds. We had a few large branches rip off of trees and at least one large tree go down.

Large tree down blocking the trail. 

I made a trip into Mansfield and saw this large old tree had been uprooted.

We were fine other than dealing with no power all day. We finally got power back at 5PM. Of course we are better suited than most living in the Ti. The only issue was that I had emptied my fresh water tank the previous day to get weighed. You should always keep some water in the tank for just such occurrences.

Kim and I went out for a tour of the property on the side by side. We saw very little damage, but we did see this large snapping turtle out in the middle of a field.

The best thing about being at the ranch this time of year is the berries. We have bushes all over the place and I took advantage of the cooler temps today to do some picking.

Well that is what we have been doing over the past two weeks. We have established a new travel plan for the coming months. We will stay here for another week and then go back to the lake for 2 weeks. I have a paddle planned for this coming weekend on the Buffalo National River. I can't wait! Then we will make a trip to Colorado to see my parents in early August. We will stay a month or so. Then we will return to Missouri for the fall riding and racing season. Then in December we will depart for another extended trip to the western US. Follow along and I promise to write more often.

Two Weeks at Bull Shoals

It has been a couple weeks since I have posted anything. We left the ranch on June 14 and went down to the Beaver Creek Campground on the upper end of Bull Shoals Reservoir. We did not have a good cell signal at the campground. It would work good enough for some minor things, but I could not get blogger to post pictures, so no blog posts.

Beaver Creek is a COE park. We love COE parks. This one has some large sites and most are level. Check out site #8, we can fit both the rig and the boat and truck parked end to end.

We had a great time the first week. Shannon and Amelia came and stayed with us for 3 days. Here is picture of Amelia in my boat and one of me skiing.

Check out that water. I just love the sound the ski makes cutting through glass smooth water.

After the first week, Kim left to go to Texas with Shannon. No boat driver means no skiing.

I took the time to focus on conditioning. I did some fast paced walking on the big hills around the campground and surrounding area. It is enjoyable to walk and check out the wildlife. There are many different varieties of birds including Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Turkey Vultures and Black Buzzards.

Black Buzzards and Canada Geese in the water

One morning I was awoken by something on the roof of the trailer. It was those Big Black Buzzards. I later got up on the roof and found that they had done some significant damage to my roof. I do carry patches, so I was able to fix it, but it will require a better fix in the coming months.

We did have a couple of significant storms with wind and hard rain. The rood did not leak. I could get mad, but that is why they call them WILD animals. It is all part of living like we do.

I did get the Sea Eagle kayak out and did some paddling and fishing. Here are a few shots of that experience.

Beautiful morning on the water.

Decent size Bass

Sea Eagle 420X configured for one person. Great Boat.

We had some excellent sunrises and sunsets while we were there.

Cool Sunset

Full Moon over the lake.

One of the best things about this site is the views right out the back window.

Back Window view

I had a conversation with one of the COE Rangers during our second week. She set me straight on a rule that I did not totally understand. We were planning to continue on to another COE park after our
2 week stay, but that is not allowed. You are not allowed to stay at another COE park in this "Project" until you spend 7 days away. The good news is that they do not enforce the limit other than Holiday weekends. We were really not looking forward to being at the lake over the 4th of July. It is always crazy and we tend to just stay inside and wait for the weekend to end and everyone leaves. So, we decided to just head back to the ranch and spend the next week or so and then head back to the lake for more skiing and fun.

At least I am not working...

We planned to leave the ranch on Monday, June 13 to head to Bull Shoals Reservoir. Our first stop was going to be Beaver Creek COE park. We have stayed there before and were hoping to get our favorite site #8.

We had everything ready to go and I was doing the final hook up when I noticed that the right side landing gear leg would not move. I had just moved it a minute before, but now even though the motor was running, the leg did not move up or down. NOT GOOD!

I took the cap off and saw that the crown gear was turning, but the main shaft was not. I thought I had a sheared pin, but no, it turned out the shaft itself had snapped. I had just replaced that entire leg last October when we got back to the ranch from our big trip out west. The same shaft had failed last year, but this was a brand new leg.

I will not go into any more detail, but I ended up having a machine shop build a replacement shaft. I even had them make a second one. Now I am carrying enough parts to rebuild a leg when I have another failure. Notice, I said WHEN. I am sure that these legs will keep giving me problems.

We ended up spending another night at the ranch in a fairly unlevel trailer, but no big deal really. At one point I was getting a bit frustrated and needed to make the walk out to the shop for a tool. I am sure that Kim was dreading my return, but on that walk I thought to myself, "At least you are not working". I was in a much better mood when I returned.

We did make it to the lake on Tuesday with the Ti. Shannon and Amelia joined us that evening. We were able to get our favorite Site #8. This awesome site is only $18 per night.

This site sits out on a point with Beaver creek behind us and the main lake to our left. We used to come here before I retired. I have spent many a night sitting on that picnic table thinking and dreaming about being able to spend all of my time living in my trailer in campgrounds like this one. Now my dream is reality. YEAH!!!

On Wednesday, we went back to the ranch to get the boat. The days are getting very hot with highs close to 100 degrees with stifling humidity. The only place that is comfortable is in the lake.

Kim, Shannon and Amelia

Kim with some strange lighting and her new short haircut. 

Amelia was playing hard, kicking her feet and really enjoying herself. Then she fell asleep in her floating chair.

Amelia is the youngest of our 8 grandchildren. All 5 of her siblings could not be at the lake with us, so we got some much loved one on one time with her. She seems to like the boat. She is not too sure about the life jacket, but she will grow into it.

Kim and I both did a little water skiing. This is only my second time skiing in the past two years. I was pretty sore after my first time two weeks ago, so I decided to take it easy and ski my way back into shape. That is my story and I am sticking to it. Shannon took some video to document the event.

It is going to be hot here at the lake for the next couple of weeks. We are fairly close to Springfield, so I am hoping to have some other family and friends come out and spend some time playing in the water. We will hang out here for the next couple of weeks. Kim is going to make a trip to Texas with Shannon next week for a few days, so I will be here by myself for a few days. I guess I will have to get out the kayak and do some fishing. It is a rough life, but someone has to do it. 

We are ready to move, YEAH!

Another couple of weeks have passed since my last entry. Life around the ranch has continued to be interesting and fun, but I still feel uninspired to write in this blog.

The weather in SW Missouri has turned hot. It is the weather that we usually avoid. The Ozarks hold in humidity and it becomes very uncomfortable. The only relief is AC or the lake or a river. Thankfully, we have some great rivers and lakes in close proximity to us.

We had a visit from our son Mark over the Memorial Day weekend. We decided to take a trip to Bull Shoals Reservoir. The lake water was still pretty cool, so we just ran the boat and enjoyed the beautiful lake. I did not take a single picture.

On the way home we saw a huge thunderhead looming over an area just north of where we were. I looked at the weather radar on my phone and the storm was right over the ranch. There was not another storm in the entire area. I got a couple of shots of it from the Walmart parking lot in Ava, Missouri.

Here is a shot including my pride and joy. My classic 1986 Correct Craft Ski Nautique.

It rained everyday at the ranch for two weeks. The wetness made riding more challenging, but the place sure is green. We have a few flowers and lots of berry plants that are looking great. Here is a shot of some lilies and some blue berries.

We had a fun weekend on June 4/5. Eric decided to organize a night ride for Saturday night. That is right, riding dirt bikes at night! They put good lights on their helmets and go ride the same trails that we ride in the daylight. I did not participate, but it got my son Scott and his buddy Jim out for some riding. Scott loves to night ride and he is pretty good at it. It was a fun weekend and it was great to see all of the young fast guys at the ranch riding together.

We went back to Bull Shoals on Monday, June 6 with Bob and Linda. There was no wind and it was pretty warm. I jumped in to cool off and the water was much warmer than a week earlier. I decided it was time to ski. It has been two years since I had skied and was worried that I could get up on my slolom ski. The concern was unfounded and I was able to get right up and had fun skiing. I did feel some significant soreness the next couple of days, but that is to be expected. Once again no pictures, but I am sure those are coming.

I decided to smoke some ribs this past Thursday. I pulled my smoker out and cleared out the cob webs. I thought all was good, but when I put my hand inside to set up the grate, I got stung by a wasp. I am very alergic to bee and wasp stings. I took a benadryl, and kept ice on the sting. I went ahead with the preparation of the ribs. I did take a long nap, due to the benadryl, but the ribs turned out great. Here is what my hand looked like:

I got a call from my daughter, Shannon on Thursday evening. She and Brian were heading to a concert in Kansas City on Friday. They had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I wanted to go. Kim was going to be watching Will and Amelia anyway and the plan was for us to just go with them and stay with Shannon's friend Tina for the night after the concert. I was not very familiar with the bands playing, but I love live music so I said, lets go! The headliner was a band called the Lumineers. As it turned out, I really liked the band. I stood in a crush of people for over three hours on a sweltering night and loved it. I even made some new friends. I am sure they were wondering what this old guy was doing there. I had two thoughts about this concert:

1. I need to come up with some new bands. My favorites are starting to die off.

2. I need to go to more concerts, I love live music.

Here is a shot of the venue and the Lumineers playing.

We made it back to the ranch and the weather is getting hotter. We have decided to take a trip around the lake. This trip may take as long as a month. We are planning to stop for about a week at 4 different COE parks around Bull Shoals. We will have to make two trips to move the boat along with the trailer, but the distances are all around 50 miles, so that is not too bad. I would like to work up to skiing each day and just relaxing around the lake. Hopefully, I will be more inspired to write and take a few more pictures.