From the Miracles Never Cease Department

 Let's be honest here.  I'm not the fisherman in this family.  I can clean and remove scales like a champ, but catching them is not my forté.  That is until the White River in the Arkansas Ozarks.

This place is not only beautiful, but it has everything that we love.  I probably shouldn't wax on and on about this cause then it will get discovered, and then it will be prohibitively expensive to be here and over-run with tourists and all that jazz.  It's fall now, and the natives say that it's not as pretty as it usually is.  Really?  Not as pretty?  I think it's pretty gorgeous myself.

Late yesterday afternoon, I was trying to capture these trees (above) in a really great backlight in a watercolor.  I looked up and thought I saw a decent-sized, dark bird that mostly has been black vultures, but every once in a while it's a grey heron or even an eagle.  A river, especially a good fishing river, is a key play for eagles to hang out.  Well, it was an eagle.  I ran up to get Walt and his super-duper camera and he gets a decent shot.  We're going to make an effort later to spend some time trying to get a better shot as we found out where one of the main nests are on the river.  

He's picked up some to-go dinner from the river and headed home (on a branch across the river from our RV) to eat it.  The surprises never stop here.  

But that's not what this part of the country is known for.  It's known for its fishing, more specifically it's trout fishing.  So Walt and I trekked over here to check it out.  We hired a guide, and he's a good guy - really works hard to make sure that we are having fun.  

Here's the catch.  From the first time we went out, I caught the first fish.  I do not catch fishes - EVER!  So I'm in shock.  The first trip ended with me tieing Walt for the number of fish we catch.  

The second trip, I'm thinking this will be fun and all and maybe some fall color, but I won't catch fish all that much.  And plus our guide who we used from last time, wants me to try fly fishing.  Uh, yeah.  Fly fishing is the most artful way to not catch a fish!!!!

I mean look at this - doesn't this look idyllic?  But seriously - catching fish.  That's for the movies or someone who devotes their life to fishing and that's not me!

But guess what.  Our fearless guide is so good and Walt is so patient, that I caught a fish (a cutthroat trout no less) on my first lesson with Mike Decker, our guide.   

Now this includes all the mistakes like setting too quickly and letting it go;  setting the fish and letting the rod down;  missing the indicator going about 6 feet underwater.  I could go on, but for those of you who DO fly fishing, I'm sure you're rolling on the floor laughing your hearts out!

Needless to say, this will be framed, and then people will be bored eternally while I tell them my exploits of my first fish I caught fly fishing!  

And of course, it sounds so cavalier and urbane to say that it was a cutthroat trout!!!!

Sometimes You Just Never Know

 The day started out really dreary and cloudy and we figured that it was going to be a slow day.  I caught the most about 3 and they were fun, but nothing to write home about.  Walt was up to a grand total of ZERO!

So this is looking like a Once upon a midday dreary, while I fished, weak and weary....." cause we aren't catching nothing, no how, zero, nada, zilch!

So we head back up to the dam with our intrepid guide, the Professory of Fishology, who if anything is as perseverent as I am.  I drop my line in the water, with a new lure - we've tried about 4 or 5 as our Fishology professor knows all the secrets to what works on a weekend (with heavy traffic) and cloudy day (when the fish are in a "Meh," mood)!  I drop it into the water and immediately get it snagged so hand it off to Mike, the professor.  Mike tells me I have a fish and the pole is really hanging down.  If this is a fish, it's gotta be the Moby Dick of trout.  He's working the pole and I'm still not sure that I'm not hung up in the grass or moss or something.  Pretty soon the line frees and I figure that I'm out of the moss.  Mike brings the lure onto the boat, and the fish, yes it was a fish, has straightened the little hook.  

NOTE:  In the catch and release area, you are only allowed to use barbless hooks.

The barbed means that after you set the fish, at least you have a chance of keeping the fish on the line cause the fish can't back out of the hook.  Because this is a catch and release area, the fish, and game department doesn't want too much damage to the fish, but the down-side is that if the fish swims toward you the hook can easily fall out.  This means you must keep tension on the line the entire time you are reeling in the fish.  Sounds easy, but you can lose a fish very easily in the excitement if you don't work hard to remember to keep the pole up and keep the fish set in the hook. 

I sound like a pro, but just been schooled by the professor!!!

And the professor says the reason I lost the fish was that the fish was a monster fish and it bent the hook.  I didn't feel so bad, but to be honest, I thought the professor might have made that up to make me feel better.  He fixed my line then we headed right back to the same spot.  He knew exactly where I had gotten it and he was after that huge fish.  I'm not so sure.

We both drop our lines into the water, and almost immediately, Walt says he's stuck in the moss.  The prof comes over and touches his line and exclaims that not only does he have a fish, he has a monster fish.  I'm not kidding when I say they worked a good 4 to 5 minutes struggle to get that fish to the side of the boat, all the while Mike realizing that this may have very well been the fish that straightened my hook and he wants to get that fish on the boat before another hook is straightened.  He's not worried about the hook, he simply wants to get the fish on board before it gets away.  

I think Mike is more excited than we are, simply because he knows what he brings out of this river, and this is one of the big ones.  It was a very handsome male.  They got it on board, and Walt gets a great shot.

And after hardly any fish all day - one little 12-incher - and then to get this great 26" fish.  Walt is beside himself, and Mike is overjoyed.  

Obviously, this is enough to feed about 10 people, however, this is the catch and release area, and Mike, being the schooled professor in all things fishology, as well as the Arkansas Fish and Game rules, knows that this goes back in the river so that some other fisherman can have the joy of catching him.  He struggled mightily and Walt was a little concerned, but once in the water, we waited and made sure that he was recovering and on his way into another current awaiting another meal!

So what looked like it was going to be a dud day, turned out to be a monster fish day!  You just never know!

When You Start Like This....

 

Then progresses to this (into the record-type size)...

I swear 3 minutes in the water and I'm pulling out a 20-incher!

Then a little of this....two at once - now that's a good fish guide who can handle two fish at once!

With Walt's big catch.

And this is a typical day on the White River and why we love it so much!  Well, that and the color in the background.  When the fish aren't jumping into the boat, the color is gorgeous!

Back at Our Cool Find

 We liked this so well last time, that we decided to come back again.  This is our first "full" day here in the new-to-us RV (fifth-wheel) and we still feel as though we've got a bargain of a deal.  We love the 5th wheel if for no other reason that your intrepid authoress here can actually hook it up and unhook it, in case Walt gets 1.) eaten by a bear, 2.) fall into the river and end up in a body cast (which wouldn't be so bad, and I would have the last word on every word he could utter), and/or 3.) just to show off how cosmopolitan my cadre of skills are!  

The leaves are just turning, so we will be here for some color (yes, that's very sweet), and here's the proof.

This is right out our back window, with a little tiny light from the sun late this afternoon.  Usually the mornings are quite foggy and had a hard time burning off.  

But, and I don't normally upload something this bad, only to let me know what's in store for the next 2 weeks!!!

Yep, right over our heads, late this afternoon while waiting for the sun...my favorite bird of all time - Bald Eagle!  Can't wait to see more and possibly fishing the river!

A Cool Find In Northern Arkansas

This is a little late.  I'm not one to normally brag, but this is so out of the normal, it's hard to fathom.  Walt and I took a little fishing trip down the White River in Arkansas.  As trout-fishing streams/rivers go, the White River is ranked as one of the top, with the Yellowstone, Madison, Snake and San Juan in competition.  Those other rivers are a  lot further away than the White River, and having never been there, why not?

Doing a little research on the area, the Bull Shoals Dam (which creates Bull Shoals lake by stopping up the White River), is the 5th largest in the world.  That means that the dam is deep and that water at the bottom of  Bull Shoals Lake is very cold.  So cold that it can be a humid, 98° up by the river, and you get to the edge of the river and the temperature drops at least 10° - it's almost cold by the side of the river.  When that cold water hits that warm humid air, a fog forms every morning and every evening.  It makes for a beautiful way to start or end the day. 

Well, Walt caught the first one, and we had to measure it (21"),but.....

Yep - that's right. The newbie is catching all the fish!!!

Not to be outdone, Walt's coming up strong with is own Brown Trout.

This one was fascinating, and I wouldn't touch her as she was spawning and we got her out and photographed and in as quickly as possible!

My own Brownie - these things are big!!!

Obviously, this was a lot of fun, and we can't wait to come back.

Full Moon on A Lake

One of the fun things is going out in the RV and hitting a full moon.  These are always so much fun, particularly on the first evening of the full moon when it rises just after sunset.  To make that even more fun, being close to water means that we get the reflection in the water, which is a blast!!!

Of course Walt's photos are fabulous.

Having never been to this particular location before, it's always a guess where the moon will rise and it's so much fun to see it peak up over the horizon.  Of course the sun and moon at the horizon are always much more colorful and that certain is amplified at moonrise when it's a full moon.  

This is the Pink Moon.  This is the name given by Native Americans for each monthly moon.

Tonight’s full moon, the Pink Moon, will be the biggest and brightest supermoon of 2020.

The Pink Moon will be full at 10:35 p.m (EDT)., and will appear full through Thursday morning.

Despite it’s name though, it isn’t really pink.

The full moon in April is known as the Pink Moon because of the pink bloom of herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, which is native to the eastern part of the United States and one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring, Gordon Johnston, NASA planetary program executive reported.

Other names include the Pesach, or Passover Moon, and Paschal Moon, the full moon from which the date of Easter is calculated.

It's always been fascinating to me the names of each of the monthly moons and why they are named that. 

Month	Moon name	Meaning
January	Wolf	Hungry wolf packs howl at night
February	Snow	Heaviest snowfalls in the middle of Winter
March	Worm	At the start of Spring, the earthworms began to appear
April	Pink	An early Spring flower called "Mountain Pinks" start to bloom
May	Flower	Many types of flowers bloom in May
June	Strawberry	Strawberries are ready to be picked
July	Buck	New antlers on buck deer begin to appear
August	Sturgeon	Sturgeon, a fish found in the Great Lakes, are easily caught at this time of year
September	Harvest	Farmers can continue harvesting until after sunset by the light of the Full Moon
October	Hunter's	Hunters tracked and killed prey by moonlight, gathering food for the coming Winter
November	Beaver	Beaver traps are set to make sure of a supply of warm Winter fur
December	Cold	The cold of Winter tightens its grip as the nights are longest

 So there you have it.  Now you can really act smart the next time a full moon comes up. 

But onto the photos.

I'm not sure there's a lot of phlox around here, but it sure does look pink to me.

And this is a typical full moon photo and all you need is a good silhouette of a wicked witch on her broomstick across this to complete the photo.  We did have some waterbirds in front of the moon, however, I don't think that qualifies.  

And then something that looks like it was taken on one of the Apollo flights.  Walt's camera is really nice, with a great shot of the Tycho crater in the lower right of the moon.  

And of course, water and a full moon are made for a photographer.

Pretty romantic!

First Outing in the 5W

5W is short for 5th wheel which is the terminology for a gooseneck or hookup where part of the weight of the trailer is centered over the rear axle of the truck.  This means the weight hook-up is more centered in the truck and makes for an easier pull for the truck.  As a by-product, it also makes for a way easier hookup.  Walt and I are astonished even though we knew it was easier, it practically hooks itself up.  OK, we have a checklist, but it's so much smaller and so much easier for Walt, which of course I like a lot. 

For me, there is soooooooooo much more storage, and we have 2 slides.  Slides are these parts of the trailer that slide-out giving you oodles more room - one big one in the living/galley area and another in the bedroom, giving us gobs more storage. 

But there's nothing like planning a trip and taking it out on the road.  We decided there was no better place to do social distancing than in the wilderness and visiting one of our state's fabulous state parks.  The lodges, golf courses, visitors' centers, and other gathering places are closed, but the RV parks are open!  So we're at one of those many eastern lakes in our state that are really lovely. 

So here we are - our first road trip in the 5W.  Pretty neat - and yes I finally got a pic of Walt - he was not a happy camper.  

So here we are all set up and it's a very pleasant area, not far from the shore with all the hookups that make life sweet.  

Doesn't she look sweet?  This particular park has concrete pads, with lots of room to park your car and concrete picnic table with a fire ring (for roasting the proverbial marshmallows, telling ghost stories and relaxing on cool nights), and a barbeque grill.  That's a lot for any state park, and it makes this state park a downright luxury resort, especially at the prices (very reasonable) that they charge here. 

We've only had one big mishap, somehow my bike didn't survive the trip from home to the trailer and the chains are all messed up.  A couple of years ago I was out riding around Lake Hefner and granted I'm not a speed demon (think Audrey Hepburn in Rome)

See this isn't a speed demon - it's more about the experience rather than making it a faster trip.  At any rate, some speed demon was coming around a corner too fast, and yep, you guessed it, I was the casualty.  Fortunately, there were 2 walkers who came to my aid, and I was fine, but my bike was not fine, and the gears have been iffy ever since.  You would think that these young speed demons would be thrilled that we older folks are out riding the bike around the lake because that really does reduce their health care costs cause when old folks exercise like this, we usually croak in about 6 weeks.  There are no long extended illnesses, we get sick and croak and that's it.  It's really not a bad way to go - cause we don't have to linger for a long time - which is how I would like to go.  But alas, there are some who don't appreciate this.  

So I digress....but I can't ride the bike, so Walt and I have been walking around and discover that it's that special time of the month (no, I promise I haven't digressed to the menopausal stage - been there done that thankyouverymuch).  It's time for a full moon.  More on that in tomorrow's post.

So we are testing out all the parts of the 5W and relaxing and what could be more fun than painting the 5W.  Sometimes I think my art space is more artistic than my artwork.

Let's just say this RV has very comfy accommodations AND it's easier for a Walt setup, and I can even do it, which there was no way I could have done a hooked up on the other trailer we had.  

So far - lots of fun!!!!  

A New Home - A Little Different Blog Post

For almost 8 years, Walt and I have enjoyed a really fine travel trailer to go out traveling.  For me I thought it was like the Taj Mahal, however, Walt is a little larger, OK a lot larger, than me, and he was always hitting all four walls in the bathroom every time he took a shower.  So we had started looking almost 3 years ago for something larger.  We had both thought that a fifth wheel would be just our cup of tea.  We'd been inside a lot of them and there was always something amiss.  Some were used and some were really used and some were simply cheap and showed it from the get-go.  So last month when we were in Port Aransas, Walt was on his trusty computer and was searching on one of the better known RV-for-sale sites, and found a fifth wheel that was made by our favorite company.  He mentioned it to me, and I looked at it and it looked really well maintained, and the price was sweet.  So Walt called the guy and they almost immediately struck up a great conversation.  As time went on, both of us decided it was time to go home, clean out our own trailer, put it up on the market and see what we could get for it and do some more investigation on this fifth wheel.

This trailer was made by Northwood Manufacturing and known by the trade name of Arctic Fox.  This is one of the best-built RVs around and this is exactly what we had been looking for.  As Walt got to talking with the guy, they had done some mighty excellent modifications and kept up their trailer as well as we had kept ours.  Now, I'm getting excited.  The trailer, however, was in California - Sacramento, California, but we got so excited, that I started plotting how we could get out to get it, and how we'd get back towing our new Foxy Okie right behind us (I'm the navigator of the team!).  And before you know it, we're on the road.  Two hard 12-hour days of driving and we're there - even earlier than we planned, and met them to take a look at the trailer.  It was everything we'd been promised and we were in love!  So the generous owners let us stay Sunday night in the trailer, we would meet for breakfast the next morning and then after breakfast do the transaction at their bank.  Done deal.  Only there was a slight hitch in the deal.

Now, Walt had told me before we started out that I was going to have to keep my big mouth shut and that I shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't even think of saying anything political.  This was California after all and we weren't sure who these people were.  They seemed level-headed and very nice, but as Walt as impressing on me, they lived in California and therefore might be of a different political mind, and Walt didn't want me to mess up the deal before he could get them to sign the bill of sale! So I promised I would keep my trap shut - hard, I know, but Walt's a good guy and we've been together for a long time and we travel so well together, I thought it was worth me keeping my mouth shut for this short trip.

Well, that all ended on the morning we had breakfast, and not only did we like them, but we found we were of like mind.  We started breakfast at 8am and finally at 11:30 Walt said we needed to get to the bank before it closed so that we could complete the deal because Walt was convinced that these nice people would like to be paid!!!  The deal completed, we sat around the RV that afternoon while the guys hooked and unhooked the fifth wheel.  Walt hasn't done anything like this since he was a kid with a gooseneck so he felt he needed a little practice. 

Ain't she sweet - we haven't named her yet, but she's getting a name.  What makes the fifth wheels so nice is that that overhang over the back of the pickup is a bedroom, and this bedroom has a slide.  A slide is a part that extends out so it makes the room wider than the road.  The bedroom is really luxurious with a full hanging closet, gobs of cabinet space and a spacious bathroom with a really nice shower that Walt doesn't have to bang against all 4 walls to enjoy.  Just below the bathroom area and just behind the truck bed is wonderful storage for all that man-stuff that men need to be manly!  Tools, hoses, metal mechanical type gadgets and more tools.  All I know is that when men see it, they respond the same way I do when I saw the galley with all its storage and even a pantry.  This was better than the Taj Mahal - this was like  Buckingham Palace on the road!  Not only that but it has a huge back window with luxurious chairs to sit in that you can enjoy the view of wherever you are traveling.  There are two additional luxurious chairs and a table with an extension and four chairs.  

And here's our new Arctic Fox.  These RVs are made for colder climates which means they are very insulated and well-built.  Sealed and having double insulated windows makes for an RV that is not only well-built but can survive almost any weather conditions.  So whether we're in Yellowstone messing around in an early-spring blizzard, or in an eastern Oklahoma swamp-ish summer, this RV can take it.  Walt and I both love well-built, well-constructed products, whether it's my sewing or his furniture making, we both strive to do the best, and know that the best-made products are actually cheaper in the long run cause they last and last and last. 

Finally, after a whole day with the kind folks who were the previous owners, we said goodbye and promised to meet up again.  Chances are good too, cause their daughter resides in a neighboring state!  After many lessons on the fifth wheel (and listen this whole fifth-wheel business is way over my pay grade, but right down Walt's alley), they departed, with Walt wondering whether he could get connected and disconnected without major injury to himself or the RV!

Here's the proof.

What you may not be able to see in this photo is that Walt has all 10 of his digits and the truck has been successfully disconnected from the fifth-wheel trailer without damage to the RV storage facility and the 5W!

What you may also not see is that Walt successfully backed the trailer into the appropriate space, with enough room on both sides to enter on one and push out the slides on the other when need be.  But you can also see that the truck is successfully disconnected from the 5W with no damage to the truck too!

If you ask me - it looks like a pro did this.  

Beautiful Birds

So the first day we're here, I go out reconnoitering for good bird spots and hit upon one with these flamingo-type birds and I'm thinking, "Are we in Texas or Florida?.... Do flamingos come this far west?  No one told me we were going to see flamingos here?"  So couldn't wait to get back to this spot.

Then days passed, and some rain off and on, and doing some clean-up and fix-up on the RV after our tumultuous trip here, and finally got to the birding spot, and boom - no flamingos - nothing.  We trek around and I find out that these aren't flamingos but Roseate Spoonbills and we see them at various spots, but they're about 100 yards away - a LONG way away. I'm bummed.

Then we get a couple of days of rain, and I remember the night we drove into the park here.  It was raining cats and dogs, we weren't sure of the layout of the park, we were getting drenched and both of us were pretty cantankerous.  Then it cleared up beautifully the next day and that's when I saw those bright pink birds, so after the rainstorm, we trekked back out to the birding location and BOOM!!!  There they were.

 These are from the ibis family and considered frequent residents of the Gulf and Florida coast regions.  The pinker or redder birds are breeding.  Click on any of these photos to see them larger.  These really are gorgeous birds.

Because of their coloring, they were harvested for their feathers, but now because of protective laws, the populations have come back. 

 Using their bills, they work through the water by swishing their bills back and forth using smell to find shrimp and other small aquatic life.

For more fun, here's a great video of these birds in action on Walt's great camera.

As if this wasn't fun enough, we trekked over to another location (east of the Aransas Pass where the ships come into the Aransas area to get to Corpus Christi port), with birds of their own.  This seems to be where the Brown Pelicans hang out.

This one is the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce pelican who will sit there and allow you to get really close so you can take lots of photographs.  All the while looking at you as if to say, "Did I give you permission to take pictures of me/"  or "Are you getting my good side?"  Well, Walt got both so I'm sure he's happy!

And I think this is what I love most about Port Aransas is what this picture shows - the Chamber of Commerce Pelican - always available (albeit begrudgingly) for a photo or two, a huge tanker coming into the Aransas Pass into the deepest port in the Gulf of Mexico (Corpus Christi) and just below the surface of the water, being a little shy of the camera is a porpoise who love to play and race the boats in and out of the pass.  Walt shot this a little ahead of the porpoise making its appearance! 

But no matter, because we caught the porpoises earlier during the day at a different location of the pass.  Look just ahead of the tug boat pulling that LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) tanker out of the pass and into the Gulf of Mexico headed to Antwerp, Rotterdam - providing fuel for the world while nature is running amok all around them.  Who says commerce and nature can't exist together?!