Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Want to talk about your favorite places besides Kansas City? Post any development news or questions about other cities here.
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Roanoker
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Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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We finally made it to Arkansas! It is 7/31/19 and we are visiting Buffalo River.

The big cliffs are obvious.
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They seem to go on forever.
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Old, but intimidating. Like me. Not really.
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I’m trailing my husband as he makes his way to the river.
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We share the experience with other visitors.
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My son is the white dot on the left, admiring the tall rock formation.
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You can see him better here, along with somebody else’s kids.
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You have to capture a nice tree silhouette when you find one.
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I turn my camera to the right to capture the downstream view.
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Back to the middle.
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The rocks were difficult to maneuver, as I recall.
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Now to the left. More peaceful, but still rocky.
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Highlander
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by Highlander »

Is that the Buffalo River in those photos? When were you there? There isn't much water so I'm guessing late August or September? Still, a beautiful part of the midwest. The greater Ozark area is still one of my favorite parts of the country.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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Hi, Highlander. Yes, it is the Buffalo River. My son said it is the Roark Bluff on the Buffalo River. The day I took these pictures was 7/31/19. We went to another part of the river on that same day. Pictures will eventually follow.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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Tiny rapids. I guess for mice and such.
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Same stream, to the right.
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My husband and son negotiate the rocky terrain.
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Back to the right, trying to see the stream’s source.
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Okay. This was a portrait-oriented image. I took pieces of the original, larger image to create the right side, lining it all up and then stitching both sides together with a strip of woven leather. For what it’s worth.
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My husband walks on rocks. Too bad he doesn’t get paid for his effort.
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This rock looks like a footprint.
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Victory in a rock!
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It looks like a leaf impression, but it isn’t.
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I turn my camera to get everything in, but then I have to deal with the result.
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Everybody else is leaving.
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The frame may seem inappropriate, but I was tired of green, gray and blue.
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normalthings
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by normalthings »

Highlander wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:35 pm Is that the Buffalo River in those photos? When were you there? There isn't much water so I'm guessing late August or September? Still, a beautiful part of the midwest. The greater Ozark area is still one of my favorite parts of the country.
I had never heard of this river but it looks amazing. Is it possible to kayak there when the water is higher?
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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I just did a Google search to see if kayaking was possible on the Buffalo River and discovered that it is! You can check buffaloriver dot com for more information. From what I saw on that site, we saw only a tiny fraction of the possibilities.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by moderne »

The upper Buffalo in spring is good for kayaking, better yet the Mulberry further south(for genuine rapids). Those pics show the Buffalo lower than I have ever seen it. Was there several times in summers at Buffalo Point where it was too high to go out on.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by Highlander »

normalthings wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:49 am
Highlander wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:35 pm Is that the Buffalo River in those photos? When were you there? There isn't much water so I'm guessing late August or September? Still, a beautiful part of the midwest. The greater Ozark area is still one of my favorite parts of the country.
I had never heard of this river but it looks amazing. Is it possible to kayak there when the water is higher?
The Buffalo can indeed be floated as other posters have mentioned. Above Pruitt (Highway 7), it is much faster but the water levels are less dependable. Below Pruitt, it flows out of the Boston Mountains and through the Ozark Plateau so it's more similar to a lot of southern Missouri streams but it's protected along its length so very pristine. The Mulberry is a nice quick river to float but it's known for willows (or at least once was) which can create dangerous conditions for floaters. The Mulberry will definitely be less crowded than the Buffalo though (the latter, along with the Current and the Jacks Fork in Missouri, essentially serve as national parks).
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by grovester »

What's up with willows?
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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grovester wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 8:47 pm What's up with willows?
They are "strainers" . It's a term that includes anything water flows through rather than around and they can pin kayaks/canoes (or the people inside them) against them and lead to drowning. Probably the biggest hazard a floater in the midwest will face.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

Post by FangKC »

Those rocks remind me of a trip my family took to Arkansas in the 1970s. My mother kept finding rocks she liked and wanted to bring back home for her garden. By the time we came home, the car was loaded down with rocks to knock a mile or two off our gas mileage the trip home. We had a 1976 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight 4-door. When my parents downsized to a smaller house in the 1990s, my mother moved all her rocks as well. :lol:
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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My mother did the same thing, FangKC. She picked up her rather large, lacy-looking rocks 120 miles south of St. Louis, where her parents owned many acres, which they worked. She had four brothers and four sisters. All of the resulting relatives referred to it as "The Farm."

Back to Arkansas.

Making our way back through the forest. Incidentally, this is a portrait-oriented image. The sides are filled in with larger portions.
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Who’da thought tree roots could be works of art—on their own?
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We see those beautiful cliffs again as we proceed to our next destination.
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My son emerges from the forest to enter a new place on the same river.
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Beyond the opening.
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Spotted a few flowers.
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There’s a bridge yonder.
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Sometimes wanting to do something different doesn’t work out. Oh, well. It’s not like the others.
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It’s a rock that looks like an acorn. I’ll take pictures of anything.
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Including my own shoe.
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Now what did my son find?
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Oh. Flowers. But that’s not all that he found. Just wait until next time.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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The pleasant surprise among the flowers in the bush were butterflies! There were many butterflies.
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My son explores.
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Not as beautiful as the butterflies, but nice.
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It is now the next day: 8/1/2019. Don’t ever believe the reviews of local motels. We booked a room at this loser place because it was described as wonderful beyond words at a low cost. It turned out to be just barely tolerable.
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Just so I can remember where we were.
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The visitor center wasn’t bad.
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A good place to wait.
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Getting information.
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May as well take a few pictures while waiting for the cave tour.
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And visit the inside museum-ette.
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Somebody went to a lot of trouble to show the various levels.
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Another method to show what was going on.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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Caught my husband admiring the architecture of the visitor center.
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Pathways were very nice.
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Another view of the visitor center.
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If you touch the bear, he’ll bite your hand. I will occasionally turn my camera at an angle so that all of the available detail can be captured.
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Oh, hey! We’re on the cave tour.
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Like ice cream cones piled up on top of each other.
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I guess this cave wanted to decorate with curtains.
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They think they are depicting Snow White and the seven dwarfs.
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This one approaches the ceiling.
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Looks like a plot to me.
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Standing alone.
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This is what happens when you don’t know how to turn off the automatic flash on your camera. Maybe it’s okay.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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We’re still in the cave. This looks more like a piece of taffy.
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Like a performance.
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Like a hidden city.
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We should be hearing ominous organ music.
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People had to stay together and safe within boundaries.
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It’s hard to tell what we were seeing here.
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Wedding cakes that didn’t make it.
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A closer look at the “icicles” part of the formation.
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Somebody went crazy with soap.
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Standing at attention.
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We had to wipe our feet when we left the cave to help prevent potential spreading of bat disease.
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One more stuffed animal not to touch.
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Re: Arkansas 2019 Part 3

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We’e still in the Blanchard Springs area. I think we are on top of the cave.
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It’s like a fairy tale setting.
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The trails weren’t all that challenging.
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The forest is truly enchanting.
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You have to like green when you go here.
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Moss likes to ride the rapids.
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The boy and girl help to reveal scale.
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Getting the most out of a visit to the spring.
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The kids have noticed the old lady with the camera.
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His mother must have told him to be careful.
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What else could you call this thing but a cross-rock puzzle?
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Yours truly with husband.
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