Ozark - St. Francis National Forest and Camp Ozone.

It was an overcast day for our drive through the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest. I don't think the weather had been cool enough to allow for the tree's leaves to change colors. We couldn't really see much anyway, because the clouds in the mountains were at ground level.

We did find a very nice, and historical place for a hike at the Ozone Recreation Area.

This area was once called Camp Halsey, also known as Camp Ozone. It was part of the Civil Conservation Corps.

The buildings are no longer present, but some of the foundations still remain, along with a path, and several storyboards to inform visitors of this place's history.

Camping on the Arkansas River.

We went camping this weekend along the Arkansas River, just south of Clarksville, at Spadra Park, which once was home to a Native American village, and part of the Trail of Tears.

The view across the river is great, and there are many ducks, geese, and cranes.

We are going for an Autumn drive tomorrow through the Ozarks to hopefully see some beautiful fall colors.

Arlie Moore trail and geocache.

We went camping again, this time to Arlie Moore, another Army Corps of Engineer site at Degray Lake.

They have a wonderful hiking trail. While on the trail, we spotted this old pickup truck on the ridge, and had to investigate.

Inside the truck, we found a geocache.

A coral mushroom.

The water was too cold for me.

We were able to park next to our campsite.

Sunrise on Lake Ouachita.

We went camping again this last weekend, to Brady Mountain, on Lake Ouachita, in the Ouachita National Forest.

We had to carry all our camping equipment about 125 meters, uphill, to our camp spot, but we had a nice view of the sunrise out on the peninsula.

We enjoyed relaxing at camp, and walked to the nearby beach each day, for swimming.

 

Labor Day camping trip.

Labor Day in the United States is always the 1st Monday in September, and is often seen and used by most Americans as the last weekend of summer before children return to school. Families will go to the beach or lake.

Cartop cargo carrier.

Hitch mount cargo carrier.

Tent pitched lakeside at DeGray Lake.

DeGray Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir in Arkansas. There are many campgrounds around the lake, including this one called, 'Lenox Marcus', which is free to stay at for up to 14 days. DeGray State Park also shares part of the lake.

Hitch mount bike rack.

There's room for a total of four bikes, although we will only have three at most.

It tilts out of the way to access the back of the car.

I also have an adapter to allow for the cargo carrier to be used at the same time.

Hitch mount bike rack.

There's room for a total of four bikes, although we will only have three at most.

It tilts out of the way to access the back of the car.

I also have an adapter to allow for the cargo carrier to be used at the same time.

My new $2,000 lawn mower.

We had to drive to a nearby town to get the lawn mower, so I hooked-up the trailer to my car.

I pulled into the driveway to have lunch, and then backed the trailer out of the driveway and around back to unload the lawn mower.

I turned too sharp and jackknifed the trailer into the car.

So now, instead of a $1,500 lawn mower, it will cost an extra $500 to pay my insurance deductible and get the car fixed.

Repair estimate: $3,440.

Camp out with new tent.

I ordered and finally received my new Kodiak Canvas Flex-Bow 10 x 14 VX  tent. I bought it for primarily for our summer 2020 vacation, but because it is extremely good quality, and will last for at least a decade, we will be using a lot. I set it up in the back yard, complete with air mattresses and sleeping bags, to try it out tonight. We will also have a campfire to toast marshmallows.

Thanksgiving 2019

Wikipedia describes Thanksgiving as: 'Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, some of the Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and Brazil, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.'

This year, my father drove two hours from near our state capitol, where he lives, to share Thanksgiving with my older daughter, her boyfriend, and myself. The rest of the family went to Missouri to have Thanksgiving with other family that could not make the long trip here this year.

We had a very nice visit with my father, as well as some wonderful food.

broccoli rice cheese casserole 

deviled eggs 

green beans casserole 

ham 

mashed potatoes and gravy 

pumpkin pie 

rolls 

sweet potato pie

I'm a grandfather.

On Thursday, November 21st, my older daughter went into labor. It was late at night, about 11:30 pm when I was woken, and I drove her to the hospital. At 12:04 am, on Friday November 22nd, she gave birth to my grandson, Bowden Everett, weighing only 3 pounds and 13 ounces.

Because he was so small, and our local hospital is not trained or equipped for such small babies, he was transferred by ambulance 90 miles away to a hospital in Little Rock, our state capitol.

He is receiving the best of care, and we pray he will thrive and be able to come home by December 5th, which was his due date.

UPDATE 

Nearly 4 years old. 

Halloween 2019

There is a small state park about 20 to 25 minutes drive from our home. Usually, it is not crowded, but the weekend of or before Halloween each year, every campsite is occupied. This partially because of the weather, since it is the a little cooler than, which makes for great camping weather. Every single person that is camping that weekend will decorate their campers and campsite for Halloween. They will dress in costume and greet visiting families by handing out candy to the children. This has been a tradition for years, and each year there are more and more people that come. The local sheriff department does a wonderful job showing more than a thousand visitors where to park and keeping everyone safe from the monsters that live in the woods. Yes, I said monsters. After the children are finished trick or treating, there is a haunted trail they can take, where all kinds of scary monsters pop out along the path to try and scare you. We love and look forward to going this event every year.

Getting ready for next Summer's vacation.

I am planning a three week vacation for next Summer. We will drive over 4,000 miles, through 10 states, to see places such as:

Badlands, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Crazy-horse Memorial, South Dakota

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Little Bighorn, Montana

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Zion National Park, Utah

Monument Valley, Utah

Grand Canyon, Arizona

And we will be camping in a tent for 16 of the 17 nights, preparing our own meals, so I need to have somewhere to store all of the camping gear while traveling.

I bought this cargo carried, and also I installed a hitch on my car. 

I can even still open the hatch with the carrier on.

After we arrive at each campsite and set-up the tent, we might need to use the car for sightseeing, so the cargo carrier can fold up out of the way.

ONLINE PRIVATE CLASS AWARD

Thank you to Education First and all of my students.

Teacher Carl travels to Washington D.C. (National Capital Columns)

National Capitol Columns

Teacher Carl travels to Washington D.C. (Arlington National Cemetery)

I saved going to Arlington National Cemetery to go on June 6th, the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I had also hopes to see a couple of other museums that day, but Arlington is huge, and has so much to see. I also made the mistake of not paying $15 for a hop-on/off tour. I don't think it would have saved time, but it sure would have helped prevent getting sore feet from all the walking up and down the hills.

President John F. Kennedy family gravesite

Memorial Amphitheater

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

Honor Guard

U.S.S. Maine Memorial

Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial

Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial

Canadian Cross

Korean War Contemplative Bench

McClellan Gate

Honors Caisson

SeaBee Memorial

Teacher Carl travels to Washington D.C. (White House)

After going through layers of security by Secret Service, including checking a metal detector, x-ray machine, a machine that smells for explosives, and chemical and biological weapons, and a handheld wand that scans for electronic devices, we were finally allowed to enter the White House. President Trump was not home. He was in France for D-Day ceremonies.

Library Room

Vermeil Room 

East Room 

Green Room 

South Lawn 

Blue Room 

Red Room 

State Dining Room 

Entrance Hall 

North Lawn 

Lafayette Square 

Protesters 

The National Christmas Tree 

Teacher Carl travels to Washington D.C. (White House Visitor Center)

You have to plan four months ahead to have a chance at visiting the White House. You must provide lots of information and some documentation for them to do a background and security check before you are approved and scheduled. Our tour time was on Wednesday, June 5th, at 11:30 a.m. We stopped in at the White House Visitor Center to look around there first. They have a really nice film to watch about the White House.

Teacher Carl travels to Washington D.C. (American History Museum)

First, a quick picnic lunch of crackers and cheese on the National Mall. 

And next, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

I think this was our favorite exhibit.

Early fire engine. 

Looking out one of the windows while at the museum. 

The gunboat, U.S.S. Philadelphia.