Guns-Ammo-Beer-Jesus

Its a one-stop shop at any one of the local hardware and grocery shops along Arkansas' blue highways. We left Wed. afternoon for mt. Ida- on a quest for quartz.

Its about 5.5 hours to Mt Ida from our home. Everything from Harrisonville to the Ouachita Mnts was flooded- fields were lakes, roads became swallowed and the rivers and streams, in many cases, came within a few feet of every bridge we went over. We stopped in Mt Ida. A little crystal shop on the SE corner of 27+270. "Atlantis found" was its name- though it was not displayed on the building. Larry manned the shop and suggested the redoak inn for our nights stay. I told him we were interested in finding the crystals for ourselves- He was very friendly and enthusiastic when he shared his secrets about the local spots and techniques.
Look for the "Darkest Greasiest red clay" he told us- He said that the particles that composed this dirt were the smallest and they were able to seep into the crevasses and cracks in the bedrock that the crystals formed in hundreds of millions of years ago. If we found a patch of this dark, greasy mud, we would likely find the remains of whatever crevasse the clay seeped into- quartz.
He told us about Crystal Vista- A trail in the Natl Forest that led to an abandon pit mine- and suggested that we search the roadsides.

set off - south on 27 and E on Owley to a dirt road. "Go until you've driven too far- then drive another mile"
We found the Natl forest trail that Larry had suggested and turned back- the sun was getting low. My mother and I searched the Dark red, Greasy Clay on the side of the road and found a handful of points and a big polished red rock with a beautiful vein running through it. Peepers and other frogs were singin to the sky on the side of the little dirt road.

Subway was the only thing opened when we got back into town- about 7:40. It took me a few extra minutes to fall asleep- I was very excited about the crystals that I had found and about what we'd find when I woke up.

There was a heavy frost on the windows immediately after sunrise. A thick cloud rolled through the river valley on the other side of town. The sun peaked over the mountain that shadowed us for most of the ride to Crystal Vista. A fine mist sat on the creek just under our trail. A shaggy Pyrenees blocked the road. Each individual stem and blade and leaf was decorated with a million tiny pearls and droplets that reflected a million sunrises. We hiked up the steep trail. It was muddy and "up hill both ways"(Larry)- about a mile. We stayed to the right- I found some smaller points- and a large clear one- on the trail. We came to a bit of trail that was particularly thick with the smallest, clearest points in the world and I sat to collect some. I crawled along the trail lifting handfuls of the points from the sand. My mother disappeared up the trail and the second I was able to separate my eyes from the sparkly red ground I followed her.

Female 5-lined; also saw a small tan one with orange face at rock mine.

The Ouachita's are very steep and are very different from the Ozark Mnts most of us know. They host a 50-50 mix of hardwoods and pines/cedars. There are several different types of gigantic green pines- they whisper and sway with every gust of wind. The ground is dry and there are scattered glades throughout the Natl forest. Houses and farms are far between and everything is based on the unique natural environment. The main economy is certainly tourism, though the obnoxious tours and B&Bs are focused near the two main cities in the area- Hot Springs and the area between Mt Ida and Crystal Springs. The trees are still bald, but there are a few pears and service berry that are blooming.

Everything was red-rocks, dirt, crystals, lizards and toads... this Anole

About a hundred yards and the trail flattened and there was a landscape. IT was the top of the mountain and the mine. I still could not see my mother and became distracted- pulled to a mound of the darkest greasiest red clay to my left at the entrance of the pit. I stuffed my plastic bag with points and clusters and what most would call junk quartz- simple hunks of the clearest broken quartz crystals.

Some of the nicer points made it into every one of my many pockets- a sat my stuff on a rock, grabbed the subway cup and began shifting through the surface of the mound. Most of the crystals I found were on the surface- exposed by the recent rain. I set a large cluster of quartz points next to my bag. About 30 min went by before my mother showed. She had found the main pit mine- I was only at the entrance. I went through the pit- scooted along the edge in a huge circle. On the far end were some crevasses about 20 ft up on a small bluff. I climbed the bluff, but found nothing but a plastic jar painted in cameo- full of little pins and cards and beads.

N. Fence Lizard

I returned to the original pile to find ~ 8 lbs of rough material. My mother returned once more with an anole she found on the rocks.

I took some photos and the lizard disappeared with my mother. I found a huge dark toad in some leaf litter. I found hundreds of smaller points-from a few mm to an inch long and wide, a handful of larger ones- a couple of inches long- and two big ones buried in the dirt- one is almost 4.5 x 2 in and "crystal" clear!!!!!I collected until about 3 when we set North on 27 for petit jean SP. A Road-runner was in the middle of owley rd and ran to the side as we passed. The bird was a first for me and was much larger that I expected. It looked like a huge thrush with a long neck and crest- lite-colored with brown streaks all over and a darker back. As we cut through the tiny family-owned towns and civilizations on E Hwy10, we entered Yell Co.,-.. From centerville to pontoon. Many towns were not even on the map and others were misplaced- shown further down the road than they actually were. We passed a small blue sign that read "YELL CO. SANITARY LANDFILL" - the car was quiet and the sun shown warm on through the windows. A few hundred feet later was the same sign with an arrow pointed to the right-- pointed at a 30' high pile of scrap metal, trash and an RV on the side of the Hwy... It was a landfill, but I'm not so sure how sanitary!?
When we got there it was packed. RVs, Canoes, grills, generators- Like a lake of the Ozarks crowd! We stood in line to get one of the last available camp sites. The park it never this crowded and the host said it had all come in today.
I fished for a while and the sun fell quickly. We had a fire, but My mother and I were both pooped and fell asleep quickly. The moon was getting very full and I watched it through the night travel from one side of my tent to the other.

Petit Jean Waterfall-looked cooler in blk &W

We woke with the sun and the birds and bypassed the ridiculous line of cars at the bathhouse. We hiked the mile down to Petit Jeans' Waterfall and back up the switchbacks. The lake is flooded and the falls are rushing-It was nice to be the only ones on the trail. I experimented with a long exposure setting to try to capture the movement of the gushing water. Some trout lilies were blooming and carpeted the forest floor. A few mayapples rose from the carpet and many different types of ferns spilled from the bases of rocks and trees. The moist ground hosts a great variety of little pink and white spring flowers- no more than 6" tall.

With the past few days being the warmest of the season things have greened fast- Only a day ago the trees were bald- now there are tiny red and green leaves shooting from every twig.

Usually just a trickle, the stream from the waterfall at the SP was rushing and flooded. Last time I saw this area, it was no more than a dry rock bed.

On our way back up the switchbacks the crowd showed up- Many families and couples were headed for the trails.

North on Scenic Hwy 7 to flee the masses of people... to a *secret* Natl forest campsite on the Buffalo river suggested by Larry Rizzo. I'd never seen the river and was very excited to finally get to fish the river I'd heard so much about! We passed many Fields on our way N and W- they seemed to become more flooded as we advanced on our destination. A country road lead in a strait line from the Hwy- strait into the mucky water of a flooded agriculture stream. It was a sight to see! The road was consumed by the water- which went until it met the sky on the blue horizon. We crossed over the Arkansas River on Hwy 7- It was thick, muddy and red.. It swallowed the parks and businesses on each shore and was larger (wider) than I have ever seen the Missouri or even the Mississippi! I have seen the river in Western KS, in OK and even here, but this was a whole new river!! !

We stopped in one of my favorite towns in the world- one which we seem to find on many of our trips south. Jasper, AR. . We ate ate the Ozark cafe before visiting Emma's museum of Junk. I bought some old marbles for only a few cents and my mother picked a souvenir for my father. We eaves-dropped on the only conversation in the small shop- a heated one between a 90yr old woman and a few younger locals. Most of the conversations Ive heard on the trip were about people getting struck by lightning or torn apart by a boar or bitten by the biggest rattler in the the state- The seniors of the little towns have stories to share about the past hundred years of the county area- many have lived here all their lives.

Some kind of large orchid found under a patch of cedars at Lost valley- big, waxy flowers more purple than pic shows- Not anything I recognized! Any Idea?

We arrived at the Lost Valley campground to find that it was absolutely packed. At first, all there is to see of the area is a large gravel parking lot, a beautiful white bedrock stream to the left, a house to the right and a bathroom and shelter in a mowed lawn. We got out and I was overwhelmed by the radios and shrieking children. We ventured into the campground area- a spacious wooded area dotted with tables and fire pits. I immediately found a campsite- relieved that there was one left. We nabbed it, set up, and drove back to the ponca river access. We saw a small heard of elk in the field to the right. A bull, a young buck and a handful of females. bunches of decaying leaves and sticks- suspended about 4 ft up on every standing object- marked the flood that had occurred only 48 hours ago. the line of cars backed out of the parking lot and had us park on the entrance road. It was busy.
I could not believe how clear the FLOODED river was. It was a milky colour, but you could see the bottom many feet down. The water touched the bottom of the low bridge that we crossed by foot to find a trail. I fished with a small silver jerk-bait --I did not catch anything.

Arkansas Elk-not very bright-looking with it's tongue hangin' out!!! Many of them had large radio-collars on them

There were many individual paddlers loading and unloading-as well as a circus of canoe outfitters sending the inexperienced down the flooded river. Several boats flipped in the process of gaining passengers from shore.
The water was warm- only a few degrees shy of the air. We walked down a trail on the opposite side of the trail. About a third of a mile downstream I found a small dear trail leading to a gravel bar on the river.I weaved through the forest and then a thicket of bamboo before I reached the gravel bar. There was a small stream between the steep bank and the island that was the gravel bar. Th water was swift and about 5ft wide. I took a running leap-landed a few inches short of where I wanted- landing myself in wet shoes. I fished and paced the shore. The ground was gravel and then sand. A bluff shaped the river on the far side- It rose almost 80 ft! !

Dutchmans Breeches at Lost Valley- found several others like: Bloodroot, Spring beauty, Liverleaf, Toothwort, trout-lily, anemones, Spring cress and both kinds of trilliums (only the smaller white ones were blooming)

I found a large rock on the gravel bar- It was white and polished- looked like marble or limestone- and had been sculpted into a balance of natural curves. I picked it up-maybe 10 or 12 lbs., and decided I didn't want to haul it back to the car.
We returned to the campsite and found ourselves on the trail that lead away from camp into the woods. It took us along the stream up the mountain to a wide section of the stream that resembled a shut-in. A little further the creek spewed from a large hole in a rock wall. It emptied into a wide, shallow pool. The pool sat atop the white bedrock and the water appeared to be an emerald colour. A few people crawled out of the hole from which the water came and crawled down into the pool.

We continued up the trail until we found a large waterfall- It threw the water from about 30'.
I took a photo and we followed the path strait up (yes, it was just about vertical!) to a cave above a waterfall that was above the waterfall that we had visited. I slipped into the cave- realized pretty quick that the rock was slippery. There was only a few feet from where my small, slick platform ended to where the creek that flowed through the cave fell in a waterfall. I held my camera firmly on my chest and jumped from rock to rock until I reached a safer part - deep in the cave. Everything was sealed with calcium and when I turned off my wimpy flashlight I was blind. I turned from the wet, black wall that I had been inspecting to find the only source of light- the entrance of the cave. It seemed like it was a far ways off- though it was only about 50ft the walls and floor of the cave, though light and wet, did not reflect any light from the entrance of the cave. I took a few pics and stumbled my way back to the blinding forest above the falls. My mother was waiting there- her bad knees did not allow her to enter the cave with me. We took a different trail back to the campground.

My mother returned to our spot and finished setting up the camp. The sun was setting and the growing chorus of frogs was far too much of a temptation. I grabbed my camera and set down the gravel road toward Hwy 43. .. I was able to locate the epicenter of the froggy phenomenon- It was on private property and I chose not to trespass. There was just enough sunlight left to ID the silhouettes of cows and cedar trees throughout the nearby fields. I searched the wet ditches on the side of the road for the source of the deafening "Pprrrreeeeeeeeep Peep"s that seemed to come from everywhere. The call was the most common, but not the only one. -turned out to be some subspecies of the Spring Peeper.
I found a frog; I walked to a side of where I thought I heard its repeating call and flushed him onto the white gravel. The little guy made it several feet into the road with only a single leap. I snatched him up an set 'em on the mud nest to a puddle. He hopped into the puddle and I took only one photo. The sunlight- though from the opposite horizon- was equal to the light of the very full moon that had yet to rise over our overshadowing mountain.

I walked down the hwy about a mile to the Ponca river access and turned around. I found one more frog- same kind as the other. It turned darker as the sun disappeared completely and I watched the stars for several minutes. I witnessed a handful of shooting stars- one was very bright and moved slowly through the atmosphere. Its tail turned colours- green and orange being the most noticeable- and left a reflective trail of white smoke when it disappeared. The moon finally came over the mountain and cast a bright light on the eastern side of everything. I mounted the camera to the tripod and set the Tv on 8 seconds. I took a few pics and continued up the gravel road towards the campground. I found an ancient wood house in a field to the right of the gravel road. It was kinda creepy in the moon light- kinda beautiful. I set my tripod about 50ft from the house and took an 8sec exposure. It was black. I turned it to 30sec and the photo came out alright. I heard some scuffling from the house- I assumed it was a rodent until there was a louder thud. My heart beat fast for 2 second that seemed like a minute and I listened for what was next from the creepy black windows. nothing. I regrouped and had found a good exposure setting- now I focused the camera as best I could. I took a photo and the bumps and creeks from the old home or barn resumed. They could not scare me anymore- I dismissed them as a critter- though I still held a suspicion that the old building was alive- it still LOOKED haunted.
The photo came out slightly blurred and I spent several minutes focusing it before I walked to the house and set my flashlight on the window of the haunted barn-house. I focused on the flashlight and retrieved it.
I heard another bang as I walked back to my camera. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and was immediately taken by an overwhelming curiosity of the dark building. My shadow cast upon the side as I got closer. It passed over a window and I questioned if the residence-human or critter - alive or dead- had seen me. I entered the building- There was only a black hole framed by the homes skeleton. There were two rooms inside- no animals. A rusted stove and a boot. There was a set of rotten steps that led to another blackness in the attic- I did not visit this area. I exited with a new confidence of the home- set the camera on B and started an exposure. a minute went by and I decided to leave the camera. I wanted to get a brighter exposure of the house and the moon-lit landscape that surrounded it and I was curious to see if I could capture any supernatural occurrences by leaving the open shutter and the ghosts together for a few.
I returned to camp and told my mother about the beautiful, creepy old house. I got my 35mm from the car and she followed me to the barn. The shadows of every tree decorated the white gravel road which reflected the moonlight very well. We got to the house and I shut the shutter about 8min after it had been opened. The photo appeared to have been taken in the middle of the day! I mounted the minolta on the tripod and set it on B at 5.6. . . I asked my mother to hold her light to the building and I focused the camera. She returned to the tripod and noticed the thick sheet of fog rolling toward us from across the field. It looked like the blob when it was in the light and seemed to absorb or consume the trees it flowed over. I started the exposure and we admired the scene and the stars for a second. I stopped the exposure about 1.5min after I had started it... hope it came out!! !
We went back and had a very hot fire for a while before we went to sleep. A small stream trickled into the larger one through our campsite.
We woke with the sun. My mother was in a bad mood- said she hadn't slept well. we made coffee and hot chocolate on my tiny stove- it was very cold. I grabbed both cameras and a flashlight and as the rest of the campsites were becoming active we set off for the waterfalls again. It was a beautiful hike and I cannot wait to see how the pics came out!
After the day crowds moved into the area and onto the river we packed and left. Several church groups and many zillions of families lined and crowded the trails. I dont think Ive ever seen a similar area so busy!!

We headed S on 43 to 21N to 62W through Eureka Springs. It was cool to see some familiar landmarks from when we knew the area several years ago. We drove over the Beaver Lake dam and visited the white river.
There is alot of brand new construction around the lake, but it doesnt look too bad-yet. THe White was well over her banks and flooded parkinglots, boat ramps and forest. It was crystal clear-much more so than the Buffalo- and you could see the bottom as if there was no water at all. I threw a small rooster tail (fishing lure) in and watched a small trout emerge from the bottom. He darted towards the small silver lure and aborted his ambush at the last second- turned around and repeated his attack once more in a split second.
I saw no more fish. Things were incredibly green- a huge change from only 3 days earlier when it was all bald.

We passed an old rock quarry that we used to find collard lizards, turanchulas, giant centipededes and other glade animals on. It was closed down and locked up with a new fence and sign that read US PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING
... no fun.

We stopped at a few local places- for food, antiques and an old crystal shop we used to visit- before we split on 37N to hwy 71. Made one more last-second stop as it clouded up and threatened to rain: Prairie SP near Nevada, MO.
We got there and the neighbors were burning. I got out of the car and unconsiously scratched a large tick-the first of the season- from my waist. I watched him crawl over the tip of my finger with a speck of my skin still in his mouth- if you call it a mouth.
-Put him on the interpretive sign at the trailhead we intended to hike and smooshed him. A sign read that the trails were closed from 4am 'til 9pm until May15 due to the P Chickens.
We admired the vast grassland from the trailhead. The sun peaked through the dark stormclouds and made an incredible landscape. I hear a meadowlark, a kestral and some doves- no traffic . Just the birds, the wind on the grass, and a pig? Lots of pigs?
No; they are crawfish frogs.


After a few minutes of basking in it's beauty we left.


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