Mirror Lake, Ar

What a great day! It started with the WINs hugs'n mugs and then I meandered down to the Sylamore Creek and cast a line a few times to no avail. I then went to the Ozark National Forest and took a beautiful, peaceful walk along the stream to Blanchard Springs. The springs flow from the mountainside and make their way through the forest to nearby Mirror Lake after flowing from the nearby caverns.

On the way back I stopped at Mirror Lake. This is a beautiful little lake that is stocked with trout. Everyone lines up on a dock and fishes most often with power bait. There were only 2 of us there and each caught the limit of 5. (Well I presume he caught one more after I left.)

After 4pm circle we had a pot luck. Guy barbequed a brisket, ribs, chicken - the works, which was the main course for a potluck. I am attempting to fix a peach dump cake in the dutch oven. Later: Well, I hope it was good cause I did have an empty pot. Thursday morning I drove south and was home by noon!

More photos.

Mtn. View, Ar

At 8:15 on Tuesday morning I decided to catch up with the WINs at Mountain View for a few days and at 10:15 I was on the road again! As I traveled north I was shocked at the repeated devastation I saw from the early 2008 tornadoes. The recent one at Damascus crossed the highway and left total destruction in its path. Shown is the feed store where people actually survived! Next I witnessed the results of the earlier one in Clinton, about 10 miles north, and another in Mountain View as I drove in on highway 9.
Then when I reached Sylamore Creek Campground I was surprised at how much damage the recent flooding of the White River had done to the campground. I was too late to help the WINs spend a workday helping Guy to clean up and work on repairs but not too late for supper with a group at Anglers.

Being in Mountain View is music to my heart and for good reason. It is in the air no matter where you are. After supper a group of us went to the Ozark Folk Center to hear a free concert by the area students in the ROOTS program. This is a program taught in the schools and designed to teach youngsters about their music heritage. Lessons are taught in autoharp, banjo, guitar, fiddle, etc. We were even delighted by a young group of square dancers as the music played. I first ran into Odell and told him how much we enjoy his CDs we bought last year. I can't remember his last name but I sure don't forget his music.