Steel Creek

Buffalo River, in the Grand Canyon of the Ozarks, looks like this.

Steel Creek

This was my backyard for four days. I hit many sand wedges in this lush field. It's always good when you can work on your game and walk the dog. This campsite was totally free because of the off season, but I just happened to show up on the first great weekend of the new year. It was 75 degrees and sunny everyday. Kids from Fayetteville and the surrounding areas arrived later in the weekend, many of them with canoes and kayaks. This river is a trip, a journey of campsites, that runs the length of northern Arkansas.

The shadow soul of the wolf watches over his fallen body. 

Being this close to nature is a refreshing experience. Thoughts flow with the ease and power of a waterfall.

Twin Falls

Jeff, our campsite host, referred me to this off the beaten trail, and I was glad I took the time to find it. I had to backtrack about 15 miles to this spot and made a nice day of it. 

I hiked a trail that lead up to the top of the falls with Yonav. There were chains marking dangerous areas, as I have found to be the case with even the smallest park, but there wasn't going to be anyone around to mind. You could tell, this was not a much travelled area. I did, however, run into two cowboys on horseback. A horse trail apparently runs the length of the Buffalo river, and as Yonav and I were strolling along the path, we came upon two men, who looked like they had just stepped out of a time whorl, and into present day. Each man had a riding horse and a pack horse with a bedroll strapped across its shoulders. Worn leather chaps, weathered cowboy hats, scarfs, gloves and leather boots adorned the men as they rode into view. Come to think about it, they did just kind of appear. It was at a point in the trail where a tall ridge came winding down across a tiny stream of water that flowed into the river. 

The trail was tight. When the men approached, I pulled Yonav aside to let them pass. Like a good boy, he sat and we greeted the men with smiles. They replied with pleasantries, and a humble nod of their heads. As they passed, the man in the back, who was the younger of the two men, commented on Yonav's coat, saying, "Man, I bet your up all night picking burrs out of that." 

"Yeah, it's a job," I replied.

The cowboy nodded and smiled, as if he were all too familiar with that scenario.

Kayakers drifted along the lazy river below. Watching them drift along has sparked a desire to make a trip with this mode of transport. Grand Canyon style.

In the dead woods of Arkansas, there were signs of life.

The angry gods were smiling down upon me.

I knew I was on the right path.