Howdy-do! I just got back from a 1,500+ mile round-trip through one of the most beautiful places in America ... the Ozarks! Three days of my week of vacation was spent drivin', while the other 3 was spent kickin' back with some friends and floatin' on the White River in Norfork, Arkansas. What an awesome place, and what a cool buncha guys from Arkansas that I had the privilege to hang with! This was their 15th year doin' this; I'd been invited for the last 3, but somethin' had always come up that prevented me from goin'. Believe you me, if the good Lord allows ... I'll definitely be goin' with 'em again next year!
If y'all recall my post back in May called Relaxin' ... I picked-up my buddy Ty in Plano, Texas and then headed to "Dad's" just outside of Conway, Arkansas. After "Dad" (finally) got packed, we headed up one of the most twisted, scenic drives through the Ozarks to the Riverside Retreat, which is one of Chris & Carol Jackson's accommodations on the White River, about 5-miles downstream from Norfork. Our crew stayed at the Lodge, which had 6 bedrooms (with 2 bunks, a queen-sized bed and a full bathroom in each room) as well as 2 full kitchens, dining tables and living rooms with a very large adjoinin' front porch.
Chris Jackson is a fishin' guide and also provided our group with the jet-drive rental boats which were awaitin' everyone at the ramp each day. I opted to bring my kayak, which provided me with a much more personal experience on the river. On the first day, I took the 5-mile trip from Norfork back to the lodge. This allowed me to get the hang of things, and figure out where the trout were and what they was bitin' on. The water was not really that swift, but was pretty-dang cold! Paddlin' upstream was a chore, but it could be done. I had even anchored my yak and wade-fished a couple of spots, which chilled me to the bone. Bein' overcast with temps in the fifties, it took a hot shower that evenin' and a couple of bowls of steamin' hot gumbo just to warm me up ...
I think every one of them Arkies enjoyed the gumbo, which I'd made on our first day there. I was afraid that seafood wouldn't keep from southeast Texas all the way to northwest Arkansas, so I opted to make a 22-quart pork & venison sausage, chicken and egg gumbo. That's right ... I put boiled eggs in it! The trick is to boil the eggs in water with a half a bottle of Soy sauce added, and then after you peel the eggs ... fork 'em to the yolk and add 'em to the almost completely cooked gumbo. Them boiled eggs soak-up the seasonin' and taste awesome! You know you've made a good gumbo when nobody adds any seasonin' ... and that includes Tobasco; I came home with two unopened bottles. I had also done a 17½ lb. oiless Cajun fried turkey which made great sandwiches. By the way ... my new nickname with that Arkansas group is "Gumbo" ...
Most of the guys in that group all went to the University of Central Arkansas with my wife Lisa, and have kept-up with each other throughout the years. All of 'em are die-hard outdoorsmen, and have hunted & fished with each other forever. As most good ole' boys will do, we all ate & drank more than the average man shoulda that weekend! But, with this many alpha personalities in one group, nobody got outta sorts or showed their ass. And if anybody around there was hearin' banjos ... it definitely wasn't comin' from this bunch! I fit right in and cain't wait to do the trip with this awesome bunch again!
On the second day, I was dropped at Ship's Ferry by 9:00 A.M. where I floated 10-miles back to the Lodge. Within' the first hour, I'd already caught and released several rainbow and brown trout. All were small and all were caught chunkin' hardware. I abso-friggin'-lutely refuse to be a bait-soaker, and probably cast a couple of thousand times throughout the entire day. At one point, one of my released trout wasn't swimmin' too well. As I paddled towards it to help it along, an eagle circled overhead lookin' for an easy meal. One doesn't truly appreciate the size of one of these majestic raptors until it gets up-close & personal. Before I could get my camera out, on & ready ... it was well outta range of gettin' a decent photo. On another occasion, several geese were flyin' towards me while two eagles circled overhead. But again, it was too late to get the friggin' camera.
I had packed my cooler with a 12-pack of beer, some Cokes, bottled waters and three very healthy Cajun fried turkey sandwiches. Did I mention that I'd already had four beers before I'd ever left the Lodge? Even though I'd purchased my out-of-state fishin' license and trout stamp ... I figured that I was pushin' boundaries with Arkansas Game & Fish as to whether I could actually get a BWI (Boating While Intoxicated) citation in a kayak. I had borrowed a length of rope and some chain from Chris to drag from the kayak to slow it a bit. At one point, I'd stood up to relieve myself while movin' along at a fairly decent clip, when that chain caught on some rocks and I severely doused my leg and foot while tryin' to keep my balance. Talk about gettin' yer chain yanked; thank God none of the locals saw me doin' "fatrabatics" tryin' to stay in the friggin' yak! I almost swamped tryin' to get the dang chain free, which helped rinse my accidental stream out of the yak. Since I was already p¡ssed on, I'd have been really p¡ssed-off had I not had a bilge pump and a fishin' towel with me ...
Cell service was sketchy at best out there, but close to sunset ... I got a call from Ty wonderin' where the Hell I was. I explained to him that I was in my happy place, drankin' beers and catchin' fish! He figured that I was okay, but Chris was concerned that one of his guests were amiss, and some of them Arkies was gettin' kind-of concerned as well. Of course, I felt much safer out there than in most marshes or swamps; but I stowed my fishin' gear, put on my nav lights and made a hard, fast paddle to the ramp. I arrived at the ramp right at dark, greeted by a few of the fellers. Once back at the Lodge, I made a couple of 'em almost pee themselves tellin' 'em about my chain gettin' yanked. We whooped-it up 'til after midnight and all was well after some much needed sleep.
As usual, I was one of the first ones up ... made some coffee and started securin' my yak to the rack on top of my truck. I had to get my gear packed first so the other two guys could get to their bags as I dropped 'em off. As the other Arkies arose, we all chatted as we packed, cleaned the Lodge, said our goodbyes and then reluctantly hit the road. On the way back, "Dad" got a call from Mark and his wife Dana to come have a look-see at their new property. They lucked-in to a secure little spread on a bluff where they were fixin' to build a place to retire. It was absolutely gorgeous and they are truly blessed; it just goes to show that good things do happen to good folks! Me, Ty & "Dad" ... otherwise known as "G-Man" posed for a partin' shot before we hit the road. I had 700+ miles to go before I got home; back to family, back to work and back to the daily grind. But I'd spent quality time with good friends, met new friends and done me some floatin' ... which made that long drive worth while!
If y'all recall my post back in May called Relaxin' ... I picked-up my buddy Ty in Plano, Texas and then headed to "Dad's" just outside of Conway, Arkansas. After "Dad" (finally) got packed, we headed up one of the most twisted, scenic drives through the Ozarks to the Riverside Retreat, which is one of Chris & Carol Jackson's accommodations on the White River, about 5-miles downstream from Norfork. Our crew stayed at the Lodge, which had 6 bedrooms (with 2 bunks, a queen-sized bed and a full bathroom in each room) as well as 2 full kitchens, dining tables and living rooms with a very large adjoinin' front porch.
Chris Jackson is a fishin' guide and also provided our group with the jet-drive rental boats which were awaitin' everyone at the ramp each day. I opted to bring my kayak, which provided me with a much more personal experience on the river. On the first day, I took the 5-mile trip from Norfork back to the lodge. This allowed me to get the hang of things, and figure out where the trout were and what they was bitin' on. The water was not really that swift, but was pretty-dang cold! Paddlin' upstream was a chore, but it could be done. I had even anchored my yak and wade-fished a couple of spots, which chilled me to the bone. Bein' overcast with temps in the fifties, it took a hot shower that evenin' and a couple of bowls of steamin' hot gumbo just to warm me up ...
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| A swell buncha Arkies partyin' outside of Norfork ... |
Most of the guys in that group all went to the University of Central Arkansas with my wife Lisa, and have kept-up with each other throughout the years. All of 'em are die-hard outdoorsmen, and have hunted & fished with each other forever. As most good ole' boys will do, we all ate & drank more than the average man shoulda that weekend! But, with this many alpha personalities in one group, nobody got outta sorts or showed their ass. And if anybody around there was hearin' banjos ... it definitely wasn't comin' from this bunch! I fit right in and cain't wait to do the trip with this awesome bunch again!
Cell service was sketchy at best out there, but close to sunset ... I got a call from Ty wonderin' where the Hell I was. I explained to him that I was in my happy place, drankin' beers and catchin' fish! He figured that I was okay, but Chris was concerned that one of his guests were amiss, and some of them Arkies was gettin' kind-of concerned as well. Of course, I felt much safer out there than in most marshes or swamps; but I stowed my fishin' gear, put on my nav lights and made a hard, fast paddle to the ramp. I arrived at the ramp right at dark, greeted by a few of the fellers. Once back at the Lodge, I made a couple of 'em almost pee themselves tellin' 'em about my chain gettin' yanked. We whooped-it up 'til after midnight and all was well after some much needed sleep.
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| "Tres Amigos" will be together again at Caddo Lake next spring ... |
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