“Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda.”  That’s the phrase to describe Thursday morning. After awaking from a good night’s sleep, I debated whether or not to ride the remaining completed portion of the Delta Heritage Trail, the 9.4 mile section from Watson south to Rohwer. It would constitute a long drive, making a decision on whether or not to break camp or spend a third night, and put my spent body through almost 19 more miles of pedaling. A decision was made to break camp, return home, and bid farewell to Kay before her girls’ trip to Biloxi; giving me an excuse to return to this great rail trail.

Kay departed shortly after my return home, excited to spend some girl time with “gambling” friends. I unpacked, sorted equipment, and performed a post-trip review—what worked, what didn’t; equipment needed, equipment not needed, etc. During the camping portion of the trip, it became obvious that most of the 20-40 year old camping equipment didn’t make the cut.

As thru-hikers, backpackers who travel a complete trail without interruptions, would say, Friday was a “zero” day, a day in which they rested, did laundry, restocked, etc. I did, however, edit photos of the camping/cycling trip and post on Facebook.

On Saturday, I phoned a dear friend for a lunch date, and he said he was a bit under the weather. An hour or so later, he texted a request for me to come over. Sensing that something was wrong, I made the 15-minute drive in 10 minutes. He had forethought to leave the front door unlocked, and upon entering, I found him sitting in his chair; he was unable to stand, and was coughing every other breath. A mutual decision was made to call for an ambulance, WITHOUT SIREN. An ambulance and two EMTs arrived within a few minutes, and after checking basic vital signs, he was transported to CHI ER in Hot Springs. In short, he was diagnosed with a viral condition, medicated, and assigned a hospital room. Upon returning Sunday morning, I found him doing MUCH better and having regained some strength. He was released in the late afternoon; a catastrophe was averted! I was very impressed with his doctoral care and the nursing care at CHI. It’s refreshing to know that good medical facilities are within reach of us at Hot Springs Village. A call on Monday found his condition much better. Kay returned home from Biloxi Monday afternoon, a bit poorer from time AND MONEY spent at the casino, and happy to be back home.

The wind blew, and blew hard, most of the night. And the temperature dropped into the high 30s. Snuggled in a mummy sleeping bag wearing a hooded down puffy jacket kept me warm as toast, though I did not sleep well—the first night camping is always the most difficult in which to get a good night’s sleep.

The wind had abated considerably, and the fire pit beckoned a campfire. The wind last night blew down several small limbs and twigs, and the “pickins’ were easy”. Water was heated for the French press, and with coffee in hand, I sat by the campfire and contemplated world problems. By the time the first cup of coffee was drunk, most of the problems were solved.

Breakfast was comprised of reconstituted instant oatmeal and a skillet-toasted English muffin, washed down with a second cup of French press coffee.

After washing dishes and tidying up the “kitchen”, cycling clothes were put on and I began riding, with a goal of round-tripping to the Lake View trailhead and return, a total distance of 23 miles. It proved to be a good day for cycling. The first stop was at the Lick Creek trailhead at Mile 4.9. 

After the Jan. 11, 1863, battle at Arkansas Post, Gen. Willis Gorman led troops from Helena on a raid up the White River. Col. Powell Clayton and 1,200 cavalrymen went to Big Creek west of Helena when a patrol of 25 men of the 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry was sent back with messages. On arriving at Lick Creek, they found the bridge burned. As they forded the creek, around 200 Confederate horsemen attacked the patrol. The Wisconsin men, armed only with pistols, shot five or six attackers, but were quickly overrun. Only 5 of the 25 men made it to Helena. (Source: Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission)

The tree canopy enclosing parts of the trail added to the already great aesthetics, and provided for a tranquil ride though two dogs gave chase at Mile 8.0 (6.0 miles into the ride).

The next stop was at Lake View, Mile 13.9. 

The Lake View Resettlement Project Historic District encompasses a significant portion of a Depression-era agricultural resettlement project of the United States federal government in and around Lake View, Arkansas, in Phillips County. Covering nearly 4,400 acres on either side of Arkansas Highway 84 north of Old Town Lake, the area was developed in the 1930s by the  Resettlement Administration as a rural community specifically developed for African-Americans. (Note: The Resettlement Administration was a US Federal agency created May 1, 1935, as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.) It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. Roads and houses were built through the area, and a successful farming community eventually arose. The original settlement name was “Turkey Scratch” from the 1850s to the official declaration of the town’s namesake in the 1920s. When the town was re-established in 1937, Lake View became one of three communities in Arkansas to be reserved for black farm families by the Resettlement Administration. It is one of the few communities in the U.S. with an African-American percentage at over 90 percent of the populations.

With only 6.7 miles remaining, I decided to complete this entire portion of the trail today, forgetting that I had to pedal all the way back to camp. It was a fairly easy pedal to Elaine, the trail terminus. A hole-in-the-wall cafe was on the opposite side of the street, and I ordered and ate a fantastic jumbo cheeseburger, fries, and diet Coke.

With a full belly, I began the long ride back to camp. The prevailing winds had increased in velocity to about 15 mph, and were directly in my face. And, much of this part of the trail is void of any trailside vegetation to serve as a windbreak; and with cleared agricultural land as far as one could see giving the wind an unobstructed path, it made for very difficult paddling—my average speed dropped about 35 percent. Finally, back at the Lake View trailhead, some tree canopy served to diffuse the wind to make pedaling a bit easier. And yes, the dogs again took chase again at Mile 8.0. After arriving back in camp, I was too tired to do much of anything. A pot of hot tea and a camp chair served as a resting place until bedtime.

Those of you who follow this blog might recall how much I enjoy riding Rails-to-Trails bicycle trails. In fact, a goal of mine had been to ride all of the Rails to Trails Hall of Fame trails before I died. It has become obvious that this won’t happen; too old too fast! However, I have ridden the KATY Trail, Razorback Greenway, Arkansas River Trail, Great Allegheny Passage, George S. Mickelson Trail, Virginia Creeper National RecreationTrail, High Bridge Trail, and the New River Trail, all combined to comprise several hundred miles! 

Arkansas’ Rail Trail, the Delta Heritage Trail, however, never appeared on the radar; it’s not publicized, nor is it a Hall of Fame trail. But, it has been beckoning as of late. Since Kay was busy prepping for a girls’ trip to the Gulf coast and the weather expected to be relatively cool, the next few days provided a great opportunity to camp, cycle, make a few photographs, and enjoy some “alone” time.

Before leaving on Tuesday morning, camping and cycling equipment had to be inventoried before being packed. Gosh, that’s a lot of stuff for a 2-3 day camping trip—too much stuff, in fact. However, it was all packed into the car, the bicycle carrier installed, and the TREK DS4 bicycle loaded. I was off for the Delta Heritage Trail Visitors Center at about 11 AM.

The easy drive followed a route through Little Rock, towards Memphis, and then to Brinkley, where it followed US Highway 49 to the Delta Heritage Trail State Park Visitors Center, just off the highway. After checking in, camping equipment and paraphernalia were transported, by hand, to the walk-in primitive campground (reminder: take Kay’s little blue wagon next trip) at Mile 2.0 of the trail.

The tent was pitched, and because of the forecast of exceeding high winds, the rainfly was tied as well as staked. Sleeping pads, sleeping bag, and clothes and toiletries were stowed inside, and cooking equipment and supplies were spread out on and around the campsite picnic table.

With daylight “left to burn”, bicycle tires were aired up and I rode from the campground at Mile 2.0 to the beginning of the Trail at Mile 0.0 and back.

By then, around 6 PM, the wind had increased to the point that I had to move the cooking setup inside the tent. Dinner was turkey spaghetti with fresh spinach incorporated. After adding a bit too much boiling water, the spaghetti was moved to a homemade COZY and left to rehydrate. It was surprisingly very tasty. The rest of the short evening was spent watching YouTube videos.

COVID19 has sure impacted everyone’s lifestyle, and for those of us who are retired and active, it has practically been a lost year that we’ll never get back—and we don’t have many left. Realistically, many of us lost at least 10 percent of our remaining life! Kay and I are not exceptions. She is able to entertain herself, and is as steady as a person can be. I, on the other hand, suffer from depression, and have to be busy, and preferably outside busy. It has been difficult to be “satisfied”, hoping some form of normality will soon return. Sunday was a quiet day. We attended “the Gathering” as I had been requested to photograph the church service. And, in the evening we played bridge with the Morris’, and yes, Kay won again!

Monday was golf day for me, and Kay took care of a few chores. We did spend the evening planning our summer schedule.

I really miss car/tent camping. Consequently, I have been refreshing old gear, and supplementing it with new purchases such as a sleeping bag and tent, in hopes that time and conditions would allow a short camping trip every couple of months. And, as a big fan of camping, hiking, and backpacking, I found it very interesting that a number of seasoned primitive campers and backpackers supplemented commercial freeze dried meals with home dehydrated food. After watching numerous YouTube videos, it became apparent that dehydrating food was not that complicated. Of course they may have been lying about the taste.

Kay and I bought a dehydrator several years ago, and we decided to put it to good use. With a bit of time on our hands this evening, Kay made a batch of spaghetti with ground turkey in the sauce (trying to avoid red meat). After it had cooled, parchment paper was cut to fit the dehydrator trays, and the spaghetti was spread on a couple of the trays.

The next morning, about 15 hours later, the dehydrator was checked and the spaghetti was indeed dry. It was packaged, the packages labeled, and stored in the freezer. Supposedly, it will last indefinitely stored in the freezer, and several weeks on the “shelf”. Now, I/we are ready for our next adventure.

Kay and I traveled to Mt. Magazine Saturday for a long hike. It was in the mid-60s with partly sunny skies. However, at the top of the mountain it was 44°, overcast, with moderate winds. Thus, no hiking or photography: we went to the restaurant for lunch instead. While this Columbine was photographed at the Visitors Center, the unknown flower did pose for photos on the way down the mountain.

After our hiking attempt at Mt. Magazine was thwarted by dense fog, cold temps, wind, etc., Kay and I drove east to Ouachita National Forest to hike the 4+ mile Lake Sylvia trail. It was windy and significantly overcast. The trail was in need of maintenance, but provided a good hiking experience

Today, Friday, Kay had a neighborhood ladys’ luncheon in Hot Springs. It’s a great time to catch up on all the neighborhood and Village gossip! Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area beckoned and the morning walk was in an area I had never investigated before. There were few new wildflowers.

And, only a couple of butterflies were observed.

Thank the Lord for Wednesday; it was a relatively quiet day. Kay played golf and Jim Morris and I resumed our weekly breakfast after over a year’s absence because of COVID19. All is well.

On Thursday, I received word that my photographic image had been posted to the Photographic Society of America Digital Dialog Member’s Showcase home page. Being selected to post an image of choice to this showcase was a big deal, and honor, for me. The image is below, and you can click this link to get to the Showcase to see other images: http://psadigital.org/

After yesterday’s grueling day, Kay and I switched roles Tuesday; she was grossly overbooked and I had it pretty easy. Her day began with contacting a jeweler in Tulsa to find a duplicate of the diamond stud earring she lost a few months ago. They were very helpful in her discussion with them, and asked that she send them the remaining stud so it could be exactly duplicated. Next, she had her annual mammogram—a not too pleasant experience us guys don’t fully understand. And then, she participated in a long difficult Duffer’s board meeting. The Duffer’s is a huge women’s 9-hole golf group here in Hot Springs Village. That pretty much wiped her out for the rest of the day, though she never complains.

Dan Olson and I tripped to Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area for a short walk and some photo ops. It always provides a sense of serenity to an otherwise chaotic world. Here are a few photographs from the walk.  

Even a few butterflies made an appearance.

As John Denver used to sing, “Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.” Monday was the beginning of a “not-so-good” week for me. I was overbooked in that just about every hour of the day was scheduled (is this retirement?). Early morning hours were spent preparing items for warranty work and consequent returns. These included a pair of Smith Optics sunglasses purchased some 20+ years ago. It is the second pair (of three pairs) that had delamination of the lens coating. Though the glasses cost lots of $s, they are warranted for life. Filling out the warranty information was a necessary nuisance.

The Induro tripod I use for photography has two center posts; the short one will not fit as its diameter seems too large. This is no big deal, except that when used in lieu of the long post will help lighten the weight of the tripod. This is important when it is carried on one’s shoulder for miles and miles! I have successfully dealt with parent company, the MAC Group, previously. By the way, these tripods are not cheap.

The last warranty item dealt with this Monday morning was a pair of 10X42 Eagle Optics binoculars. These are really good binoculars and I use them for both bird watching and butterfly watching. They will focus rather closely to allow for identifying butterflies that are only a few feet away, an important asset for me. The problem is that over the last few months, the focus adjustment doesn’t work. Eagle Optics was absorbed by VORTEX, but they still honor the lifetime warranty—good company! The warranty forms were completed and emailed.

Then, the wheels began coming off. First, was a Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church Board of Trustees meeting. I thought it began at 10 AM, and was on time; however, it began at 9 AM and the closing prayer was just beginning when I arrived. At least I’ll be forgiven. Next, was an afternoon filled with golf, and double bogeys; and of course, the resulting score was not good—I bought the beer. Finally, a silver lining in the day’s cloud: the initial travel planning session with Kay in the evening for planning our summer trip to the Pacific Northwest in the July/August timeframe.

Kay had a great day, as usual; she always has great days, and it’s one of the many reasons I love her. She always has a great attitude. She used part of the day packing for a girls trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, in a few days.