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.