Spring in the Ozarks
I simply had forgotten how lovely the Ozarks of Missiouri and northern
Arkansas are in the spring. Before leaving, we waited until our recent 18”
of snow in Salida had melted, figuring our weather would hit there, if we got
ahead of it!
Son Ron happened to be in Branson that weekend, so we drove down there. Not only did we have a wonderful visit, but he called Mike (son) and he drove down the next day. We four took the two canoes to the Buffalo River in Arkansas for one of the most wonderful canoe trips we’ve had in years.
The Ozarks themselves, could not have been prettier. It is unusual for both redbud and dogwood trees to bloom at the same time, but this year they did. The oak and hickory forests of southern Missouri were just coming out with many different shades of green. The pastures were looked like tended golf courses, and were especially lovely with herds of cows grazing.
Recent rains had brought the Ozark streams up to a runnable level, and we dodged rains on our three other canoe trips that week. One of the trips was with son, Mike, grandsons Dylan and Steven, and even Judith joined us for a lovely day on the Current River in Missouri.
In addition, we had a good visit with Ron’s wife, Shelley, and Mike’s family. We saw grandsons, Justin and Wes, for a few minutes, but they were in the fields planting corn. The previous week had been cold and rainy. You know, “make hay while the sun shines”, is the truth, not just a saying!
Son Ron happened to be in Branson that weekend, so we drove down there. Not only did we have a wonderful visit, but he called Mike (son) and he drove down the next day. We four took the two canoes to the Buffalo River in Arkansas for one of the most wonderful canoe trips we’ve had in years.
The Ozarks themselves, could not have been prettier. It is unusual for both redbud and dogwood trees to bloom at the same time, but this year they did. The oak and hickory forests of southern Missouri were just coming out with many different shades of green. The pastures were looked like tended golf courses, and were especially lovely with herds of cows grazing.
Recent rains had brought the Ozark streams up to a runnable level, and we dodged rains on our three other canoe trips that week. One of the trips was with son, Mike, grandsons Dylan and Steven, and even Judith joined us for a lovely day on the Current River in Missouri.
In addition, we had a good visit with Ron’s wife, Shelley, and Mike’s family. We saw grandsons, Justin and Wes, for a few minutes, but they were in the fields planting corn. The previous week had been cold and rainy. You know, “make hay while the sun shines”, is the truth, not just a saying!
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| Eighteen inches is a lot of snow for late April. |
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| Rocky Falls near Eminence, MO close to the famous Current River. |
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| Mollie loves playing "retrieve the stick" in shallow water. |
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| Our son Mike took these pictures while trying to keep dry from the wind-blown waterfall. |
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| The Buffalo River was the very first of the "National Scenic Riverways" in the U.S. |
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| Hemmed-in-Hollow is about a mile hike in from the Buffalo River in Ark. (Mike B. is at the bottom.) |
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| An antique fire truck in Ponca, Ark!!! |
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| Oaks at our campsite. |
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| Dogwood blossoms -- a lovely sight in the spring. |
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| My three favorite guys. |
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