A Delightful December Day

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Bluffs Along Crooked Creek

As we end one year and begin another I took a little time to reflect on  friendship. I have been blessed over the years with many wonderful friendships, some lasting 40 years or more. Some friends have passed on, others are still alive. What they all have in common is a love of nature and a desire to go walking in the woods, discovering new things. One of these has been hiking with me since the very early days (1997), and his name is Bill Amburn, (affectionately known to his friends as Adventure Bill). You will see his back​ quite a lot in the early pictures and his face a few times also. He has also contributed quite a few pictures over the years. Thanks Bill for your friendship, The Barefoot Traveler would not be what it is without your participation.

It was early December and we had been having some unseasonably warm days, with temperatures reaching towards 80. Bill had called and wanted to get out and enjoy the day, and also wanted to go somewhere new. He had never been to the Fred Berry Conservation Center just west of Yellville, so we took off for that destination. I chose this spot because we wanted to be out in the sun and not hidden in a shady hollow. This spot is wide open as Crooked Creek surrounds the property. Once we arrived the first thing we did was check in at the visitor center. If there are no groups or school kids using the facility, then you are allowed to drive on all the various roads, even the staff only ones. We checked in and found out we were free to go.
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Basking In The Morning Sun
Just past the entrance we parked and walked down one of the many well tended trails that followed Crooked Creek. Shorts and a T-Shirt, the late morning temperature in the mid  70's and rising, a gentle south breeze, in the middle of December. It doesn't get much better! Although most of the leaves were down there was still a few that lingered, giving the forest a hint of color. We followed this trail until it turned away from the creek, about a half mile. We ambled back to the Jeep and then drove up to the pavilion and onto the bow range. I had never been up to this area or the gun range. I thought the bow range with it's trail and targets was well thought out. We stopped often to take pictures and let the sun shine down. The access roads made getting around quite easy.
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Still A Touch Of Color
The scenery from the various vantage points around the Center was beautiful, although the color was mostly bare leaves, brown trees and tall golden grasses. We had our lunch atop the knoll, under the pavilion and agreed this was a good choice for a destination. Sunshine, blue sky and a warm day, perfect!
Once we finished lunch we drove back down to the other end of the creek and parked. Crooked Creek was low and we walked right down onto the creek bed. We wandered up and down this area ranging quite far. I was surprised we didn't see anyone else beside the fisherman when we first drove in. It was fun to see how far we could follow the creek without getting our feet wet. After spending more than an hour just goofing off along the creek we decided we had better head back to Harrison.

Winter is a terrific time to visit the Ozark Mountains. You get some wonderful views of the countryside when the leaves are down. Fall and winter rains tend to bring the river and creeks up and make them more fun to explore. One of the best features is it's free! Come for a visit for a day or a week,  you will certainly enjoy yourself.