Fall is here ..... Welcome Back !!

Cooler weather has arrived here in the Ozark Mountains . What a welcome relief from the heat and high humidity we had in the first part of September. Penny was bundled up and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate when I got up , and I decided to make my first cup of the season . I stepped out onto the deck to drink mine , and had to come back in and get some shoes on ... it was 48 degrees ! Penny and I went riding in the Jeep yesterday afternoon , and I remarked to her " I've got to get back out on the trails" ...... it has been too long. So , as Penny planned her weekly shopping trip to WalMart , I checked over the items in my day pack, and decided to make a trip down the road (2 mi.) to Bull Shoals State Park , where the "Big Bluff" trail is located . It is about 1.75 mi. around , and is a loop trail ... my favorite. As I arrived at the park , the air was crisp and I noticed many campers folding up campsites to head back home for the weekend. I started away on the trail , and purposely went slow .... I wanted to savor the cool air and relish the freedom one feels as you step into the forest on a trek. I thanked the Lord aloud for giving me the opportunity to be here in this time and in this beautiful place. Sometimes I feel as though the forest is my cathedral. As I hiked on , the sounds of the camping area faded away , and the forest closed in with crows calling, drops of dew dripping onto leaves and rays of sunshine streaming through the trees as it continued its morning rise. I continued along the trail and soon I arrived at the overlook area that looks out over the White River below. I hope I never get to old to be able to make it up to this area ... it is really nice.

 

As I continued around the loop , I saw a deer standing on the trail. I stared it down for a bit , and then as I moved closer to it , it snorted and leapt off back into the forest cover. As I hiked on , I could slowly hear the sounds of campers and civilization coming back into range ... children yelling , car doors slamming .... the smell of wood smoke from the campground below. I smiled to myself though .... for I know that soon I will have this area all to myself again , as I did last winter . It is so nice to live near these beautiful areas to see and hike in.

 

On the drive home , I saw three more deer as I wound my way up the road that exits the park , and then another trio of deer as I made my way home down a back road ... I never get tired of seeing them.

 

A map of the Bull Shoals State Park area

The trail as it winds around a bend to the river overlook ... note the bench over near the woods to sit and relax on ..... what a view!

A look down river from the bluff area

Saying goodbye to an old Buddy .............

 

We recently decided it was "necessary" for me to purchase a Jeep Wrangler , since we "need" a four wheel drive vehicle to get around in when the winter weather comes in a few months. After many nights of poring over Craigslist ads and surfing Jeep Wrangler forum boards , I found a  nice clean one for a good price and we jumped on it .... Jeeps sell very quickly around here .

 

Well .... to help pay for the Jeep ..... the Ranger pickup had to go .

I have had the Ranger for about two years now , and it has been a good truck to me and carried its loads well. From sitting for hours in Texas heat idling with the air conditioning on so I could have a cool break from a tormenting job , to pulling an overloaded trailer behind a stuffed full camper shell when we moved up here last December .... it has served me well. I priced it the same as I paid for it two years ago , since it has only 54,000 miles on it even though it was a 96 model pickup . My only costs that I had with the truck , were a new battery , some shocks , a few emissions sensors and expenses putting together my custom camper I built to camp in it . All together , maybe 1000.00 ...... not bad for two years of driving . I had a tremendous response on my ad , and sold it for 4500.00 about 5 or 6 days after I listed it . I hated to see it drive away , but the money will go back to help fill in the cavity in our savings account that we pulled out to pay for the Jeep . We have been really blessed to have been able to purchase our cars outright , without financing them , by saving money and by selling our cars before they get in bad shape , thereby recouping a good chunk of our investment . So now we start saving again ... Penny is next , in a year or so. 

 

Anyway .... so long to a good friend !  

 

 

 

 

My Ranger ... all cleaned up ...looking like it has never seen a backwoods trail ...

But , as readers of this blog know ...... it HAS .....

 

My camper I outfitted for backcountry camping ...

Good times down in the Sylamore Forest , camping and hiking last April

A relaxing end to a day of hiking ... as the sun sets in the Ozark Mountains ....

 

The Ranger was nice to crawl into late at night to bed down ...

 and feel secure from the "wild things" ......

 

 

In the morning the tailgate made a nice table to cook breakfast on

and wash up and just take a look at the new day .......

 

It's Jeep Time !! Finally .............

Things have been going well for us lately . Penny has landed a swell job with a company called Actronix in Flippin, AR . She will be working as a customer service representative in a office job. The company manufactures cable assemblies for military , aircraft , and hospital equipment applications . The work is very technical and detail oriented , and Penny is having to learn the product and the computer system all at once , which is a daunting task . She is trying very hard , and I am so proud of her effort to take on this job . My work is going well , although it is not nearly as stressful for me as Penny's new job .

 

In other news ...............  We bought a Jeep Wrangler !!

If you have been keeping up with this blog ,you know I have been whining away about NEEDING a Jeep for some time now . We have all this beautiful country around here to explore , and sometimes my small truck just couldn't handle the roads . But the kicker was .... Penny's new job . It gets snowy and icy a lot here in the winter and Penny will NOT drive on it . Being new at her job , she can't very well call in and stay home like her last job (where she was indispensable) . So ... I just HAD to go ahead and purchase a Jeep ...... so I can kick in the four wheel drive and get her to work . That is my story ...... and I'm sticking to it .

 

We bought the Jeep from a guy up in Missouri , and drove about 90 miles up through the Mark Twain National forest to meet him. What beautiful country the Missouri Ozarks are ! It turned out to be a nice day trip , and I really loved my first ride in the Wrangler coming home through the Ozark Mountains . We are really looking forward to the cooler fall weather coming soon , and taking some rides in the Wrangler through some of these beautiful hills we call home .

 

 

 

 

We have many hummingbirds buzzing around our house ... they are fun to watch !

Clint "exercises" out on the back deck ......

The new Wrangler and a happy camper !

Lots of "Bling"...

Our pet deer ..... following Clint's "exercising" methods .........