Meeting Ed and Ellen at 12:30 PM, we unloaded the kayaks at the confluence of the Norfork and White Rivers, and shuttled two vehicles to Red’s Landing, our intended takeout. After the approximate 45-minute round trip, Ed, Kay, and I returned to the confluence to rejoin Ellen.  The White River was low, having experienced little generation from either Bull Shoals or Norfork Dams.

Because of the unusually low water, the first riffle caused us—at least some of us—to drag, and this was something we would experience several times in the 7-mile trip, but we did not have to get out and drag the kayaks over any of the low water areas.

With lots of sunshine, it was quite warm—actually hot—even on the cool river, and with low flows, traveling downstream required some serious paddling, though Ed managed to always find the fast current and stay in the lead.  He reads the river well, but then he’s a civil engineer!

Despite this hot “work”, the trip was good. Kay is becoming a good paddler, but definitely prefers the intrinsic aspects of kayaking over the pure raw paddling experience.

The scenery was great and there was little boat traffic, making for an overall pleasant float. I was amazed at the river bottom, smoothed by eons of water flowing over the bedrock.

Along the way we saw lots of shorebirds, a bald eagle, and some deer, but no turkeys. The float took us slightly less than 3 hours. 

We don’t get to spend much time with our grandson, Kaden, an active 16-year old, what with studying for drivers license, band camp, band practice, etc. so it was a real pleasure when he came for a short visit. 

Shortly after he arrived, his eyes lit up when we talked about kayaking, so we loaded the kayaks, Kay drove us to Quarry Park below Norfork Dam, we had a really quick lesson, and off we went. 

Water flow was about 4,000 cubic feet per second, providing enough water to avoid dragging over shoals, but not too much to be unsafe.  Kaden took to kayaking like he had done it his entire life.  And of course, he headed for the biggest standing waves in the river.

On Friday, he and KK (Kay’s nickname to our grandkids) kayaked down the Norfork, with about the same amount of water being discharged from the dam.  They were so quick that I was late in picking them up at the confluence.

And then, on Friday, Kaden talked his dad into kayaking the Norfork and they made it in record time, and Kaden was a little wet from busting through every standing wave he could paddle through. They paddled so quickly that we missed a photo opportunity at Ackerman-Handicap Access.

This summer has become a “family” summer for us; let me explain.  Jenny, my daughter, and her husband Brian are expecting their first baby in early August.  We decided early in the year to be here for this auspicious occasion.  This meant no travel for the last couple of weeks of July and the first two of August.  And then, we had the opportunity to babysit our newer grandson, Ridge, in late June while his mommy and daddy spent a week in Cancun.  And, Kay’s sister was able to visit in mid-July, followed by a visit from Ridge and his mommy.  We will get to host our older grandson, Kayden, in this week coming up, with his dad joining late in the week.  Hopefully, Harper Ann will arrive in this world pretty close to schedule, and Ridge and his mommy will be returning on August 10.  So, you see, we have been richly blessed this summer to share June, July, and August with family for the first time in a long time.

It was during Karyn’s visit this weekend that she and I kayaked the Norfork River.  Conditions were good since there was enough flow for one generator, translating into too much water for wade fishing, and just enough for kayaking without having to get out and pull over riffles.  It was her first time to kayak, and my first time to kayak the entire Norfork River.  We began at the launching area at Quarry Park just downstream of Norfork Dam, practiced a few strokes, turning the kayak this way and that, then spinning it around, and paddling in reverse.

The paddle downstream was uneventful until we reach the top of the Long Hole, when we heard this loud, shrill scream and looked up from where it came and spotted both an adult and an immature bald eagle.

As we continued our float downstream boat traffic and fishing pressure increased.  There were boats and fishers everywhere, and most seemed to have Missouri registration.  It became almost congested from Ace-in-the-Hole until we reached the confluence with the White River.  We “artfully” weaved our way through all this boat traffic to minimize our interference with their fishing.

At Ol’ Charlie’s we observed short-term renters at the Aamodt’s, and the renters said they were renting the place for $220 per night (both the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeals has agreed with the city that this is zoned residential and that operating this business violates the city’s ordinance). Sadly, the short-term renters were also catching and keeping fish, and this is in the middle of the Catch-and-Release area, and had been walking up and down the neighborhood road flagging at traffic.

It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to leisurely paddle the Norfork River, and we had a great time.

The “cold” is steadily improving, and the coughing and hacking is slowly dissipating. In fact, I walked the trash to the big garbage bins on the other side of the campground.

Bruce asked about fishing, so we loaded our wading stuff and drove to the house to change into waders and boots. We accessed at Mill Dam Eddy, and waded upstream of the island. The wind was blowing steadily into our faces, and made casting quite difficult for Bruce, a novice fly fisher. He did all the right things, but couldn’t get a trout to take the fly. I played around for about 30 minutes with a parachute sulphur dun, and managed to catch over a dozen fish, including a grand slam on the dry fly.

Kay returned from an appointment with the hairdresser, and prepared a great meal of fish and vegetables cooked in foil pouches, which we shared with Bruce and Jeannie.

We had a quiet afternoon, and I went to 4 + 1 Quartet practice.

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The "cold" is getting better, if ever so slightly. Kay drove into town this morning for a pre-Vacation Bible School meeting; she really didn’t want to teach, but couldn’t refuse since the church is short-handed of volunteers. I visited briefly with Bruce and Jeannie, made a quick visit to the house for a shave and shower, and returned to the campground just in time for Kay and I to take Bruce, Jeannie, and their neighbors for a boat ride to hunt for driftwood. Jeannie is an artist, and will use the driftwood for carving, and as props for other artwork. When we returned to the campground, we noticed that a contractor had cut several dead trees, including this one that fell a little long of its intended target, on their jeep. As they say here in the South, you can’t fix stupid, but you can photograph it!

On a serious note, can you imagine how embarrassing it must have been for the "professional" tree cutters and trimmers.
That pretty much wrapped up the day as far as exciting things go, and we cooled our heals until bedtime.

The “cold” is getting better, if ever so slightly. Kay drove into town this morning for a pre-Vacation Bible School meeting; she really didn’t want to teach, but couldn’t refuse since the church is short-handed of volunteers. I visited briefly with Bruce and Jeannie, made a quick visit to the house for a shave and shower, and returned to the campground just in time for Kay and I to take Bruce, Jeannie, and their neighbors for a boat ride to hunt for driftwood. Jeannie is an artist, and will use the driftwood for carving, and as props for other artwork. When we returned to the campground, we noticed that a contractor had cut several dead trees, including this one that fell a little long of its intended target, on their jeep. As they say here in the South, you can’t fix stupid, but you can photograph it!

On a serious note, can you imagine how embarrassing it must have been for the “professional” tree cutters and trimmers.
That pretty much wrapped up the day as far as exciting things go, and we cooled our heals until bedtime.
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I awoke this morning feeling terrible from the head cold, my worst day yet; maybe this is the turning point. Fortunately, the Crossroads Band is not leading service this morning; the Wesley Foundation from ASU Jonesboro is taking care of the whole service. Following church and Sunday School, we ate lunch at Chen’s, and returned to the campground to find Bruce and Jeannie from the AR Travelers setting up. A nearby RV was vacating a space, and an RV version of musical chairs followed, resulting in Bob and Sharon’s friends from Louisiana moving next to them, and in the process of enjoying a view of the river up close and personal, she (the friend) fell and broke her leg. Meanwhile, Bruce and Jeannie were able to occupy the site adjacent to ours. All of this made for a pretty exciting afternoon.

As evening approached, we drove Bruce and Jeannie to the house to see where we live, and to take a quick house tour.

Upon returning to the campground, I immediately took some meds and went to bed.

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We awoke Saturday morning to an essentially full campground; many campers came in late yesterday evening. It was a quiet day for us as my cold is getting worse, and the coughing and hacking is beginning to take its toll, though no fever.

The Martins, a top tier Southern gospel trio, performed a benefit concert at Mountain Home Baptist Church for the pastor’s wife who has recently been diagnosed with ALS. We attended with Bob and Sharon. Despite the church’s sound equipment problems, it was a good concert.

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Not much to report today. Strong winds ushered in a welcome cold front, making for some great camping weather. Regrettably, my cold continues to get worse. The campground is filling rapidly with weekend campers of all shapes and sizes. Seeing young families enjoying the great outdoors brings back fond memories of camping with Jenny when she was a young girl.

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Today marks the last day of May 2012; where did the month go?

Late last night and early this morning the sites on either side of us were filled. After reading email via the phone, and enjoying our first cup of coffee, I stepped outside and saw that Bob had occupied the site just east of us. He left Sharon at home to finish her coffee and crossword puzzle, and came to set up for a two-week stay. They, too, live within easy driving distance of the park. We visited for a few minutes and we left him to finish setting up so he could return home for Sharon, groceries, and additional camping paraphernalia.

Kay and I could not pass up a bright, clear morning on the the water, and drug the kayaks down for some paddling experience.

It was much easier the second time around, and I’m pleasantly surprised at how Kay has adapted.

We paddled upstream, then downstream to the riffle below the Resort Hole (which, by the way, has shifted to the far right side of the channel), then back to our take-out and camp site.

By then, the day proved too nice to not fish, so I donned waders, vest, and boots, and drove to an access near the house. There were six fishers below Mill Dam Eddy, which sort of surprised me as access is very limited, i.e. restricted, in this area. Above the island sulphurs were coming off occasionally, and the fish would take them on the surface as long as the sun was shining. With mostly cloudy skies, the hatch of sulphurs was sporadic at best, but I did catch a 17-inch rainbow on a parachute sulphur dun.

Once the sun disappeared behind the clouds, the fish quit taking sulphurs on the surface, so I switched to a brown Wayne’s fly and zebra midge combination and caught several fish, ending the day with a couple of dozen fish. Returning to the campground, I stopped by the house for a shower and clean clothes.

The cold is getting worse with more coughing, a few aches, and a sore throat and headache. Consequently, it was an early night.

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