Our new life in the Ozarks: April 2013

Monday, April 22, 2013

BassMaster Elite tournament on Bull Shoals Lake Part 2

I attended the final day of the Bassmaster Ramada Quest tournament today (4/22), to see the winner of the 100,000.00 prize . A rookie angler named Jason Christie from Oklahoma took top place when he got into a school of bass that were in a shad feeding frenzy on top of the water .... he really hit the jackpot . It was fun to watch .... and of course , now I want a fishing boat ! I wound up being filmed in the preshow , and the congratulations ceremony afterward , because I was standing near the "Toyota " stage . The video is about 2 hours total , but if you fast forward to about 17:00 minutes into it , you'll see me to the right of the stage . I'm wearing a wide brim straw hat (very Arkansawish!) . I'm also on the video at about 1:21:0 (one hour 21 minutes) as well . It was a lot of fun to see it live , and a lot of excitement for this area to receive.

Link to the video below .. (go to day four , the last one )

http://bcove.me/i5rux72x

An angler hold up his catch

Boats with fisherman were pulled through a row in front of the weigh in stage , where they pulled the fish from the livewells and stepped on stage .

Jason Christie and his big trophy ....

My vantage point in the crowd....

This is the motion you make when you earn 100,000.00 prize ....

This little girl sang the National Anthem before the weigh in ... she is only 3 years old..........

(it is on the video)

High dollar boats for big league fisherman ...

Daytrip to Ozark Folk Festival in Mountain View AR

Penny and I decided to make a run down to the Ozark Folk Festival in Mountain View (60 miles south) , since it had free admission to the Craft Village on Saturday and we really like free stuff ..... we are really trying to mold into the Arkansas lifestyle ......

     On the way down to Mountain View , I detoured through the Sylamore Forest to show Penny a nice view of some bluffs I had found on my big hiking adventure on the Sylamore Creek hiking trail . All went as planned until we got back to the car , (we took the car instead of the truck because it gets better mileage) and started to pull back up onto the road from a small side road I had pulled off on . It was very steep , and they had just laid down a new layer of loose gravel about 6 inches thick . I started spinning , unable to get traction out of the "hole" I had pulled down in .... Penny was not happy ......I backed a little further down into the drive and gave it the gas and hit it again ..... more spinning ..... a heavy sigh from Penny ......I tried one last (desperate) attempt ... this time I angled the car sideways sort of , to decrease the angle of attack on the hillside and hit it a third time , gravel flying and wiggling the wheel back and forth to not dig a rut in the loose gravel ..... slowly , we came out ....out to the glorious hard surface of the road . Penny started to breathe normally .... after a minute .

     Of course , I bragged on my skillful driving while trying to downplay the stupidity of pulling down into the "hole" in the first place .... I really think this adds ammunition to my plan to get a Jeep .... but that is another story .
   So we were happy to get back to a highway and on our merry way to Mountain View . The Ozark Folk Center is a cool little place to visit , and we had lunch there after visiting all the little craft shops . I think Penny enjoys shopping in craft shops just a tad more than huffing up and down trails and mountains , or getting stuck ... but I could be wrong :)

A waterfall feature at Ozark Folk Center craft village

Skillful driving expert .... at rest

Penny ... wondering ... " WHO did I marry ?"

There are lots of neat old cabins and all sorts of shops making soap , blacksmithing , etc. to mill around in and explore.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Bassmaster Elite series tournament on Bull Shoals Lake

Penny and I were getting restless this afternoon , so we decided to go down to the Lakeview Park and hike the one mile trail , and check out the shin digs going on with the Bassmaster tournament that is going on at Bull Shoals lake this week . We had a good hike (just saw one snake!) and met a woman coming off the trail that seemed exhausted . We chatted with her a minute , and explained to her that this particular trail is the one we take when we want an easy , quick hike . I don't even carry my backpack ... just a water bottle. Anyway , we are now thinking we are superhikers or something ..... but then again , we are comparing ourselves to an elderly lady ..........
After the 20 minute trail hike , we went on down to the big show going on . All the tournament fisherman (one fisherwoman!) were having the day end weigh in , to see where they were in the points standings. It was pretty cool to be there .... I have watched this sort of thing on TV , but never had been to a live event. It was shot live on camera , and I posted a link to the show off of Bassmaster's website below (if it works .... I've never tried this before ) . There were acres of high dollar bass boats and trucks all parked in rows for people to gawk at ( Our son in law Jake would have been in hog heaven!) . We had a good time , and it goes on for the rest of the week . Bull Shoals is a really nice lake , and I am glad we live nearby to enjoy it and all the festivities .

Bass fisherman head out on Bull Shoals lake early Friday morning to hunt for the big fish . Top prize money is $100,000 dollars . What a away to earn a living ....Hmmmmm

Link to weigh in video below

http://bcove.me/jt451842

We saw one of these on the trail ...... it's called a "ringsnake" . Non poisonous ......

but we didn't know that when I saw him . We poked him with a stick a few times and then were on our way .......

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Our Day Trip to Gaston's Resort

Penny and I were anxious to get out of the house Sunday .... and it has been DAYS since I went on a hike , so I suggested a trip down to Gaston's Resort near our home in Lakeview. Gaston's bills itself as a world class trout fishing resort , and they were having some sort of a tournament this weekend with lots of fisherman , boats and even some who fly in to the private airstrip on their small aircraft .

They have a small bird sanctuary , with turkeys , guineas, peacocks and some other breeds as well . It is a cool place to visit , and guess what ..... it also has a HIKING trail to go on too ! It was longer than we thought it was going to be , and we saw 6 or 8 deer running up a hillside as we rounded a bend . It had lots of interesting features to see including lots of old trucks and farm implements , and walkways that are paved with colored glass pieces from old bottles broken into tiny bits. This will be a must see for anyone who come to visit us ..... enjoy the tour !