Mt. Magazine to Home.

Our last evening at Mount Magazine, I was able to catch a couple of nice sunset shots. Those of you that have followed my blog for a while know I love to take pictures of sunsets. I just enjoy seeing what I can capture of God’s paintings in the sky.  These two shots are straight from the camera with no adjustments whatsoever, other than resizing to allow faster downloading.



It was quite a show for some time, and made us want to stay up on that mountain for a few more days.



But, it was not to be.  On Thursday we moved about a hundred miles East, and nine hundred feet down in elevation.  Our new home for three days was Maumelle COE park near Little Rock.  We were there to visit with friends participating in a local hot air balloon event.  To say it was a little warmer would be an understatement.  We did a balloon glow on Friday evening.



As it was the longest day of the year, the glow didn’t start till nearly nine.  Lots of folks came out to enjoy the festivities.

 

There was even some royalty in the crowd.  Participants in the Miss Teen America.

 

We recruited some help from the crowd,



and got all of them up and ready for a little light show.



Wicked was there, as well as the Little Brown Monkey.

 


Rain put a damper on most of the event for Saturday, and we moved on down to Farmerville, LA on Sunday. We had plans to spend the night at the home of another dear Casita friend.  She has a home on Lake D’Arbonne. We enjoyed an afternoon of porch time overlooking the lake, had a wonderful dinner, and watched the super moon as it rose across the lake.



I was hoping to get some good pictures, but as I retrieved my tripod out of the truck I realized I didn’t have my camera mount.  It was back at home on a spotting scope.  I guess I need to get more than one if I’m going to use the same tripod on different devices.  Anyway, here’s a couple of hand held.  It was really awesome.





We departed for home this morning, arriving shortly after noon.  A great nine days or so on the road, visiting with some awesome friends along the way.

Mt. Magazine State Park, AR

 

About halfway between Havana and Paris, you will find Magazine Mountain.  Magazine Mountain State Park encompasses the peak, which is also the highest point in Arkansas.  The park includes a huge lodge sitting on the very edge of the mountain.

 

 

The view to the South from the lodge.

The campground is located near the Northern edge of the mountain, with views such as these just a couple hundred yards from our site.

Lots of places to sit and ponder many of life's questions.

The weather has been awesome.  We drove through some heavy rain on Monday morning as we were leaving Texas, but it had cleared by the time we got here.  Actually needed a long sleeve to sit out Monday evening.  So far, the high each day has been in the low eighties with a light breeze.  We could have slept with the windows open each night except for smoke from a neighboring campfire.  This is definitely the coolest spot in Arkansas.

Sally and I have gotten in a couple of hikes so far.

 

We even made it to the summit, and signed the register.

There’s been a couple of so-so sunsets since we’ve been here. Still waiting for the good one.

And, back to that highest mountain in Arkansas thing. I think I’ve stumbled upon another goal for life, maybe.

One down, forty eight to go. I’m not going to Hawaii…

Texas, and Fathers Day.

 

We were pulling out of the driveway around seven thirty yesterday morning.  Stopped in Vidalia, LA for an hour or so to enjoy breakfast, and then made a leisurely drive to just North of Quitman, TX.  Got all set up in the yard of a dear friend and fellow Casita owner.

After a little porch and beverage time, it was off to a local establishment for supper.

Only in Texas will you find a bar, full service restaurant, dance floor with live band, pool hall, and bait store; all under the same roof. I even had my membership application approved for the private club, which makes drinking a beer with the meal possible.

Sunday morning found our host waiting for us on the porch, a little light refreshment on hand to brighten the day. I think it was called a poinsettia.

From the porch, we moved into the kitchen where other good things started appearing.

And then, on to the preparation of the main course.  The trinity being prepared.

Some crawfish.

All mixed up, ready for the pan.

Our hostess, with a big smile for Fathers Day!!

Ready for the oven,

And the finished product.

The first serving. 

No pictures were taken from this point on.  No shots of the biscuits, fig preserves, strawberry jam, homemade bread, or a couple other things.  After receiving Fathers Day messages from the kids, it was time for a nap.  An awesome Fathers Day.

OBTW, I’m adopting Melanie as our third daughter.  That girl can COOK……

Gotta Go, Gotta Go!! Gotta

get out of here.

                                                   Hot

The graphic above is what the National Weather Service has used to describe our present weather.  Midday temperatures in the middle nineties, with plenty of good old humidity to make being outside, even sitting in the shade, uncomfortable.

I’ve spent the last week helping build a new porch on a cousins house.  We started work really early each day, and wrapped everything up by two each afternoon.  It’s just about impossible to cut a board correctly with sweat constantly running into your eyes.  We finished the project today and his wife said she loved it.  That’s all that mattered.

Now with that project behind me, and Wanda’s mom still on the mend, it’s time for another road trip.  Not a very long one.  Just a week or so.  Thinking about possibly visiting some friends for a day or so over in Northeast Texas, then head on up into the Ouachita mountains of Arkansas. 

Mount Magazine State Park has the highest campground in the state of Arkansas.  Supposedly it’s also the coolest campground in Arkansas.  Now, I would much rather be cooling off somewhere in Colorado or Montana, but for the moment this is about the best we can do.  We plan to spend a few nights there, touring the local area, and then make our way on toward Little Rock.  If things go according to plan, we’ll meet up with some dear friends there for a few days.  It’s not much of a plan, but it’s a “roadtrip”