Day 26 – July 23, 2003

Best Trout Fishing

Ride from Searcy, Arkansas to Branson Missouri

We started a little late this morning because they didn’t finish replacing my rear tire until almost 10 am. Karen and I both like this part of the country, so we plan to spend a little more time looking around for the next couple of days than usual, so we expect to cover less distance. We stopped in a little non-descript town and tried one of those restaurants we have had such good luck with, but all I can say is there just have to be some that don’t measure up. Oh, the food was ok and the people friendly enough, but the building was falling apart and the people didn’t welcome strangers as we had gotten used to. I guess there have to be a few places like that.

One of the first things you notice as you travel around here it that every time you top a hill, you see the tops of more trees than you think could possibly be here. Still when you top the next hill, there they are again. It has got to be one of the grandest sights you will ever see in this country. It looks a lot like the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the hazy blue is not near as noticeable. When I see scenes like this, I can’t help but wonder what our forefathers must have thought when they first saw this land. They had no roads through the trees, no road signs or billboards, not gas stations or restaurants, but they saw something that they must have seen as having been created for their viewing pleasure. I can’t help but wonder at the wild game that had to be running free with not fences or roads to block them. The open areas must have at times been thick with game animals of every kind. Wouldn’t it be great to go back just for a little while and see all that?

Anyway as we moved farther north and west, we passed some of the most gorgeous houses. I hate to say houses, because it is more like the entire package. Many of the houses here have 2 or 3 houses on one lot. They commonly refer to them as the mother-in-law houses. It is not uncommon to see a house with 5 or 6 garages, or none at all. Of course it is not uncommon to have a 4 or 5 acre lot either. The ponds we see here are natural unlike the ones we have to build back home. Curbs are something you don’t see very often and the gas we take for granted has to be trucked in and stored in tanks close to the houses. The lakes and rivers that we so rarely see are abundant and pretty much taken for granted out here though. Hunting and fishing are something that people just do, instead of having to plan for. We passed a very large body of water that turned out to be Lake Norfork. I had never even heard of it, but around here it is known as the best trout fishing in the USA. It surprised me to see signs advertising scuba diving. I never really thought scuba other than in the ocean.

Well crossing the line into Missouri seemed to tire Karen out and this cold that I seem to have picked up today is not making me feel real energetic either. I think we will find the first motel we come to and get some rest. Perhaps in your are in Missouri tomorrow, I’ll see you on the byways…