Overlook at Castle Rogue's Manor

O is for Overlook.  My wife and I spent last weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas with my sister and her husband.  While we were there we took a private guided tour of Castle Rogue's Manor in the nearby town of Beaver.  The castle is situated on limestone cliffs above the White River and has some amazing overlooks.

The Castle was designed and built over the last twenty years by owner/resident Smith Treuer.  He gave us a very detailed tour of the property and then let us wander over the twenty acres that the castle is built on.  It was a photographers dream.

The Castle design and materials honor native trees of the Ozarks by incorporating their natural beauty into the heart of its structure with a stunning mixture of Black Walnut, Arkansas Red Cedar, as well as salvaged Redwood and Douglas Fir from the Pacific Northwest. All wood used in castle buildings was aged and milled on-site by local craftsman.

We had a great time at the castle and the views are something I will never forget.

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Zombies

Z is for Zombie.  It seems like everywhere you go there are zombies. Movies, television, books and comics featuring zombies are very popular.  I can't understand the fascination of pop culture with zombies.  Max Brooks, who wrote the book on which the zombie movie World War Z is based. says that “people have a lot of anxiety about the future. They’re constantly being battered with these very scary, very global catastrophes. People need a ‘safe place’ to explore their apocalyptic worries. They can’t read stories about real plagues or nuclear war. That’s too scary. Zombie stories give people the opportunity to witness the end of the world they've been secretly worrying about while, at the same time, allowing themselves to sleep at night because the catalyst of that end is fictional.”

Lat fall while we were visiting Eureka Springs, Arkansas we saw a Zombie Parade.  Local people dressed up as zombies and paraded through the streets.  Here are photos that I took of the parade.

One of my favorite albums of the 60's was Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies.

The band broke up before the album was released.  Although the singles that were initially released went nowhere; the song, Time of the Season, was released over a year after the band broke up and became an iconic hit in the U.S.  Here are a couple of my favorite songs from the album.







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Goodbye 2013

In just a few hours we will be saying goodbye to 2013.  2014 is just around the corner.  2013 marched by quickly, with many memorable events.  Here is a retrospective of 2013 with a link to a blog post from each month of the year..




In January we made a trip to Conroe, Texas to attend a concert by The Steel Wheels.

In February my Mom underwent cryoablation treatment on her kidney tumor.

In March we went to the Jonquil Festival at Historic Washington State Park.

 

In April we enjoyed the 3 Penny Acre CD release concert for their album, "Rag and Bone".

In May we traveled to Florida and went to Disney World with our grand daughters.

In June we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary.

In July we visited the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee.

In August my wife discovered that her great great grandmother hand walked across America pulling a handcart.

On September 11 I wrote about a terrible massacre that happened on 9/11 1857 and how it relates to 9/11 2001.

In October my wife and I attended our 40th year high school reunion.

In November we made a trip to Eureka Spring during the peak time for fall colors.

During December we experienced an ice storm that left us and many others without power.


I'm looking forward to 2014.  Where we are going is so much more important than where we have been.  Happy 2014 everyone!

Signs

S is for Signs. Whenever I have my camera with me I like to take pictures of unusual signs. This one taken in San Pedro Belize has to be one of my all time favorites. No we didn't eat there.



It seems like the maintenance men at King's Casino in Louisiana would have noticed that some maintenance was needed. It's a sin.



Just because there is a restaurant and a motel on the same premises doesn't mean that they should share the sign. We were hungry, but not that hungry.



Lake Leatherwood, near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is formed by one of the largest hand-cut native limestone dams in the country. The dam and several structures at the park were built in the early 1940s by the WPA. This sign on the lake appears to have been built in the 40's but I'm not quite sure why it was needed.



Here is a music video made from my pictures of signs. One of my favorite songs from the 70's is "Signs" by "The Five Man Electrical Band". It seemed like an appropriate song for this post. Take a look.




I took all of the sign photos in this post and in the video except this one that I found on the internet this morning.  Since I was posting about signs, I just had to add this one more.

Always make sure and read the fine print!

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Arkansas Autumn

Last weekend we made a quick getaway to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We were hoping to see some beautiful fall foliage, and we certainly weren't disappointed.  The trip up Hwy 23, known as The Pig Trail, was breathtaking.  The colors were as pretty as I can remember seeing here in Arkansas.  We were fortunate to see the colors at their peak.

We have been visiting Eureka Springs for almost 30 years, but in all that time we had never visited Pivot Rock.  The Natural Bridge and Pivot Rock have been tourist attractions in Eureka Springs since the late 1800's.  They have actually attained historic status as an attraction.  We decided that we would visit them on this trip.  The attractions are along a short but steep trail.  When we visited it was a perfect fall afternoon and the short hike was beautiful.  To see a 360 degree view of the area click here.

On this trip to Eureka Springs we stayed at Sherwood Court Cottages. We have stayed there several times before really like the quaint cottages.  It was a very relaxing weekend.  We spent most of our time simply driving around this interesting town.  For a little bit of history and perspective on Eureka Springs, click here.  The fall colors were exceptional and I had a great time taking photos.

Whenever you go spend time in Eureka Springs, you will see and experience some things that are out of the ordinary.  This weekend there was a Zombie Parade.  Many of the locals dressed as Zombies and paraded down Spring Street.  I must say that it was a unique, only in Eureka, kind of experience.

Each year we try to make a trip to Eureka Springs when the fall colors are pretty.  I won't say that this has been the most beautiful year ever for fall color here in Arkansas, but I will say that I have never seen it more beautiful.  I hope that wherever you are , you were able to see some autumn beauty.