Harvest Hosts Camping - the Hardwood Mall

 We got up and I just had to take some more photos of the goats. They are so darn cute. We headed off for a 6 Hour Dr. to our next harvest host, which was Tje Hardwood Mall. This host is right by the interstate so most likely we’ll be hearing noise at night. But it’s a $30 hook up and very convenient so here we are plus we got to see the beautiful showroom. The majority of the items were beautifully Made tables. There was one long table about 6 foot that had blue epoxy running through the middle. It was gorgeous. We then unhooked and drove over to the Allegheny River Trail. We rode 13 1/2 miles in about two hours. This was a nice trail as it was paved the whole way. At the beginning, The path was lined with a white picket fence, but that was to keep us off the former industrial area, possibly a train yard or maybe oil. The trail goes along the river, but there were very few view points of the river at the end is a tunnel that goes through the mountain. This was built by European immigrants that came over and they worked for $.17 an hour. It was a huge help as they were transporting oil to different parts of the states. When we got back to the trailer, we heated up our lobster mac & cheese, and some frozen veggies. I’m hesitant to buy fresh vegetables as there is a virus going around caused by some of the vegetables that are not properly cleaned by Taylor farms.

Harvest Hosts - Aspire Brewing, Middletown NY

I didn’t get much sleep due to the constant interstate noise, struggling to fall asleep and waking around 2:00 a.m. to the same steady roar. Scotty, however, slept well—I could hear him snoring—and was up by 7:00 while I dragged myself out of bed.

Our mission for the day was visiting my parents’ gravesite. We stopped at Home Depot for ornamental grasses, and I had already prepared artificial flower arrangements in cone vases.  At the cemetery, a caretaker drove us to Section 27 since we weren’t sure of the exact plot. When I mentioned forgetting my clippers, he kindly offered to use his weed eater around the headstone and it looked SO much better. He also shared that the cemetery is maintained by only two and a half workers, with new hires starting at $8 an hour and often leaving for higher-paying jobs at McDonald’s. Afterward, we searched for my grandmother’s grave, which we had found listed online without a section number. The caretakers were mowing on the hill and I didn’t want to interrupt them again, so we decided we might find her resting place on another visit.

It made me reflect on overlooked work. I’m grateful for him, who clearly cares for the grounds despite the challenges, and as always, for Scotty, who dug into the hard ground so we could plant the grasses while I cleaned the headstone. My dad’s nameplate, darkened over time, looked only slightly brighter when we finished, but the gravesite felt cared for again, bringing me a sense of peace.

We got to our next harvest host, aspire brewing in Middletown New York. As promised, it is a very large parking lot Outside of aspire brewing just off the interstate.  The lot itself was not very level and there are no hook ups here but we knew that. We were prepared to use the generator if necessary, but Scotty only had to turn it on for 10 minutes in the morning to get it back up to 12 V.When we arrived there was a another couple Parking there Van we got to talking in the parking lot and realised we had a lot in common so we went to have dinner together. The brewery is absolutely huge and they have a very large selection of beers on tap as well as bottled beers with that large of a selection. We were able to find a hefeweisen that was good. I enjoyed my fish tacos and Scotty had a Philly cheesesteak, but even better was sitting with our newly acquired friends Tim and Diane. They are avid campers and are in fact camp host this summer at a small park in Massachusetts we slept only fairly well because in the middle of the night, we could hear the dumpsters being emptied in the trains once in while. But as I said, it’s a convenient stop as it’s right off the interstate. 

Harvest Hosts Camping - Benton Farms KY

 We’re on our way to Thacher Island, hooray. We’re making it a quick trip up and using Harvest Hosts, which are always fun. Today was about a 5 1/2 hour drive to Benton Farms in Walton, KentuckyThe owner said the farm has been in the family for five generations. They are not only a harvest host, but they do educational camps in the summer and other events throughout the year. The best part for us is that we were camped right beside their Little goats. Apparently you cannot have too many pictures of goats because I just kept taking them. They were fun to watch and I realized that each one has Their own personality. It was a great stop.

Kayaking - North Fork Lake f White River

 

We started the day with a lovely breakfast prepared by Lauren—breakfast tacos filled with scrambled eggs, peppers, and a side of bacon. It was so thoughtful of her to get up early and make breakfast for everyone, especially since she wasn’t joining us for the paddle.

Leta and Doug headed back to Nashville this morning, leaving 11 of us for today’s adventure. After an hour-and-a-half drive, we arrived at the North Fork of the White River. We put in at Hammond Bridge and took out at Blair Bridge, covering a total of 11 miles.

Everyone agreed that today’s paddle was fantastic. The river kept things exciting with numerous rapids along the way, and we were all thrilled to successfully make it through Skull Crusher Falls! The combination of beautiful scenery, fun rapids, and great company made for an unforgettable day on the water.

We all met at The Wet Spot in Town for our final dinner. Lots of laughs and reminiscing went on as it was a thoroughly enjoyable week, probably one of the best weeks we’ve had in the Ozarks the evening didn’t end there because when we got back to camp, several of us went down to the river to see the fireflies and the stars. I only wish I had known about the fireflies earlier in the week because they were just amazing and the stars along the river were plentiful and vibrant. I feel so fortunate to be able to experience such beauty in my days.

Kayaking

 

Today was an early start. We left the campground at 7:00 and arrived at Hofsteddler’s about an hour and a half later. After loading the kayaks, we loaded ourselves onto the bus for the shuttle ride. It’s always a fun trip together, but even more entertaining when the winding road twists and turns like a roller coaster. In fact, once we reached the dirt road, there were moments when we couldn’t even see the road ahead as it dropped sharply downhill.

The day began with temperatures around 71 degrees, but by the time we returned to the trucks, it had warmed to 84 degrees. Our group of 14 paddled a total of 8.5 miles. It was mostly nonstop paddling until we stopped for lunch at Boze Springs. The water level was low, so it wasn’t quite as scenic as in previous years, but it remains one of the best lunch spots around.

Several people decided to take the plunge into the spring, and judging by the shrieks that followed, the water was far too cold for me! Shortly after Boze Springs, we reached the rapids, which looked very different from previous years because of the low water. Nevertheless, we had a great time navigating our way through them and enjoying one last bit of excitement before finishing the day’s paddle.

It was another wonderful day on the river, filled with good friends, plenty of laughs, and beautiful Ozark scenery.

Kayaking - Jacks Fork, Ally Springs to Eminence Ballfield

 

It was an early start today, and we met at the campground at 8:00. From there, we drove to Wendy’s Outfitters, where they loaded our kayaks into the shuttle cage. After snapping both a group photo and a fun photo inside the cage, we were ready to head to the river and begin the day’s adventure.

We put in at Aly Springs and paddled to the ballfield in Eminence. As we settled into the rhythm of the river, we navigated a few strainers along this stretch and managed only a couple of tumbles once we reached Eminence. Along the way, we made our customary stop at the cliff where a few brave paddlers carry on the tradition of jumping off. Unsurprisingly, I was not one of them!

By the time we reached the end of the route, we had paddled a total of 7.5 miles. To cap off the day, we treated ourselves to a visit to the Dairy Shack in town, which was the perfect ending to another great day on the water.

Kayaking – Current River, Akers Ferry to Round Springs

We awoke to another beautiful day. I really think this has been the best week of paddling we’ve ever had when it comes to weather. The days have been warm but not overly hot, and the evenings have cooled down enough to make for great sleeping.

Today we put in at Akers Ferry and paddled down to Pulltite. We stopped at a gravel bar for lunch, and as always, this section of the river was an easy and beautiful paddle. The route from Akers Ferry to Pulltite is 9.7 miles long and offers plenty of scenic views along the way.

Once we reached Pulltite, we had the option of ending our day there or continuing on to Round Spring Campground. Six of us decided to keep paddling, turning the day’s route into a total of 19.5 miles.

As usually happens with a smaller group, our pace picked up on the second section. The current started off fairly slow but gradually increased as we moved farther downstream, making for a fun finish to the day.

After such a long paddle, we were pretty proud of ourselves. We were also a little disappointed that there wasn’t a throng of cheering fans waiting to greet us at the takeout. Since no cheerleaders appeared, we simply cheered for ourselves—and honestly, after 19.5 miles, we had earned it.

Another wonderful day on the Current River and another reminder of why we keep coming back to the Ozarks.