Post Mortum

Ed's totem: feather's in his cap, trophies of a good trip.

It's a week since we started our trek to Arkansas. In less than 3 days Ed and I drove over 1200 miles, went from the Arkansas lakes to the Ozarks to the mists of Bull Shoals.

If I were going to put a capstone on the trip, I would certainly call it "expect the unexpected". Instead of seeing the common we saw the uncommon. We saw Ospreys in both Holla Bend and Bull Shoals, supposedly a "rare" sight. We expected to see owls but saw only one, but heard them all over. There was no way that any eagles were supposed to still be there yet we think we saw either a juvinile eagle, or a coopers hawk, equally rare.

Expect the unexpected.

The highlights of the trip go through my head:

- Starting our at Holla Bend, Ed and I getting on the suntan lotion and the bug spray at the same time. Seeing the Osprey and the split-tailed flycatcher.

- Blogging during the hot part of the days.

- Lake Dardanelle and sitting out in the heat, the fans going full blast. Seeing a squirrel splayed out on his stomach, looking like he was done in with the heat like we were. Watching Speed Racer and passing out with exhaustion.

- The nature trail at Lake Dardanelle with sooo many spiders.

- The crazy drive through the Ozarks, eyes glued to the highway.

- The magic of Bull Shoals. The mist on the water. That cool breeze coming off the lake and the shelf where we sat.

- The armadillos.

- Waking up at 3 in the morning, unable to believe I was freezing.

- Seeing the eagle (or coopers hawk).

- Watching the vultures group together and spread their wings in a defensive posture.

- The goodbye and the long drive home.

All in all, even through all the heat and exhaustion Ed and I had a great time. We did what we came to do; we camped out, even in the bad conditions, we raptor-watched and found we could spot them when available, and saw quite a few other birds as well.

Plus, Ed and I had a wonderful time. Ed and I have already talked about coming back in the winter when the eagles nest. We should be able to catch a lot more; we will be more experienced at this.

The raptors were a great site. These apex predators in their natural place made for a great thing for Ed and I to share. I can't wait to see them again.

Will we see more? Or less? I don't know, other than to expect the unexpected.

Day 3... Eagle Watch

That night Ed and I left the door open to the van to try to keep the temp down inside. It worked (a little) but it was still just barely acceptable. Still we were exhausted and that put us both to sleep. At 3am I woke up with an unusual feeling; I was freezing! During the night without the sun to burn away the mist or cold air it had creeped up the hill. It must have been 50 degrees! I wrapped myself in a blanket (incredible, it was nearly 100 during the day) and slept soundly.


Waking up at 6:30 Ed and I got up and by 8 we started to the spots. The eagle nests are located near boat lauch upriver closer to the dam. Arriving there we were greeted with bad luck...fishers. The river current is swift. In order to fish, boaters would drift with the current, fish, then start their motors and return to the spot they started. This buzzing up and down I knew was going to kill the birdwatching.


However we got lucky. Several whitewashed trees pointed to us possibilities. In the binoculars we saw, sure enough, several eagle nests. In one we saw something that was difficult to tell whether it was a bird of any sort. Spending several minutes on it we were able to tell, without a doubt we were in luck. It was a Coopers Hawk, at least, the markings were very close. Ed pointed out to me that the Coopers Hawk markings were also close to a juvenile Bald Eagle or Golden Eagle. Logically it made sense. Those were eagle nests, no doubt. A hawk would be pretty tough to dare to take an eagle's roost. So it just might have been.


Closer upriver I was suprised by the movement of something huge. No doubt, a great heron. A majestic bird, no doubt. I'm always amazed by the the contrasting size and grace by a creature this big. I followed him to his roost and spied several more heron nests. Across the lake martins were flying, having their fill of the morning insects. Somewhere in the background the owls were hooting, another of our fav predators. Bull Shoals was turning out to be a great spot.

After a while Ed and I decided to move to another spot where there were sure heron nests. It was across the from a place called Big Springs. Right in front the water wells up and flows through, fed from a lake 200 feet higher.







If you can see this is across the river, where 7 different heron nests were in this one tree. If you carefully look at the left hand nest, on the far right hand branch there is a grey patch with a slightly lighter color on its left side. That's a great heron. What you can't see, is to the right and slightly above is a Kite quietly in the background. I noticed it flex its wings, that's what drew me to it. Another lucky find.




A last look at one more raptor; not our fave, but one none the less; a buzzard. They're quite common and hang around the dumpsters in the morning. I went over to the dumpster in the morning where about 20 of them were hanging around. I got to an imaginary line and they immediately jumped off and hopped away. One of them turned around and spread its wings. Interestingly they closed ranks and they all opened their wings. Amazing behavior; the wing-spreading was to present a more imposing front and all of them did it in an attempt to "frighten" me away. I walked away, I didn't want to do anything that would present a concern to the group. But I went away more impressed with their behavior. I didn't know that vulture's showed community instincts and was shown otherwise.


Ten o'clock came up and the heat started to ramp up. Ed and I decided we had completed our birdwatching, and ended it with a real winner of a day. We had seen either a Cooper's Hawk or a jv eagle, a kite, a red-tailed hawk, heard several owls and multiple vultures. This does not include the herons, a red-billed woodpecker, kingfishers, several swallows, purple martins, blue-jays, crows, thrush's and a Louisiana Waterthrush. A wonderful day.


10:00am-7:00pm - We took highway 62 East to highway 63 to Memphis, then took Interstate 55 to Columbia. Ed and I had a great time talking about all we had seen.

An interesting epiloge: on the way home something blazed in front of us. It moved so fast that I barely got a look at it. However Ed did. He said "oh my God! That was a Perigrine Falcon!!"

Amazing.. on the last day, on the way home, we spied one of the most unique raptors, the fastest bird on wing. In an unnatural place, an interstate highway. This trip proved to expect the unexpected.

Day 2.75 Bull Shoals Campground

Finally.... Made it to Bull Shoals State Campground. Bull Shoals is located in north Arkansas, very near the Missouri border. It's mountaneous (not nearly like the Ozarks) and very beautiful. Somewhere 50 years ago they dammed up one end of the lake that connected to the Missouri river tributary and created the largest oxbow. The dam creates hydroelectric power and sometimes during startup the lake can rise up to 4 feet in a few minutes. The sound a warning when this happens.

The Bull Shoals campground is on the downward side of the dam and stands 60 feel below the dam roof. A current runs from two places; first, relief ports of the hydorelectric generators. Second, from an artesian well that comes from a spring that's connected to a lake a half a mile away and located 200 feet higher than the Bull Shoals lake.

In driving in a fascinating thing happened; I was driving slow, not wanting to miss my turn, when a fawn bolted in front of the van. I stopped immediately and right after that a doe went running after the fawn. Finally after this while we were watching another fawn went running across the street after the doe and the fawn. We sat there watching, the family no more than 20 feet away. The fawn took her time nursing one fawn, unafraid. We watched for a few minutes and drove away, thinking how sometimes you can be at the right place at the right time.

Finally we made it to the state park. One of the interesting things about the lake itself is a fine mist that rises from the lake about 5 feet from the water. In this shot you can see the the mist. The lake is crystal clear and you see 50 feet to the bottom. My guess is that the lake is ice cold. The far side of the lake is a cliff at least 200 feet high.

Our campspot was unfortunately without any shade and the 96 degree heat made the asphalt shimmer. Instead of pulling into the drive I pulled over to the side in the grass, it being at least 5 degrees cooler than the driveway. About 15 feet below the edge of the campsite the land made a shelf of grass right next to the lake. Rocks and trees rimmed the lakeshore. We found that this slip of land was cooler than next to the van. You can notice Ed setting up the chairs. If you look in the background up the riverbed wall you can see a house(!) at the very top. In the binoculars I could see the house had two decks, and incredibly, a back yard. I'm not much for cutting that grass. If the lawnmower goes over, I'm not chasing it.

Ed in our favorite spot, him with his computer reading and I with my book. This shelf was beautiful, the grass cut. You could take off your shoes and rub your toes in it. While sitting there another interesting thing happened. A wave of cold air hit us. It cooled the shelf down at least 15 degrees lower than where the van was parked no more that 15 feet higher. It felt wonderful. Ed was all in favor of pulling out the sleeping bags and sleeping on that little shelf of land. I was in favor as well until about five minutes later two armadillos came out of the stand of trees in the background and wandered right by us no more than two feet away. They were in no hurry, knew we were there and looked like they had all the time in the world. At that point I remarked that I wasn't sure what else would meander by in the night and perhaps it would be better to sleep in the van.

That little spot was wonderful and one of the highlights of the trip. Ed and I stayed there, sipping on a drink and enjoying the sound of the water, the birds and that blessed cool mist that made things so comfortable. The afternoon recharged us and made us ready for the morning. Next up; day 3, and looking for raptors! The ranger told us where the eagles nest as well as the herons. It's unlikely the eagles will be there, but you never can tell.

Day 2.5 The Long and Winding Road

Saturday Afternoon. Ed and I had broken camp, and although the night was uncomfortable we pulled through. We had slept in the van, there was enough room for us both. Even though we had rolled down the windows it was still warm and sticky even with the fans blowing full speed. It made for an early wakeup and an exhausting sleep. I had wanted to bring a pop-up camper my dad had but he convinced me instead to take just the van. My thoughts were that he must know there's something not right with it, whether the tires were bad, the axle was sticky, maybe it was just not clean. Anyway I didn't need to have my arm twisted. Without it I would get much better gas milage, and besides, it was one more thing that could go wrong. I would have loved to have it Friday night, but I could live with it. More to this later.

After blogging about our Lake Dardanelle nature walk Ed and I grabbed a bite to eat, then started the 95 mile trek to Bull Shoals State Park. Our route was up Highway 7 to Harrison, then another 35 miles to Bull Shoals. Hour and a half, two hours tops, I thought.

Actually the route was 140 miles, and I would have been better served if I would have not just glanced at the route but also decided to look at a topographical map as well. After all, this was Arkansas, and we were in the middle of the Ozarks.

After leaving Lake Dardanelle we started up Highway 7, and easy start. After about 7 miles I noticed a sign saying "Ozark Mountain Scenic Drive". hmmm.... I had a fairly good idea what that meant, and I started to get an idea why the road on the map was basically a bunch of squiggly lines. The road started to slowly climb up and the travel started to get wind-y (meaning the road started to wind back and forth). The grade up was not too bad, but after 30 minutes we were still climbing. In about 40 minutes I got a look at our first scenic view, and I wish I hadn't. We had to be at least 600 feet up. The thing that really disturbed me was the road had no guardrail and no shoulder.

Probably the most disturbing thing I saw happening right after this; after coming though a stand of trees there was a sign that said "slow down, one lane ahead". I told Ed if they're working on the road then I doubt they'd be working on it on the weekend and there were probably two lanes open. Nope. After 1000 feet we came up on it. The left hand lane (not the one I was in) was washed away, or was the victim of some rockslide. The left hand lane was gone and there was a 100 foot drop where the lane used to be. I was past it before the thought came in my head that I was dangerously close to that left hand lane, that it could crumble as I drove by it.

The winding continued. I took it going as slow as 25 mph as I approach blind curve after blind curve. With no shoulder or guardrail I deliberately crossed the line if there wasn't an approaching car. I couldn't afford the luxury of looking at the view, and I think it would have freaked me if I did. Ed, bless his soul, kept up a conversation with me. We talked about his school, my school, his friends, and everything else. His relaxed easy voice kept me focused on just driving. Finally we approached a point that said "scenic point 1000 feet". I looked briefly, and that was about it. We were on a ribbon of highway with a breathtaking view on either side. The whole majesty of the Ozarks was open to us. It was beautiful and intimidating, knowing there wasn't any room for a mistake. Incredibly at the very top was a scenic view where you could pull over and "enjoy" the view. Needless to say I kept going.

Somewhere in the middle of the drive I reached, incredibly, a town (!?) in the middle of this and the Buffalo River that cut through the small village. We crossed the river on a two-lane trestle bridge with the river some 50 feet below us and the river "wall" cresting some 60 feet above us. This is a major site for river-rafters and kayakers. Quite a few people were around here. It gave me hope I might live through this.

Then it got hairy again. Another "scenic view 1000 foot" sign, and another that said "the Arkansas Grand Canyon". Great. Once again, no frikkin guardrails and turns that went 90 to 130 degrees with the outside turn on my side.

Then the down-grade started. Finally! Not much relaxing here! The sign said "Danger 7 percent grade. Trucks use first gear Runaway Spot 1000 Feet Ahead". Now the same 90 and 120 degree turns were accompanied with steep grades.

It took 10 miles before we finally started find our way finally down. We passed the "little Switzerland" houses (a hotel, they were all saying "Riiicollaaaa!!!"), a school (and football field, a huge plateau). We made it near the Mistic Canyons, and Ed wanted to go in, and truthfully I should have, but my nerves were frayed and I wanted to get of that. FINALLY, we made it to Harrison, and went on our way to Bull Shoals.

Does it sound like I was overly freaked? I might have been. I guess it's mostly experience. The people who lived there wouldn't give it a second thought. I've failed to mention that there were houses, communities and people that lived on this route. They have no problem with this. I did. Basically I'm a flat-lander. However, I've lived around the water all my life and have spent weeks on boats with no sign of land. I've been in the holds of ships with not much more room than a broom closet. Both of these would drive some people into panic attacks. For me, it's ho-hum. So I don't feel bad, there are just things we all react differently to.

A final note; remember what I started talking about, wishing I had taken the camper? Can you imagine me towing that thing up the Ozarks, dragging down the van, heating up the brakes? I can come up with about a dozen major disasters that could have happened, with no shoulder to pull over to and no place to go if anything would have happened. So as bad as it was, it could have been much worse. WHEW!!

Post: 8-5-08 - Highway 7 is noted as one of the Top 10 Scenic Highways in the United States and is recommended as a Don't Miss Highway on the CruisetheOzarks website. I certainly can't disagree. Having done it once I'd do it again, but it was certainly a very difficult road to just jump into unprepared. No doubt, one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. Just put up some frikkin guard rails.

Here's some links to the sites that talk about Highway 7

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/byway/topten_mtn10.htm

http://www.cruisetheozarks.com/roads_cen.htm

http://www.allgetaways.com/view_destination.asp?destinationid=XFA124-019

Day 2... Some More Hot

Whew!.. Man is it hot. At 6:30 this morning when Ed and I were up I noticed the temp and it was 81 degrees! But 9 it was 89! This has definitely put a crimp in our style. I've made a Solomon's Decision; there is no reason to be kicking our head in with this heat. The birds simply are not around when the temp gets to high. This morning we'll go on the Dardanelle nature trail to spy some birds and then we'll go by the lake pavilion to look at the displays of fish and spy out the air-conditioned windows.

In the morning I was serinaded by three or four great horned owls hooting back and forth to each other. It's an interesting "song" if you've never heard them; you can get a feel why people thousands of years ago likened them to ghosts.

We started down the nature trail this morning and we immediately decided that few people used it because of the number of spider webs that covered the pathway. There were spiders everywhere, nearly every 20 feet or so. Ed and I started to watch each other to make sure we didn't step into a web and several times had to brush a spider off our back. (shades of Indiana Jones).

The trail had very few birds. It was if the birds gave up the trail and gave it to the insects. Once again we were amazed by the number of swallowtails. All over the place, total indifferent to Ed and I, they few above, around, and near us. We did spy a couple of birds.

The trail was pretty deep. It went on for a mile or more and Ed and I cut it short by a half a mile or so. It was 9 oclock and even in the bushes it was in the high 80s.

Look close and you can see on the top of a leaf in the middle of the picture you can see a swallowtail butterfly. They are all over, landing on your shoulders, just amazing.

Ed with a J-bird feather. We found this on plus a goose feather and a large goose down feather. He has them in stuck in his hat now (yes, their official name is Macaroni).

A few of the many geese around. They allow you to walk within 3 feet of you before taking off.

Mama duck and her ducklings. We walked within 4 feet and they hit the water fast!

All in all we saw a swallow, an Occasional Thrush, a common robin, a great horned owl, a couple of mallards, a mama duck with 4 ducklings, and our goose friends. This afternoon we will be driving to Bull Shoals for the final leg of the journey. We've decided to get in this afternoon, do the nature trail this morning, and then leave for home. The weather has been simply too hot. The birds are only available for watching in the early morning and then they disappear. But even with this we've had a great time. We've spent a lot of time spotting some unique birds and got to see a couple of rare ones, including seeing our osprey and owls. We're going to enjoy today and then pack up for towmorrow.

Day 1... The Arkansas Birdwatching Death March

zzzzz.... That's where I'd like to be...

Last I woke up at 11 after a short hour and a half nap. No use going back to bed, so I started packing the remaining goods into the van and started out at midnight. A good night, no one on the road, that an hour later turned to... rain. It started about 1am in Mendenhall, and carried on until I was 30 minutes away from Vicksburg. Even so I was fine. Ed and I talked through the morning until at 3:30 he crashed. I decided to stay on the road until I was outside of Pine Bluff, and was there around 5:45. This was stunning, I was taking my time and yet I was coming in an hour earlier that I calculated.

No plan survives a battle however. I was planning on coming in the eastern end of Holla Bend, not realizing that there was NO eastern end, just an alleged road on the east. At 7:15 upon entering in the wildlife refuge, I found that I drove into a dead end. Something on the map that was never updated. Thanks Google.

Before we left there however I saw an unusualy bird. I first thought it was a flycatcher but now I'm not sure and I haven't found it in other bird books. This bird was about the size of a thrush but had a tail TWICE as long as its body. Ed and I spent time looking and the best that I've found to describe it is a forked-tailed flycatcher. This is a bird that traditionally is a Mexican or Central American bird. However this birds will sometimes invade the Gulf Coast, but rarely. How this bird got this far north must be some story. I know what I know. Ed saw it too. What we found was a rare sight.

Making our way to the other side, we made it 45 minutes later and entered the wildlife refuge at 8:00am. Incredible, I had chopped an hour off what I thought would be my best driving time, and I was averaging no faster than 64mph.

Had a good conversation with the rangers there and Ed and I started to lather up both with suntan lotion and bug spray. By 8:30 we were out and going. The wildlife refuge is HUGE. It must be over 3000 acres. This is a true wildlife refuge, in which the animals are the residents and human beings are the interlopers. You got the feeling driving down these dirt roads that this was what it was like living without modern conveniences.

Our first drive was down a dirt road near the river, and a good thing to. While spying some herons Ed noticed a figure swooping down from the sky and skimming the water. We both verified it. We were stunned seeing an osprey! The ospreys are unusual in Summer and rarely are seen. Apartently we were at the right place at the right time.

One of the unique things is the butterflies. They're born with no fear of man and they land on your fingers and could sit there for hours. Just in butterflies the refuge is a wonder. I've never seen so many swallowtails in one place. Beautiful.
















Ed checks out the Birds of Prey exhibit. During the winter the eagles nests are common around here. On the wing around this area we saw a sissors-tailed flycatcher, and this is when I revised my thoughts about what I saw. I WISH I would have captured that long-taled bird on camera!















See that white limb? Ed told me this is known as "whitewashing". How does this form? It happens when a bird defecates on a limb, and the acidity kills the limb. Makes it easy to know what limbs the eagle sits on.
















Woodducks peeking around the leaves. This is the lake where we saw the osprey.
















Egrets survey their kingdom.

One of the roads that cut through the refuge. This is real savannah, except there are a few strategic places growing corn and hay, all of it for the refuge. They allow hunting on the property but only during certain times of the year and during very limited time frames. If you've never had a chance to do this you need to go to a true refuge. It gives you a unique perspective of protective areas.

Ed back at Lake Dardanelle state park. It was HOT. Notice the two fans, one on a stand and the other small one on the table. Fortunately we were in the shade. It didn't help though. Temps soared to 102 degrees this day and cut short our birdwatching.

Sunset on Lake Dardanelle. It's a beautiful place, the lake must be several thounsand acres wide, and connects to the lower Missouri. Despite the heat it was a beautiful day. Starting tomorrow Ed and I will go on a nature trail on the state park, then we leave to go to Bull Shoals state park tomorrow. Hopefully it will be cooler!