This is just a short entry before heading to the Six State Rally on the Red.  Today is the last day of the Pre-Rally gathering in Texarkana.  We opted to skip the Perot Theater and Texarkana museum tour, spending the morning catching up on emails, journaling, etc.  Ready to move to Shreveport tomorrow, I hooked up the Saturn, and enjoyed a lazy afternoon.  Dinner was catered tonight, and included catfish, chicken, beans, hushpuppies, cornbread, and slaw; all quite tasty.  We ended the evening playing two games of 31, but neither Kay nor I won.

Kay awoke this morning eager to meet old friends, Jo and Jim, from her Helena, AR, days in the early 1970s.  We drove to their house for coffee at 9 AM, then off to the old downtown Texarkana, AR, United Methodist Church for Sunday school and worship services.  The church was housed in the recently restored sanctuary; a fire had destroyed the old, historic sanctuary a few years ago, leaving the massive post and beam construction and nationally prominent stained glass in ruins.  The restoration was excellent as members said it had essentially had the same appearance as the old building.  The Sunday school class we attended was in a large room, and I was one of only two men without coat and tie; most were wearing suits.  The class was comprised of older members, much like the senior saints class at Twin Lakes Baptist Church.  The room was furnished much as an old Southern mansion, complete with grand piano and sitting room furniture, and eking of old money and affluence.  Having been used to the informality of Baxter County, we were culturally overwhelmed!  After Sunday school, we attended the church service, and it was the first time we had been to an authentic traditional service—what we call “high” church—in many years.  We immensely enjoyed the added ceremony with acolytes, organ, choir, bells, and children, and saw a lady with whom we attended St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock; Arkansas is truly a small town state.

Following church, we ate lunch at Bryce’s cafeteria, a local favorite.  The afternoon was uneventful, and I prepared for the evening seminar on Picasa, Editing and Managing Your Photos, An Overview.

Dinner consisted of filet mignon, salad, garlic bread, and assorted desserts.  These RVers sure like to eat!

We are really enjoying Shady Pines.  The grounds are immaculate, well maintained, and we’re the only red necks in the park.  It could stand a few old cars, BBQ grills, and other junk under and around the RVs.

All the men were anxious for football Saturday today, as the #10 Hogs were playing #1 Alabama.  Rather than watch the game (too much stress), I worked on blogs, restoring lost photos.  Regrettably, the Hogs lost.

Dinner was great tonight—ribs, sour kraut, brats, and fruit salad, and some great desserts.  I’ve gotta diet again!

After a lazy start, we arrived at Shady Pines RV Park in Texarkana, TX, right after lunch.

This is one of the nicest parks in which we’ve stayed, with LEVEL concrete pads and drives, and a large, fully equipped rally room for gathering and meals.  We enjoyed renewing acquaintances and catching up on news since the last rally in Carthage, MO, in June.  Dinner consisted of heavy hors d’oeuvres, and it was very good; my favorite dish was the marinated meatballs Kay prepared.

We’re off to another rally—actually two rallies.  The first is a pre-rally, sponsored by the Arkansas Travelers RV Club, to be held in Texarkana, TX.  This precedes a Return to Rally on the Red, aka Six State Rally, a Family Motor Coach Association sponsored regional rally, in Shreveport, LA.  Having never been to a really big rally, i.e. more than 500 coaches, we though we’d give it a try.

After a couple of appointments, we left home today—Kay’s birthday—headed towards Maumelle Park in Little Rock for the evening.  The trip “down” was uneventful, traveling via Mountain View, Shirley, Clinton, and Conway, arriving at the campground about 2:30 PM.  The US Army Corps of Engineers does a great job maintaining Maumelle Park, and it is one of our favorites, particularly when we have a site on the banks of the Arkansas River. 

Kay had a very nice birthday dinner at Cajun’s Wharf with both Ron and Karyn, and their significant others there; it was great enjoying dinner with family.

Another warm evening meant sleeping on top of the air mattress, though the sunrise was worth it.  We opted to depart camp early in order to check through the US Border Patrol/Immigration Office today.  Consequently, after our coffee, cookie, and breakfast, we began packing up and breaking camp, and departed early enough to fish on our way back to “civilization.”  The first two thirds of the paddle out was calm, with favorable winds and calm seas.  I caught a few fish on the foam fly on top and Kay took a few fish with the Senko.  The wind steadily increased, but offered no problems—much different than the last two years when we had high winds and rollers on the paddle out.  We met our water taxi, and made it to Canadian Border Outfitters by about 3 PM.  After loading our stuff in the truck we checked through US Border Patrol/Immigration and headed into town for warm showers.  Our farewell dinner was at the Grand Ely Lodge—best Caesar salad we’ve ever eaten.  Tomorrow, we drive south towards home.

This has been our best trip of all, though only slightly better than our first one with George and Greg.  Our time with Harry and Mary was awesome with lots of laughs, some serious philosophical talk, and several new stories, and they are the reason the trips are so special.

The paddling has been great; Kay has learned well, and is now an excellent paddler.  And the fishing wasn’t too shabby either!  Kay ended the week with 6 trophy fish, more than anyone in our party has ever caught in a trip.  She was definitely in a zone.

Today marks our last full day and evening in the wilderness.  We awoke to a beautiful sunrise each morning except one on this trip.  We both slept okay last night, but the night temperatures are still too warm to be really comfortable.  Kay fished with Harry in the morning and is on a roll this trip, catching another “board” fish today—her 6th—and largest of the trip and the largest of the year, over 6 1/2 pounds.

Not to be outdone, Harry caught an even larger fish just a few minutes later. 6.8 pounds.

We had rain last night, but not enough to cool down much; it stayed above 70 degrees all evening.  The rain continued into the morning so we opted to eat breakfast before going out for the day.  Kay fished with Mary, returning to the weed beds, while Harry and I paddled to the far side of North Bay.  Using a fly patterned after Slim’s foam fly, I caught a number of fish on top, including two large fish back to back, 4.9 pounder and a 4.7 pounder, respectively, but no trophy fish.

We had good paddling, little to no wind, and great fishing.  Also, the warm weather necessitated another swim in the lake—so cool and refreshing.

This has been a good week.

Last evening was another warm evening with temps never going lower than the low 70s.  Sleeping in a warm tent, with buzzing mosquitoes in the trees, was difficult.  Kay paddled with Harry today, fishing the weed beds in a bay on the southeast shoreline.  She caught 3 more trophy fish, again using a Senko, including a largemouth bass, the first trophy largemouth bass caught with our guides since 1989.

This makes her 5 for the trip, one more than my entire total since 2002—she deserves them all!  I fished with Mary today and caught fish all day using Slim’s foam fly with a yellow body. The fly used yesterday, with the chartreuse body, was too deep in a fish to retrieve, so we cut the line, kept the fish for eating, and switched flies.  The fly was later recovered and will be used tomorrow.  Because of the unusually high temps, we again swam and bathed just off the island, and enjoyed the cooling water.  The night was another warm one, and sleep did not come easy or often.