View

V is for View. I really thought long and hard on the "V" post. View seemed like it was a bit weak, but couldn't think of anything else. Let's start with the view from the house I grew up in. For several years we lived in a house just outside of Erie, Colorado. Our house sat on a little rise, and we had a great view of the Front Range. A couple of years ago I visited the old place and took this picture of the view.


VIEW FROM MY CHILDHOOD HOME IN ERIE, COLORADO

When I was a boy, I would spend a week every summer at Glacier View Ranch. I always had a good time at summer camp. A few years ago, I made a return visit to Glacier View. I hadn't been there since I was a boy. I was surprised by how much things looked the same. The view from the parking lot was just as I remembered it.


VIEW FROM GLACIER VIEW RANCH

One of the most beautiful views I have ever seen is the view from my brother-in-law Duane's cabin. It is located above Leadville, Colorado and the surroundings are beautiful. The view from Duane's cabin is as pretty as any view in the area.


VIEW FROM DUANE'S CABIN IN LEADVILLE, COLORADO

One of my favorite views is the view of my backyard. Each season has a special beauty. there are dogwoods and redbuds in the spring. In the summer the trees have so many leaves that you can't tell I live in town. I believe that it is the most beautiful in the fall. Here is a view of my backyard in the fall. Duane built the table and benches out of granite slabs.


VIEW OF MY BACKYARD IN THE FALL

The Talimena Scenic Drive has some of the most beautiful views in Arkansas. We are very blessed to have such beautiful views so close. Here are a couple of views from the Talimena Drive.


VIEW FROM GRAND VIEW VISTA


WINTER VIEW FROM THE TALIMENA SCENIC DRIVE

One of the most amazing views I have seen in Arkansas, is the view from The Lodge At Mount Magazine. Mount Magazine State park is the highest point in Arkansas. The lodge and the grounds surrounding it have breathtaking views. The great room has large windows that look out from the highest point in Arkansas.


VIEW FROM THE LODGE AT MOUNT MAGAZINE

The last few days we have been experiencing the effects of a very destructive ice storm.  Last Thursday freezing rain coated the trees and broke many trees causing many roads to be impassible and widespread electrical outages.  Here in town we were without electricity for about 24 hours, but many Polk County residents are still without power 6 days later.  Here is the view down Polk Road 70.

VIEW DOWN POLK ROAD 70 NEAR MENA, ARKANSAS

You can read the blog post that I wrote shortly after our electricity was restored by clicking here.  Even though the ice storm was so destructive, it created some beautiful scenes.  This photo was taken near my house.

VIEW DOWN SOUTH MENA STREET

After all of this ice and cold weather, I saved my favorite view for last. Gina and I love to visit Belize. Our favorite place is San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The last two times we have visited San Pedro, we have stayed at the SunBreeze Hotel right on the beach. The view from our room was beautiful. Right now we are having freezing rain and sleet here in Arkansas. I wish I was in Belize with this view.


VIEW FROM THE SUNBREEZE HOTEL IN SAN PEDRO, BELIZE

The ABC Wednesday Meme is a fun way to see some great blogs.

Cardboard Boat Race

Today we had a great time at the annual Arkansas-Louisiana Pathfinder and Adventurer Cardboard Boat Race held at Dierks Lake. My grand daughters and their cousins were participating.  They spent the night before the race at our house and had an cookout and ice cream party followed by a slumber party.

To enter the boat race the kids had to build a boat with only cardboard, duct tape and paint.  It was amazing how durable the girls boats were.   After the race they spent quite some time just paddling around in the boats.  They all had a really good time.

The girls were excited to win trophies and medals for their efforts.

Grandma and Papa had a lot of fun spending the day in such a beautiful place and seeing the girls have such a good time.  After the race we had a picnic and then the kids spent the afternoon swimming.

On our way back home we took a "shortcut" over gravel mountain roads.  Within just a few miles of the highway we came across a bridge that was impassable because there was three feet of water flowing over the bridge.  We had to turn around and go all the way back to Dierks Lake so we could take the paved roads.  On our way back to the lake we followed our GPS and were stymied three different times by locked gates across the roads.  After an hour we finally made our way back.

What an awesome day!

Shady Lake and Bard Springs

Yesterday was such a beautiful spring day that we decided to go to Shady Lake.  We had just purchased a new Garmin GPS, so we were trying it out. The closest way to Shady Lake is over mountainous unmaintained dirt Forest Service roads.  When our GPS directed us to turn off of the road that we normally travel, we decided to see where it would take us.  It took us on roads that we had never been on before, and many many miles out of our way.  It took us an extra hour to reach Shady Lake, but the drive through the mountains was beautiful.

Shady Lake, is a 25 acre lake with a grassy beach, surrounded by a forest of large pines and hardwoods. The beautiful lake is stocked with largemouth bass, catfish and sunfish and row boats or boats with electric motors are allowed. There is a fishing pier, swim area, and a one half mile interpretive trail.  The recreational area was developed in the late 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC men built the dam across the Saline River, the picnic pavilion complete with benches, ping pong table, and two beautiful stone bridges.  The Shady Lake Recreation Area has a beautiful campground with 66 campsites.

On our way back home, by our normal route not following our GPS, we stopped by Bard Springs.  Bard Springs is a small primitive campground with Adirondack-type shelters in a remote mountain setting on a small scenic stream. The small dam and the buildings were built by the CCC around the same time as Shady Lake.  Because it is so far off of the beaten track and the camping is primitive, there are not many visitors to Bard Springs.

   

On our drive and walks during the day we saw lots of wildflowers.  The redbud and dogwood trees were blooming.  It was an absolutely beautiful spring day.

Spring is my favorite time of the year.  We had a lovely day drinking in the beauty of nature in the Ouachita Mountains.