OK Boat Trip, Day 32, 05/26/2008

In addition to the goats on Goat Island at Spadra Marina, they have roosters. So we left Spadra at 5:40 AM. That's good because we've got lots of ground to cover today - 70 miles and 2 locks.

How's this for a gorgeous sunrise to begin the day?

And here's the longest bridge in Arkansas, 1.6 miles. This is the short end, about 1/3 of it before the rest disappears around the bend.

And the small town of Ozark, AR with the railroad along the shoreline at the base of the bridge. I was through here by bus last week - I believe I like this view the best. Notice the cut through the rock wall for the train.

And this was a typical view all day long. As you can see, the sky is clear blue, the woods are deep green, there was no humidity, and we had the river to ourselves. There is very little traffic on the river which is amazing to us for a Memorial Day weekend. We actually saw the 1st jet skis we've seen on the entire AR River.

Notice the beaches are more of a pebble texture and size versus sand previously.

This was very interesting as rivers are usually in the lowest terrain of an area - I wish the picture did it justice. The river is actually higher than the adjacent land here. You are literally looking downhill from the river between Ozark and Fort Smith into a valley.

The excitement for the day began about 8 miles from the Ft. Smith lock. We had not seen a barge all day long and we spot one about 3 miles ahead putting it only 5 miles from the lock, obviously ahead of us. We really don't want to wait so I handed the microphone to Rhonda, LOL (you have to have read previous days' logs to understand the humor there). Anyhow, just to be sure we had no delay, we advanced the throttle to the fuel-guzzling mode and passed the barge about 3 miles from the lock. No delay. "Yes maam, how can I help you?"

And gotta go back down memory lane again. Remember I was riding the bus last week. Here it goes, Jefferson Lines leaving Fort Smith for Ozark as we approach the Emerald Cove Marina at Van Buren.

Almost there. Frank the owner is waiting to assist with lines.

Help Me Rhonda docked at Emerald Cove. Ducks and geese in the area.

More pics of the Emerald Cove docks.

Tomorrow is a short run, 41 miles and 2 locks, to Sallisaw, OK and Applegate Marina. The AR River Cruise Guide says we should get everything we need in Van Buren as we are about to enter serious wilderness! I thought that's what we were in today! Looking forward to tomorrow to see what's in store. Remember Mr. Blackley at Memphis? He says the stretch leaving AR and entering OK is the prettiest part of the river. Should be good!

And before we close, the big news of the day - Adam and Jen are expecting baby #3. Congratulations, we love y'all.