Welcome to my on-line newsletter about the Buffalo National River, the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Harrison, my home town. It is always under construction! Since my last letter, the weather here in the Ozarks has continued to get more spring like by the day. We even had a record setting day over 80 this past weekend! I have seen flowers in bloom and trees also starting to bud and bloom out. It will soon be floating season on the Buffalo National River. Spring is the time of year to take advantage of our area and tour the river by canoe. You can take a day float or if you have time you can take two weeks and float the entire river! I hope that you get the chance this spring to enjoy some of the wonderful scenery and activities that the Ozarks has to offer.

Deer Lodge Cabins

South of Jasper, AR, just off of Scenic Hwy 7 and surrounded by national forest stands Deer Lodge Cabins. Pattie and Ed Mills had invited me to spend some time there and check out the area around their cabin. Pattie met me at the cabin and showed me around the property, then wished me a good stay and left to attend to their horses. Both Pattie and Ed are avid horsepersons and enjoy exploring the Ozarks on horseback. I quickly unpacked my stuff and got settled in. The weather was ok, but on top of the mountain the wind was really blowing hard, making it quite nippy outside.

The cabin has a large great room with vaulted ceilings and furnished with very, very comfortable furniture. Two large windows allow you to gaze out over the mountains and down into the remote areas of the national forest. There is a big, covered, wraparound deck so you can enjoy being outside, even if its raining! As I sat on the deck I noticed that I didn't hear any road noise, just birds singing and the roar of the wind as it rushed through the trees. I watched the sun set and then moved inside for supper.

I decided on a simple supper, just some soup and a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of milk. The kitchen is fully equiped with a microwave, coffee pot, toaster, oven and all the cookware and utensils needed for your stay. There is also a wonderful outside area that features both a gas grill, charcoal grill, and a fire pit in case your kids like smores or the taste of a hot dog cooked on a stick over an open fire.

After supper I got out the book I had brought along, "Buffalo River Handbook" by Ken Smith, and curled up on the couch to read. I woke up about midnight. The cabin was nice and cozy even though the temperature had dropped and the wind was howling. I headed off to bed. The bed is wonderfully comfortable and I pulled the quilt up and fell quickly to sleep. As I drifted off I happened to notice a map of Newton County on the wall. In addition to the master bedroom there is a loft area with both a double bed and a twin bed along with plenty of room. I woke just before sunrise, completely refreshed and ready to go. I made some coffee and went out on the deck.

The next morning the sun was shining, but the wind on the mountain tops was really blowing hard. I had made arrangements with my friend Adventure Bill to meet in Jasper for breakfast and then maybe find somewhere to go hiking that was out of the wind. I enjoyed the sunrise and my coffee then showered and headed down to the Ozark Cafe in Jasper.

After a short walk we found the spot and climbed down to the creek. The water flowed in what looked like a large skateboard park. Relatively smooth rock walls sloped down from both sides and the creek meandered between them. We had guessed right, and there was water flowing but it was low and there was room to work our way up the creek and stay out of the wind. As we walked we had to gradually climb up small rock ledges and make our way around small runoffs. We continued until we came upon an area that was simply flowing with water. We abandoned the idea of keeping our feet dry and scampered through the pools of water until we reached dry land again. Ahead of us was a series of gentle waterfalls slipping over the ever eroding rock creek bed.

We made our way up to the top of the waterfalls and decided it would be a good spot to take a break and have some lunch before deciding what to do next. Sitting on the top, we could see back towards where we had come from. Even though we were on top we were still well below where the wind was blowinig and it was quite pleasant to be in the sun with just a gentle wind.