"BEAUTIFUL ARKANSAS"

Good Evening to All!

I have a few thinks I would like to say before I get started on my actual post. First I would like to thank Kimberly of 1 Mom + 1 Dad + 2 Stinker Pinkers for the beautiful Scentsy Warmer that I won! It is beautiful and the aromas are divine! My hubby already claimed it for his room. I can't wait until my ribs heal and I get back to cleaning houses. I look forward to buy one for each room in my house. Not to mention for gifts. Thank you SO MUCH.


I want to also thank everyone for "hanging in there with me as followers and not giving up on me while I was on vacation. Twenty one days is a long time to go without posting and not expecting to lose followers, so thank you ALL very much.

The top right picture is of the dam at Bull Shoals lake.

Now, if there is anyone out there thinking about taking a vacation to Arkansas for fishing purposes, let me give you some advice. If you are thinking about going in the near future, be sure and check out the lake levels. Every lake we went to was above normal and the fish didn't bite too well. While White River was several feet low because they weren't letting water out of the dam at the time we were there, the last lake we went to, "Bull Shoals lake was 40 feet higher than normal!

Well, I guess I'm getting the cart a little before the horse. The first place we went was Hot Springs for 4 days. We did a lot of site-seeing, while looking for a campground on a lake or at least near one. We found out the hard way that if a person expects to get into a campground like that especially in a state park, they need to make reservation 6 to 9 months ahead of time. I did however get to spend three GLORIOUS HOURS in a "day spa" being pampered and soaking in the healing hot spring water in a tub that was almost big enough to be a mini swimming pool! I was kidding with someone on line the other day and said if I hadn't read the Bible and knew what heaven is supposed to be like, I would have thought I was already there! LOL! This is the outside of the spa. It is as elegant inside as it is out.

Unfortunately, I do not do this tub justice. It was quite large. I could not reach from one end to the other laying down, and it was quite deep. The water was up to my shoulders, and it had "jets" all the way around.

These ladies were the "bath attendants. If we wanted anything such as more mineral water to drink, or the water temperature changed all we had to do was ring a bell and there they were to help us. I also got a WONDERFUL massage for my neck, back legs and feet. Oh! How I hated leaving that place!

I took several more pictures, but I want to get on with the vacation. The next place we went was Lake Dardanelle. Hubby went fishing for a couple of hours there, and caught a few fish, but the water was high, muddy and had debris floating in it from the previous flood, so I didn't attempt it. The next day, we talked to a "local" who told us about a smaller lake about 20 miles away. We went out there but it was so late in the morning (about 10 am) we didn't catch anything but a person told us where the crappie was biting, so the next day we tried again. We tube fished all the way across the lake and around. It took us 4 and a half hours and this was our catch.

This is me and my pride and joy 18" bass. Yes, I measured him to make sure. I had a blast catching him. He tried his best to take me for a ride in my tube! LOL! By the way, I do have a bathing suit top and shorts on underneath my cover dress.

With the exception of 2 fish hubby caught our last day, this was our total catch. Not a very good total for a 16 day vacation. We had to spend too much time looking for campsites and not enough time fishing. As well as problems with the lake levels, but it was nice just getting away for awhile. We had planned on coming on back to Lake Bob Sandlin in East Texas until I got hurt, but I guess that will have to wait until I heal.

The last lake we went to was Bull Shoals, and it is 40, (no that is not a typo, I say forty feet ABOVE normal. we actually fished in tree tops which were once on the bank, and in parking lots. I wish my hubby would have gotten pictures of that, but he couldn't fish and take pictures at the same time! LOL! Anyway, that is where I fell and fractured 3 ribs.

We also went on a train ride from Springdale, Arkansas to Van Buren and back. It was an all day affair. The train ride was 3 hours one way and then we had time to eat lunch, and do some shopping, then back to Springdale. It was really enjoyable also.
This one and the following are pictures hubby took from the train on the way back.
This was taken going across a tressel 450 feet long, looking down at a depth of 125 feet.

Unfortunately, this is another picture which I could not do justice to. Hubby took a video to be able to do it well, but I don't know how to do videos on here, so photographs and written details will have to do. This is a picture of the Largest statue of Christ in North America. It stand 7 stories high. They of course were asking for voluntary donations for it's upkeep because several years ago, they had to repair one finger on it and the cost was over $6,000.00! We didn't get to complete everything on this specific excursion that I wanted because everything cost at least 15.00 a person Bible tour, Bible exhibit, and a drama play called "The Passion". I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it was probably something like the play here in Glenrose, Texas called "The Promise" which is a dramatization of Christ's Story and Crucifixion. Anyway, the tour was 2 hours long and walking, and hubby couldn't have handled walking that much, plus I was also hurting. At the time, I didn't realize I had fractured my ribs, I just thought I was sore and could "walk it off", but I'm glad we didn't try it.

We took (I should say hubby took, because my camera stopped working and it's just as well because I'm a lousy photographer. I took the pictures of the spa, and the Christ Statue, but that's all. Hubby took the rest. I wish I could figure out how to upload the video. It is probably much better than my photos.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our vacation. Arkansas is a BEAUTIFUL STATE, and I hope to go back there some time when there hasn't been a flood to ruin the fishing. I guarantee we will definitely make reservations in advance!

Our next vacation will be in October when we will be going to either Lake Bob Sandlin or Lake of the Pines in East Texas, then in January, depending on the weather, we hope to go to Toledo Bend on the Louisiana side.

Good night to All and May God Bless!