Another Tradition … Friends, Camping, Hiking At the Buffalo National River.
Low Gap Cafe … before going to the Campground.
Posted in Mayor Jim | Tagged Buffalo National River ... Whitaker Point/Hawksbill Craig | 1 Comment »
Arkansas/Mississippi bridge at Helena-West Helena Arkansas.
The January 2014 Arkansas State Parks Travel and Tourism Commission Meeting was held in Helena-West Helena. This beautiful river city in Eastern Arkansas is steeped in Civil War history, Mississippi River commerce, Southern culture and Music. Thanks to Julia of the Convention Bureau we experienced a bit of each. Plus we were treated to a delicious Southern Dinner in the wonderfully restored Pillow Thompson House. Below are a few pictures of the tour. Thank you Julia and the City of Helena-West Helena.
The awesome new Arkansas Visitor Center … just as one comes across the bridge into Arkansas. Well done!!!
A poignant reminder of the role African American slaves played in the Civil War
One of several messages reminding us of the inhumanity of slavery. This one reads: “Half of all U.S. slave children grew up apart from their fathers. On rare occasions, men and women were allowed to attend dances, sometimes at neighboring plantations”.
Closing personal thought: Just as the 40th and 50th commemoration ceremonies regarding the 1957 Central High Integration Crisis in Little Rock, remind us of that which we do not wish to ever repeat, the museums, Civil War Fort Curtis and monuments in Helena remind us of the atrocities of slavery and the tragedies of friends and neighbors fighting each other in deadly combat.
May we find answers without war, without hate, without anger, without judging others … may we find our future in Love.
Posted in Mayor Jim | Tagged culture and the Civil War., Helena - West Helena ... lessons of history | Leave a Comment »
For Over 40 Years Knott’s Has Been On My Breakfast Table …
I know this may seem a bit silly … featuring a jelly/preserves on my blog. However, when one considers the history of my relationship with Knott’s, it becomes more understandable.
I guess it actually began more than 40 years ago on a family vacation to California when my parents took us kids to The Actual Knott’s Berry Farm. Though the memory is vague I do recall a small village setting, a farm, some kiddie rides and lots of fruit stands. I’m certain we bought fruit … don’t remember any jelly purchases. This was probably in the Fifties.
Now Flash forward to the Seventies … Somewhere on a grocery shelf or in a restaurant or as a gift … in any event, somewhere or somehow Knott’s Berry Farm Wild Blackberry Preserves ended up on my table, on my toast, in my mouth and then into my personal history of favorites. Was then … still is!!!
Within the past decade or so, with ownership changes and business decisions by large corporations, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find any flavor of Knott’s Berry on grocery shelves and virtually impossible to find Blackberry. In order to survive, my wife and I and friends would buy any and all bottles that happened to appear on random grocery shelves. Folks it was getting to a crisis point … even to the point of buying other brands. What to do? Well my wife solved a household meltdown when she located Knott’s Online Marketplace … Now we order in case lots. Life is good once again.
I must mention one slight regret. Before the sale of the company to the big boys, Knott’s Farm offered “Wild” Blackberry Preserves … now it’s just “Blackberry” Preserves. None the less … I’m still smiling.
Posted in Mayor Jim | Tagged Blackberry Preserves Crisis. | 4 Comments »
Traditions first …
Almost everyone has some sort of tradition … maybe it’s the family gathering at Christmas or Birthdays, maybe the annual trip to the ski slopes or the beach, maybe it’s certain beverages, decorations, songs, biblical/poetic readings on special occasions.
I have lots of traditions … my Charlie Brown Christmas Backpacking, my Friday lunch with a group of guys and our annual ski trip, my annual hike in a National Park, my yearly holiday celebrations with friends and relatives and Christmas Eve Mass in one of our beautiful downtown churches.
The Tradition profiled in this blog entry has centered for 40 years around this shoe … actually a pair of these shoes …
Some 40 years ago the Dailey and Goodin families were enjoying a summer canoe float trip on the Buffalo National River. Patti Dailey was having difficulty keeping her flip flops on while dragging the canoe through shallow water. Gwen Goodin was perfectly comfortable in her tennis shoes. The Goodins grew up around lakes, rivers and boats … the Daileys grew up around concrete swimming pools and indoor plumbing. With 10 miles remaining on the river there was no shoe solution to be found. Note the operative words … To Be Found. Yep, miracle of miracles … a pair of well worn Adidas materialized and have continued to materialize at special events for over 40 years.
There was another piece of humor at the time of the find … the shoes were too small for Patti, in fact too small for Gwen even with her very petite feet. What to do? No problem, Patti would wear Gwen’s shoes and Gwen would wear the newly found pair … simple, why didn’t I think of that? … now both ladies had shoes that were too small. Never underestimate the creativity of wives and mothers in a challenging situation.
Now Flash forward forty years to New Year’s Eve 2013 … this series of pictures should sum it all up. Gwen thought she was opening the boxes containing the glasses for our traditional New Year’s Champagne toast. Was she surprised or what?
Over the forty years, this pair of shoes has shown up at weddings, birthdays, anniversaries … always when least expected. Sometimes painted colors of the event, sometimes decorated for the season but always in the spirit of friendship and tradition … tradition being one of the ingredients that binds couples and families together whether near or far. We are blessed to have had this friendship for all these years … Happy New Year to All
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Family and Friends Celebrate to Backpack, Camp and Decorate …
This is year four of a tradition aborning … backpacking into the beautiful Richland Creek Wilderness to camp and, in the spirit of Christmas, decorate a “Charlie Brown Tree”. Our numbers have grown slightly from the original three … with three glow lights … to nine plus a polar bear size canine this year and many more glow lights. We were blessed with perfect weather, albeit very cold the first night.
Above and below: Our fully decorated Charlie Brown Tree. We leave the candy canes and bird seed decorations on the tree when we leave but remove all others … well, we did leave one for the enjoyment of passing hikers.
2013 Charlie Brown Attendees:
DJ, me, Randy, Bryan, Daryl, John. Front: Jeff, Napoleon, Eileen and Spencer.
Below … a few more candid shots.
Eileen and Jeff and Napoleon … this was her first camping trip … Napoleon’s as well.
Above: Santa’s helpers, ready for duty. Below: Rock Sculpture, Rock skipping and photo ops on the spectacular Richland Creek.
Below: Frosty Morning in Santa’s Tent … warm and Cozy inside.
Parting Shot … Ready if Santa calls. It was a great weekend. Merry Christmas To all.
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Checking out our traditional Christmas Tree Backpacking Camp site …
Yesterday on my return from North Arkansas, I drove the northern entry to Richland Creek … all fifteen miles of it … on curvy and steep gravel roads. At over 2000 feet elevation, the mountains were shrouded in a foggy mist and I was alone … well sort of alone. It was deer hunting season … the annual ritual which converts city folk and country folk alike into tribal hunters complete with powerful weapons, camouflage clothing, so they can’t be seen and iridescent orange vests and hats, so they can be seen.
My goal was to hike to and check out a favorite camping spot on Richland Creek … a place where, for the fourth year, a small group of friends will again hike to, set up camp and decorate our own version of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Fully aware of the hunters in the woods, I donned my own iridescent orange vest, grabbed my camera and trekking poles and made the short hike downstream to my magical world of Charles Shultz and his beloved Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Since this is about friendship, traditions and the Spirit of Christmas, here’s a quote from Charlie Brown that sums it up: “Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”
What I found upon arrival at the old campsite was perfect … it was just as we left it 12 months ago. The fire ring was there, some left over firewood was stacked nearby, the scraggly Charlie Brown tree was the same scraggly cedar tree but the magic that made me smile and take the picture below was the single still shiny round glass ornament hanging from this random spot in the Richland Creek Wilderness area. Wow!!!
Christmas Past …
Now … just for historical reference, below are pictures from 2010, 2011 and 2012 …
As one can witness, we have evolved … from an accidental happening … JC’s wife had sent three glow lights and a tradition was started. Remember, other than a symbolic conventional decoration like the silver ornament, we only leave on the tree that which birds and animals can safely consume. It was probably the wine we consumed in 2010 that stimulated our creative juices.
I can hardly wait for our 2013 Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Backpacking trip.
If you would like to see more detail on the previous Charlie Brown Christmas, or other of my blog posts, go to:
Jim Dailey at WordPress.com
Happy Thanksgiving and a grand Charlie Brown Christmas to you!!!
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Perfect Fall Weekend at the Buffalo National River …
One can almost set his/her calendar for the first weekend in November and expect to see dazzling Fall color in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains. This year my buddy, Daryl, and I camped at Steele Creek on the Buffalo River, hiked/bush-wacked to a water fall area and had a delicious meal at Low Gap Cafe. Low Gap, located on Arkansas 74 between Jasper and Ponca is the least likely spot one would expect to find a menu like this …
The Bluffs and Hills were Stunning …
Personal Creativity … While the waterfall was almost non existent due to below average rain, we were rewarded with the beauty around us and the unique creativity of an earlier hiker. I spent more than thirty years in the furniture business and promise i’ve never seen a chair like this … Talk about the era of Assemble it yourself furniture!!
The Shot below is one of my favorite … early morning fog, the glow of our sun and the Ozark Mountains. Wow!!!
Posted in Mayor Jim, Trails | 3 Comments »
We came to hike Zion and Bryce but were locked out by Congress and the President …
Obviously we are disappointed with the ridiculous shutdown. That said, we have been thoroughly enjoying the wonderful and equally beautiful State Parks of Utah. For the last two days we have hiked the Escalante and Kodachrome State Parks. Below are a few of my shots just to give you a taste of Utah … without the National Parks.
Posted in Mayor Jim, Trails | 4 Comments »
Thank You Arkansas Park’s staffer, Richard Smith …
At 8:34 AM I pulled into the parking lot at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and decided to make a pit stop at the men’s room before hitting the trail. Richard Smith, pictured above was cleaning the restrooms and emptying trash containers. I acknowledged him, said “thanks for keeping the park and restrooms clean” and asked if I could take his picture to be highlighted in my blog as another of my Local Heroes. Permission granted I took the picture and headed for the trail.
Over the next 90 minutes of hiking, my mind bounced back and forth between enjoying the beauty of this iconic park to thinking about Richard and the important job he performs so we may have a pleasant visitor experience. Upon returning to my car, I noticed Richard was still fastidiously going from picnic area to picnic area picking up trash, emptying containers and installing new plastic bags all in preparation for another full day of new visitors.
I write this in hopes each of us will think about, appreciate and say “thanks” to the hundreds, maybe millions of Richard Smiths who make our world a better and more enjoyable place to live, work and play,
Richard Smith … You are my local Hero !!!!
Now a couple of shots from the hike …
I think Bigfoot roams the Pinnacle trails … with this beauty, one can certainly understand.
Posted in Mayor Jim, Trails, Tributes | 1 Comment »
Why Eureka Springs, Arkansas … what’s the big deal?
Well … after a long weekend in Eureka Springs … let me tell you What’s the big deal.
This tiny historic mountain city sometimes called the Little Switzerland of America may be one of the most uniquely diverse spots on the Arkansas map … maybe on any map. In short it is one of the most tantalizing collections of Sights, smells, sounds, stairs and healing springs of just about any small town in America. For starters, pictured above is the 1912 Carnegie Library, one of four built in Arkansas by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and still operating as a Public Library.
One of the top one hundred small Arts Cities in America
As the main street, Spring Street, snakes its way up the hill from Basin Park Spring, it passes thru a wide selection of collectable art studios and galleries, gourmet coffee bars, restaurants, hotels and shops plus the random placement of street singers, guitar and banjo players. In the cliche of old, “there’s a little of something for everyone here”.
..Sights, sounds and Stairs …
The hood ornament on an old car fits the “sights” category, I guess we can include deer and architectural details as well.
Stairs, Stairs and More Stairs,
One of the challenging and engaging facets of the city is the thousands of stairs … stairs as fire escapes, stairs from one street level to the next, stairs between buildings, stairs directing a patron into basement restaurants, bars and shops …
Ouch !!!
Clearly, one can see this is a very special place to visit. I’ve barely scratched the surface … haven’t even touched on the colorful local politics … this topic could merit another blog entry.
I haven’t talked about the healing springs, the hundreds of B&B’s (my favorite, the Peabody House), the thunder of motorcycles or clinking of beer bottles dumped each morning in the recycling trucks … nor have I mentioned the Catholic Church one enters thru the bell tower, or the haunted Crescent Hotel … OK, OK, enough, enough.
Come see for yourself … you can’t just go once.
Posted in Mayor Jim, Trails, Trivia | 1 Comment »
Jim Dailey 