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!!!!