tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255029892024-03-13T05:33:31.723-05:00The ByrdnestMy various ramblings as I try to keep everyone upto date on the family.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-18175312063611012812018-07-03T23:44:00.000-05:002018-07-03T23:44:35.360-05:002018 Great Western TripBack when Emily was in 4th grade the National Park Service started a program where you could get a pass to allow their whole family in for free (entrance fees are fairly expensive). We didn't have time to plan and take advantage of it but we knew we wanted to take the kids out west. So, we started planning a trip. Last July we booked a cabin on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and a room on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (bookings open up July 1 of every year and fill up quickly). We then started filling in the blanks.<br />
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Alicia's parents have been taking advantage of being retired and having purchased senior passes before their price increased 8x. We invited them to join us on our trek.<br />
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So, where all did we go? We started with Mesa Verde in Colorado, moved north to Arches in Utah, jumped to the Western side of Utah to visit Bryce Canyon and Zion (skipping Canyonlands and Capital Reef in the process). We then moved down into Arizona to visit both rims of the Grand Canyon, and lastly to New Mexico for Carlsbad Canyon.<br />
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All told it was about 60 hours in the car (without stops) covering roughly 3760 miles.<br />
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We purchased an annual pass for $80. This got us into all of the parks and got us our tour at Carlsbad Canyon for free. If we'd paid individual entrance fees it would have been over $200, plus it's good for a year, so we're planning some additional trips.<br />
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I'll do more posts for individual parks, but for now I'm going to give a high level summary of what we did and include a few teaser photos. The kids will chime in on the individual parks as well.<br />
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<b>Friday, June 22</b><br />
We headed out at about 4:30, after a brief stop for gas and food in Alma we pressed on towards Oklahoma City. We stopped briefly at the Oklahoma Welcome Center (that was closed). The kids noted that the picnic tables looked like tepees. We finally got into our room about 10:30 right before a pretty good storm arrived.<br />
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<b>Saturday, June 23</b><br />
After grabbing breakfast at the motel we got on the road about 8:15. We stopped at the Texas Welcome Center in Amarillo (we noticed they had rather interesting patterns in the tile in the bathrooms, and high wooden ceilings). They also had metal animal silhouettes outside. After a brief gas and lunch stop we headed onto Albuquerque. The New Mexico Welcome Center was essentially at the border. We stopped in for a bathroom break and to pickup a map. We adjusted the car clock to self adjust since we would be traveling through several time zone changes on the trip. It was interesting to watch the landscape change, both becoming more mountainous as well as the changes in the vegetation. It was really pretty coming into Albuquerque. It was over 100 when we got there, we could also tell that we had gained about 5000 feet of elevation.<br />
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<b>Sunday, June 24</b><br />
Another early start so we can get to Mesa Verde. We stopped in Durango, CO for lunch (and a WalMart stop). It was interesting, after leaving Albuquerque we saw no signs of life for about an hour and a half. From the welcome center to the majority park was a 20 mile drive UP to the top of the mesa. We took the balcony house tour which involved climbing a 32-foot wooden ladder to get to the dwelling. And 2 more 11-foot ladders to get out. After about 5 hours at the park it was time to head on to Thompson Spring, UT where Roy and Judy had an Air B&B for the night.<br />
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<b>Monday, June 25</b><br />
We headed out early to beat the crowds to Arches. We saw several arches: Delicate Arch - the most famous, Landscape Arch - largest in the US, Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Double Arch, and lastly the North, South, and Turret Arches. After about 5 hours we headed across Utah to our hotel outside of Bryce Canyon.<br />
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<b>Tuesday, June 26</b><br />
We spent the day at Bryce Canyon. We parked outside of the park and took their free shuttle in (they have 1 parking place for every 4 cars inside the park). We road the bus around the main portion of the park and also walked around. We visited Sunset and Sunrise Points. We then hiked down into the cayon on the Garden Trail (very steep). After lunch we visited Inspiration and Bryce Points. We road the shuttle back out to our cars and drove in to goto the back of the park where Rainbow Point @9000-feet is. We then headed back to the motel for dinner. We planned on coming back to catch the sunset but we timed it wrong so we missed it. It was also a near full moon so it was hard to see any stars.<br />
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<b>Wednesday, June 27</b><br />
After breakfast we headed south for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We planned on a brief stop at Zion but due to a miscommunication we wound up driving all the way through the park and then back out. It was worth the detour (more on that later). We bought lunch at the last stop before entering the Grand Canyon (The Grand Canyon General Store). It had 2 gas pumps, one selling desel, the other selling regular. We bought lunch from a food truck. We saw a herd of buffalo just inside the park. We walked around for a while, then had dinner at the Lodge. After dinner we took a hike we'd planned on doing before dinner. It was good we went after dinner, we managed to catch the sunset, it was beautiful. I left the drapes open on my side of the cabin so I could see the stars, unfortunately that also meant the sun could come in early :(.<br />
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<b>Thursday, June 28</b><br />
After a quick breakfast at the saloon, we headed back out to go around to the South Rim. It's about 1.5 hours back to the intersection where you turn east, we went by Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, crossed the Colorado, then headed back West to reenter the park at the east gate. We stopped at the Watchtower (beautiful views), had lunch, and then started the 20 mile drive west into the main village. We stopped at several vistas and also had to contend with construction traffic (they are rebuilding the road). After checking into our room we took the shuttle to the visitor center. We then took the shuttle to the far side of the village to eat dinner and walk along some of the rim trail. After dinner we bumped into a moose eating dinner along the trail. We tried going back to the visitor center to walk a trail to view more wildlife but it took longer for the bus to return than we expected so we just headed back to our room. We did get some star viewing in though.<br />
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<b>Friday, June 29</b><br />
Another travel day. The plan was to drive to Roswell, NM via Albuquerque (about a 9 hour drive). About 1/2 way there Waze warned us about a traffic problem ahead (truck caught on fire and set grass on the side of the road on fire) and rerouted us. This reroute took us by the Petrified Forest (so we stopped), the Very Large Array (radio telescopes), and the Smokey the Bear Historic State Park. After 11.5 hours we finally made it to our hotel. It was only 2 miles further than if we'd stayed on the interstate.<br />
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<b>Saturday, June 30</b><br />
A relatively short drive down to Carlsbad Caverns where we spent a couple of hours underground enjoying the 56 degree temperatures. We all walked in via the natural entrance. Eli didn't want to wait in line for the elevator (30 minute wait) so he and I hiked back out that way (mind you we were 750 feet under ground). It took us about 30 minutes to get out. Then it was onto Abileen, TX for the night. We finally found a Sonic to get a treat at (right on the New Mexico Texas line). There was a storm racing us for the intersection with I-20 (it won) but we saw lots of cool lightening behind the windmills. We got ahead of the storm on I-20 and got moved into our room right before it arrived.<br />
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<b>Sunday, July 1</b><br />
We slept in a little and then got on the road home. I knew the Dallas-Fort Worth area was large but it took us about 1.5 hours to drive across it. We got lunch on the other side of Dallas and then started looking for another Sonic. We stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center in Texarkana. We finally found a convenient Sonic in Benton. Finally making it home around 5.<br />
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<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-21378622013171684452017-11-21T11:21:00.000-06:002017-11-21T11:21:29.256-06:00Closing in on the last oneI've got a full tank of gas, the kids are Nana's for the day, Alicia's at work......hummmm, the kids are tired of caching, what's a fella to do......time to hit the road.<br />
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First stop was <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakecatherine/">Lake Catherine State Park</a>. Located on the shores of one of several lakes clustered together in Central Arkansas. When I first got to where I thought the cache was I noticed some signs marking the trail closed due to hunting, hummmm, not good. Then I looked down at the fuzzy jacket I was wearing, hummmm, deer colored, good thing I'm gonna be in State Parks today. Rechecked the GPS and saw I didn't need to take that trail after all, cache acquired, time to move on.<br />
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Next stop was <a href="http://www.degray.com/">DeGray Lake Resort State Park</a>. On the way it occurred to me that I'd forgotten to grab the bagel I'd intended to eat for breakfast, swung by a Pilot that just so happened to have a Cinnabun stand inside, grabbed one of those and a thing of chocolate milk, problem solved. Now onto the park. One thing I realized I failed to take into consideration was that the milages between things was basically park entrance to park entrance. I failed to take into consideration the time required to drive within the park, more on this later. This cache was located in an interesting place at one of the swim beaches, let's just say I'm glad my arms aren't any shorter than they are.<br />
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The next target was <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/daisy/">Daisy State Park</a>, located on the shores of Lake Greeson in Daisy, Arkansas. Looks like a nice hidden gem of a place to come spend a weekend.<br />
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Onto <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/cossatotriver/">Cossatot River State Park - Natural Area</a>, I missed the turn that my GPS wanted me to take onto a Weyerhouser road to get to where the cache is, as luck would have it I wound up at the park sign that I needed to take a picture of anyway, and there was a sign pointing me towards Cossatot Falls. Six and a half miles of gravel road later (remember how I mentioned I'd forgotten to factor in traveling to the actual caches?) I was at the falls, and quickly found the cache. The water was down so no-one was playing in the falls, but I can see how boaters could have a lot of fun there.<br />
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Time to head back east. Quick stop for lunch on the way to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakeouachita/">Lake Ouachita State Park</a>, then hunting for the cache. This was the most challenging of the ones I found today, very sneakily hidden.<br />
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I plugged today's finds into my spreadsheet and determined that my answer was indeed inside of one of the State Parks (good sign). I headed towards it hoping to find stage one today, then the family come back another day to find the actual finally. My luck ran out after having found 5 caches today. I reached out to some fellow cachers who have finished the challenge to check my numbers, so far I've received confirmation that I'm off, now to see by how much. Stay tuned, the end is near.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-2533427260269136772017-10-01T17:33:00.000-05:002017-10-01T17:33:02.826-05:00Butterflies and a cacheWe picked this weekend to goto <a href="http://www.queenwilhelmina.com/">Queen Winhelmina State Park</a> because it was predicted that the Monarch butterflies would be passing through on their way south for the winter. We did see some butterflies, lots of bikes (both human powered and gas powered). We hiked a couple of trails (bushwhacked to fetch the park cache (that's #47 of 52), rode our bikes, hung out at camp.<br />
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I bumped into a couple of Rolla grads at the bath house last night. Emily and I were walking up (I was wearing a UMR sweatshirt) and a guy asks "are you an alum?". We talked for a bit, turns out he (ME'08 and his wife ArchEng'08), also lived in the Quad. Small world.<br />
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We'd planned on stopping by another park on the way home since it was "in the neighborhood" but Eli didn't sleep well last night so we opted to just head straight home.<br />
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Had to ask where the park sign was (different road than we came in on) and snagged a picture last night. Glad I did because since we didn't goto the other park we didn't go out that way either.<br />
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If you squint you can see a butterfly.</div>
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Speckled King Snake, we watched him until he moved on along</div>
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Gorgeous views</div>
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And of course, sign #47.</div>
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Five more parks to go. Since we're not whitewater boaters Cossatot will probably involve hiking a trail along the river. We can hike from the visitor's center to the cache and back (it's about 4.5 miles each way), it'll be a long hike but quite doable with daypacks.</div>
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Daisy will probably be our campground when we go see it and Cossatot.</div>
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The 3 lakes (Catherine, DeGray, and Ouachita) will probably all be done together. Stay at 1, enjoy 1, visit the other 2 as well.</div>
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If we'd been thinking further ahead, perhaps we would have used the 4 day weekend around Columbus Day but we have other plans Friday and Saturday night.</div>
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We're getting close, I'm looking forward to finishing up.</div>
<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-41753018386280591112017-05-30T22:35:00.000-05:002017-05-30T22:35:08.033-05:00And then there were 6This weekend on the way back from a quick trip to KC for Opa's birthday we swung by <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hobbsstateparkconservationarea/">Hobbs State Park - Conservation Area</a> for another try at their cache. If you'll recall from March of 2016 we attempted to find it but came up empty handed. This time after reading notes from several other cachers who had found it we were successfull. We did discover that the clue was missing though. Talking to the friendly visitor center staff they had the clue handy "people keep walking off with it or wiping it off of the container".<br />
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I've been holding onto this sign photo for over a year, so Woohoo, I finally get to post it.<br />
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So that's park #46 of 52. At least 1 is going to have to wait until the fall butterfly migration. The kids are a bit burned out on collecting caches right now too. Collecting 13 over 2 weekends of Spring Break may have been a bit much. Especially since there was considerable distance between some of them which meant many hours in the car. Perhaps we'll be finished by the end of the year.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-66431657502697467762017-03-27T12:44:00.000-05:002017-03-27T15:52:44.049-05:00Spring Break - part twoThere's a saying in Arkansas. If you have outdoor plans in the Spring, you'd better have an alternative ready.<br />
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We'd planned on another weekend of camping. Mother Nature decided she needed to water the yard some more and blow some leaves, so we camped in our house Friday night to avoid the storms rolling through. Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful (unpollinated) morning. We headed to the extreme Southwest corner of the state (south of Bradley) to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/conwaycemetery/">Conway Cemetery State Park</a>. Resting place of Governor Conway (and his family), the First Governor of Arkansas.<br />
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We headed north to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/logoly/">Logoly State Park</a>. It gets it's odd name by taking the 1st 2 letters of the last names of the 3 families (Longinos, Goodes, and Lyles) who owned the land when it was leased as a Boy Scout camp before eventually being purchased by the Nature Conservancy. A nice quiet park. I did make a navigational error when scouting out where the cache was which took us a bit out of our way.<br />
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Next up was <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/poisonspring/">Poison Springs Battleground State Park</a>, first in the Red River Campaign. The cache was a good 100' away from where it was supposed to be and had recently been "cleaned up and fixed". Unfortunately, the park series clues weren't put back, so I'm working on obtaining those from other sources.<br />
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Last stop of the day was our campground for the evening, <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/whiteoaklake/">White Oak Lake State Park</a>. Beautiful place to spend the evening (once the generator next door was turned off), nice trails to walk on, a lake to play on in warmer weather. Unfortunately, this cache suffered from the same "clean up and fixup" as the last one, sigh.<br />
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Sunday morning we awoke to a nice foggy morning on the lake. After breaking camp and eating breakfast we headed South East again to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/millwood/">Millwood State Park</a>. This lake is the water source for Texarkana and home to lots of large bass (or so the brochure says). We had an enjoyable stroll and picnic lunch on the two trails by the lake.<br />
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<a href="http://www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com/">Historic Washington State Park</a> was our next target. Capital of Arkansas for a couple of years after the Union troops captured Little Rock. A quaint little town.<br />
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A quick stop by <a href="http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/">Crater of Diamonds State Park</a> to grab that cache and stickers for the kids' trunks. The hiding spot for the cache was one of the more ingenious I've seen.<br />
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And then it was time to head the rest of the way home. <br />
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So, for the weekend that gives us:<br />
#39 - Conway Cemetery<br />
#40 - Logoly State Park<br />
#41 - Poison Springs Battleground State Park<br />
#42 - White Oak Lake State Park<br />
#43 - Millwood State Park<br />
#44 - Historic Washington State Park<br />
#45 - Crater of Diamonds State Park<br />
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45 of 52, 87% getting close. It was a successful set of Spring Break caching trips, 13 caches across the two weekends (still gotta track down the clues for 2 of those).<br />
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<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-63299405227421699082017-03-20T13:10:00.002-05:002017-03-20T21:38:59.104-05:00On the road againIt's Spring Break in Arkansas which must mean it's time to get back to geocaching. This weekend took us to 6 parks via 450 miles or so of road. For those who don't know, South Arkansas is timber country. We saw LOTS and LOTS of timber.<br />
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The weekend started with a drive down to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/canecreek/">Cane Creek State Park</a>. After briefly confusing the ranger because "our name wasn't on his list" we got moved into our campsite for the weekend. One thing we discovered is either there was a family reunion of sorts going on, or the folks around us knew each other from camping/fishing.<br />
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Saturday morning after packing a sack lunch we started our quest by obtaining the park's official cache. We then headed off on a leisurely jaunt through the woods to one of the 3 swinging bridges in the park. That was about a 6-7 mile stroll, the kids were pretty zonked by the time we finished. We decided a drive in the car to another park to allow some rest time was in order. So, we headed on over to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/marksmills/">Marks' Mills Battleground State Park</a> (one of 3 stops on the Red River Campaign). Oddly the park itself isn't where the skirmish occurred, that's a mile down the road, must have been where the state could get some land. Once back home we road bikes for a while, working on a puzzle cache, we figured it out but never actually went to collect it, perhaps we'll be back some day.<br />
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Sunday morning we packed up and headed out on a rather circuitous route home. Everyone heads out South to go North, right? Our first stop was <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/morobay/">Moro Bay State Park</a>. When we arrived we were curious why the cabins were built up on stilts, then we found this pole. Note that Emily's feet are about 20 feet above the current water level, that's a lot of water! The kids had fun exploring the ferry that had crossed here until 1992. And we learned that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing, who knew.<br />
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Next stop was the <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/southarkansasarboretum/">South Arkansas Arboretum State Park</a>. The azaleas were in bloom, though not much else was yet. It was still a nice stroll.<br />
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Just down the road we stopped at the <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/museumofnaturalresources/">Arkansas Museum for Natural Resources</a>. Built near the crater of a sizable blowout it chronicles the rise and fall of the natural resources market in Arkansas. Primarily timber and oil.<br />
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Turning north towards home we had one more stop to make, this time at <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/jenkinsferry/">Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park</a>. The last stop on the Red River Campaign trail. It was at this stop that the Union Army finally escaped the Confederate Army by destroying the temporary bridge across the flooded Red River.<br />
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So that gives us:</div>
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#33 - Cane Creek</div>
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#34 - Marks' Mills</div>
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#35 - Moro Bay</div>
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#36 - South Arkansas Arboretum</div>
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#37 - Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources</div>
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#38 - Jenkins Ferry</div>
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38 of 52, almost 3/4 (1 short)</div>
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Hopefully we'll be finished this fall. Waiting until October for Queen Wilhelmina because of the migrating butterflies that stop by.</div>
<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-10169968982260010302016-09-18T15:17:00.000-05:002016-09-18T15:17:05.075-05:00That's Edgy ManOne of Eli's friends has adopted as his personal catch phrase "That's Edgy Man". He really came into ownership of it at a church camp this summer. So, when Eli was invited to his birthday party he knew just the gift to make for him, an Edgy Button.<br />
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So, on a Friday night when the girls were off at a church lock-in, we put on our Maker hats and got to work.<br />
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The first thought was that a Staples Easy Button would be the perfect starting point. Wonder if anyone's managed to change the message it says. Off to <a href="http://instructables.com/">Instructables.com</a> we go. Doesn't look like it but there are several people who have replaced the internal guts so we went that route.<br />
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First stop, Staples to get an Easy Button to see how much room we had to work with. If anyone's curious, this is what the inside of your Easy Button looks like.<br />
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The black dot in the top left is the "brain" of the whole operation and looks fairly impenetrable and unmodifiable.<br />
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I found the voice module we needed on Amazon. Prime shipping could have it to me by Sunday, but we didn't have that kind of time. Time to check and see if Radio Shack happens to have what we need.<br />
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Surprise surprise, they do (no seriously, I was shocked when we walked in, they asked if they could help, I told them what I was looking for and they said, we used to, yup, right here).. For those not in the know, Radio Shack <b>used to be</b> a tinker's goto spot. Emphasis on used to be. Now they mostly sell popular electronics, phone accessories, etc. Not so much for us tinkerers. Tinkerers in Little Rock are pretty much in a black hole as far as sourcing stuff. Honestly that's probably a good thing for my wallet.<br />
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Now it's time to break out the Dremal and soldering iron and so some adjusting.<br />
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I didn't take too many "in progress" pictures unfortunately. But we had to (desolder the existing circuit board, enlarge the battery "cage" since the new voice module runs off of a 9 volt, adjust the button to allow the bigger internal button to be pushed, adjust the button to fit around the battery, grind off the raised "Easy" from the button).<br />
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Use a paint pen to add EDGY to the top and voila, you've got an Edgy Button.<br />
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Reports are that he loved it!Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-39536950291618005852016-09-05T22:44:00.002-05:002016-09-05T22:49:20.854-05:004 days, 2.5 tanks of gas, 834 miles, 10 State Parks, and 10 cachesAnother long weekend means another opportunity to visit State Parks and collect geocaches. We found a cabin available at Village Creek State Park, just outside of Wynn. One of the best parts? No wifi and spotty cell service (double win, though it makes planning the next day's journey a bit more challenging).<br />
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Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed out towards <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/villagecreek/">Village Creek State Park</a>, arriving at our cabin by 6. After unloading we jumped on our bikes to explore the park and fetch the cache as well as the requisite park sign picture. One interesting feature is a giant Arkansas Flag. The flag poles on each of the 4 central stars have the appropriate flags on them for Arkansas' "owners"; the United States, France, Spain, and the Confederacy. Lots to do in this park, miles of trails to bike and hike on, a couple of lakes to play in.
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Saturday saw us heading out on a 230 mile circuit to retrieve 5 Caches.
First stop, <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/jacksonport/">Jacksonport State Park</a>. This town was the county seat for a short while until it was bypassed by the railroad in favor of Newport. The railroad offered to build a spur for $25,000. The town refused and died shortly thereafter.
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Next up, <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakecharles/">Lake Charles State Park</a>. On the western shore of the Arkansas Fish and Wildlife Management's Lake Charles the State Park is mostly a fishing park. The Mockernut trail takes you alongside the lake and is a nice walk.
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Down the road a short 5 minutes is <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/powhatancourthouse/">Powhatan State Park</a>. Took a while to find this cache and had to get the magic numbers from the staff. Folks keep stealing their cache.
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Moving on down the road we next stopped at <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakepoinsett/">Lake Poinsett State Park</a>. This trail wasn't nearly as scenic as the one at Lake Charles but it was nice to stretch out legs.
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Load'em up, move'em out, back on the road to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parkinarcheological/">Parkin Archaeological State Park</a>. Former home of the Mississippians, watched a very interesting movie and had a great conversation with the interpreter. By the time we left it was obvious the kids were done. Fortunately, this was the last stop for the day.
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Saturday's tally is 5 caches, 230 miles, 8 hours. We headed back into Wynn for dinner at a local Mexican place, then back to the cabin for showers and bed.<br />
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Sunday found us on the road again after sleeping in a bit, this time heading South. Our first stop was <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/mississippiriver/">Mississippi River State Park</a>. One of the newest parks it has a really neat visitor center. It is a joint venture between the State Park system and the US Forest Service since its in the St. Francis National Forest.
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Next stop was just down the road to <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/deltaheritagetrail/">Delta Heritage Trail State Park</a>. Union Pacific donated 73 miles of right away from the abandoned Delta Eagle route. The Park Service is turning into a biking and hiking trail. We road about 4 miles down and back. Right now about 27 miles are open. Eventually you'll be able to ride from Lexa to McGehee including crossing over the White and Arkansas rivers on the old trestles.
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One last stop for the day, <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/arkansaspostmuseum/">Arkansas Post Museum State Park</a>. It was the territorial capital of Arkansas. From things I read later we probably should have gone around the bend to the National Monument where the post used to be but we didn't. That will have to wait until we're in the neighborhood again, which may be a while, it's not in our typical neck of the woods.
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Then it was a long 2 hour drive back to Village Creek. The highlight of the trip back was probably the half-dozen dust devils we saw in the freshly harvested fields. We tried to go kayaking but the fellow who told us the lake was open until 7 was apparently mistaken.<br />
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Sunday's rally was only 3 caches, 220 miles, and another 8 hour day. Everyone was tired.<br />
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Monday meant time to head home, but why not pick up one more cache. Before heading out we managed to get an hour of kayaking in, the kids seemed to enjoy it. We headed home via Mt. View, home of the <a href="http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com/">Ozark Folk Center</a> (no, this is not the shortest route from Wynn to Little Rock, in fact it's several hours out of the way, but it was worth it.) We got to see an old printing press in operation, and the kids got to dip candles.
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The final tally:
2.5 tanks of gas, 834 miles, 10 state parks, 10 caches and WAY too many hours in the car<br />
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#23: Village Creek<br />
#24: Jacksonport<br />
#25: Lake Charles<br />
#26: Powhatan<br />
#27: Lake Poinsett<br />
#28: Parkin<br />
#29: Mississippi River<br />
#30: Delta Heritage<br />
#31: Arkansas Post<br />
#32: Ozark Folk CenterSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-85784500283349928622016-08-06T21:10:00.001-05:002016-08-06T21:10:50.068-05:00Closing in on half wayWith the addition of 2 more caches to our "collected" list we've picked up caches 21 and 22 so we're closing in on the 1/2 way mark (just need 4 more).<br />
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On our way back from picking the kids up from KC for their annual week with Oma and Opa we finally managed to get by <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakedardanelle/">Lake Dardanelle State Park</a>. We pass it frequently, just never when their open (or when we have 30 minutes to spare to go by). They have a really cool set of fish tanks with fish from the lake (an impoundment on the Arkansas River formed by the Dardanelle Lock and Dam. On the northeastern shore is the state's only nuclear power plant. A storm was rolling in so we didn't have much time to take in the scenery.<br />
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The second cache was picked up on our way back from our annual Byrd family beach trip. We've been planning to pickup <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakechicot/">Lake Chicot State Park</a> on the way back from the beach for about a year. Once again we were racing against a pretty serious storm but we managed to grab the cache and get back to the visitor center and car mostly dry.<br />
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That's probably it for a while until we find a weekend to head out and work on a bunch in southern Arkansas.<br />
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And our current collection status:
<iframe height="480" src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zxqAwP3bJLrg.kokBQGiYRtn8" width="640"></iframe>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-58059216229834777932016-03-21T13:04:00.001-05:002016-03-21T13:04:49.801-05:00Mark another couple off the listIt's the beginning of Spring Break so must be time for another family campout. The weather was supposed to be warm, until we booked our campsites, oh well. This year's trip was to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/bullshoalswhiteriver/">Bull Shoals-White River State Park</a>, lovely park, though a bit windy. I bet it's comfortable even in the middle of summer with the cool breeze blowing off of the White River.<br />
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We spent Saturday touring the park. We tried our hand at Mountain Biking but do believe that trail is a bit above our experience and gear level. So we quickly abandoned that plan and just went for a hike instead. We also snagged the Park Cache.<br />
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Sunday morning we finally got breakfast cooked, cars loaded, and on the road for another couple of parks in a circuitous trip home. First up was <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/withrowsprings/">Withrow Springs State Park</a>. We had a cool, windy picnic lunch then headed off to retrieve the Park Cache. After a LONG walk through the woods we quickly grabbed that cache as well. Emily and I picked up an extra cache while we were on the way back (she didn't make it all the way to the Park Cache). A conversation ensued that some of the caches seem to be in out of the way places when they should be close to the Park's "main feature".<br />
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Next up was <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hobbsstateparkconservationarea/">Hobbs State Park / Conservation Area</a>. During that drive (and close to the destination) the GPS app on the phone decided it liked listening to our book on tape too much to shout out directions. Once we got turned around all was well. Not such good luck getting that cache. I'm 99% sure where it's supposed to be, but it wasn't there :(.<br />
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We had hopes of snagging 1 last park on the way home but it took us too long to get out of camp to make it practical. It was kind of a pipe dream on my part anyway to grab it. Oh well, it's just off of I-40, we'er through there enough that one day we'll go by a) when the visitor center is still open, b) when we're not in a hurry to get somewhere.<br />
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Any way, here's some Park signs from the trip, a map of our travels, and an updated map of what we've found.<br />
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Our trip:<br />
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And our current collection status:
<iframe height="480" src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zxqAwP3bJLrg.kokBQGiYRtn8" width="640"></iframe>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-37305399997022824882016-01-02T00:02:00.001-06:002016-01-04T10:12:15.286-06:00New Year's TripUsually on New Year's Day we climb Pinnacle Mountain. This year we decided to go spend the night in a cabin at Crowley's Ridge. And since we'd be passing several other state parks on the way we should visit and find their caches too, right? So, the plan (pre-flood) was to get Hampson Archeological Museum, Herman Davis, Lake Frieson, and Crowley's Ridge on the way up. Then Old Davidsonville, Lake Charles, Powhatan, and Mammoth Spring on the way back. Reality turned out a little different. Mother Nature again forgot to turn off the sprinklers so we had to modify some plans. With the flooding there were concern we might not be able to get Lake Charles (the trail the cache is on is closed) so we added Jacksonport as an option. We also weren't able to make it to Pawhatan (Hwy 25 was closed). And, because of time (kids had fun exploring at Mammoth Spring) so we dropped Jacksonport too. But, we still got 7 caches out of the trip. So, 532 miles later, here's what we saw.<br />
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On the way up we decided to grab <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lowerwhiterivermuseum/">Lower White River Museum State Park</a>, as we were passing by. Lots of neat stuff in there from the bygone erra of steam boats and such.<br />
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Next up on our travels was the <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hampsonmuseum/">Hampson Archaeological State Park</a>. It contains the collection put together by Dr. Hampson as he excavated an ancient village he found on his property. The village no longer exists lost to modern farming but it was extensively excavated by him and later the U of A and others. We didn't stay long (both because there wasn't much to see and also we were keeping the superintendent from her lunch).<br />
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After grabbing lunch we moved onto the <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/hermandavis/">Herman Davis State Park</a>. It's a tiny (less than 1 acre) park dedicated to Herman Davis, a World War I veteran. The park's sign sums it up better than I can, you'll need to click on this image to make it bigger.<br />
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We then headed on up the road to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakefrierson/">Lake Frierson State Park</a>. Took a nice little hike up the hill. Not much else to do in the park if your not fishing in the lake.<br />
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And we ended the day at <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/crowleysridge/">Crowley's Ridge State Park</a>. Took a nice hike over a swinging bridge as well as several other bridges. Found the cache, but no clue :(. Apparently when they rebuilt the cache after it was stolen they forgot to include the clue. The park superintendent and the new park interpreter were both aware of the cache but didn't know the clue. The interpreter's going to track it down and email me. In the meantime I've reached out to the cacher network and think I have the values.<br />
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We spent the night in a fantastic cabin.<br />
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Friday morning we continued our trip. As we were checking out we mentioned our plans and concerns about the road to Lake Charles and Powhatan possibly being closed and the superintendent confirmed it was indeed closed. So, we marked them off our list and headed to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/davidsonville/">Old Davidsonville Historic State Park</a>.<br />
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Then it was WAY up the road to the Missouri border (which actually involved a jaunt through the bootheel of Missouri to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/mammothspring/">Mammoth Spring State Park</a>. We all stood in the middle of "State Line Road" to be in 2 states at once.<br />
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And, here's our updated map, we're 1/3 of the way there.<br />
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<br />Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-88875294746521871372015-11-29T20:51:00.001-06:002017-03-27T12:51:15.594-05:00Tracking our progressWell, we intended to pickup another 3 caches today on our return trip. Alas, mother nature decided to water the lawn and seems to have forgotten to turn off the sprinklers. So, we just came on home. For some time now I've been wanting a better way to track where we've been and how we're doing on our journey. So....I turned to my good friend Google to create a map. It took a bit of grunt labor to build it, perhaps I'll eventually move it all into a database to build the KML file for me automatically using Geocaching.com's API to gather details on which caches we've been to and such. But until then, here you go.
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Oh, and I updated the template for the blog. Good, bad? I know I need a new header photo, but that's gonna have to wait until our annual trek up Pinnacle for New Year's (assuming we don't get iced out this year).<br />
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Direct Links to the posts:<br />
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<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2017/03/spring-break-part-two.html">Spring Break Part Two - 2017/03/27</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2017/03/on-road-again.html">On the road again - 2017/03/20</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2016/09/4-days-25-tanks-of-gas-834-miles-10_5.html">4 days, 2.5 tanks of gas, 834 miles, 10 State Parks, and 10 caches</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2016/08/closing-in-on-half-way.html">Closing in on half way - 2016/08/06</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2016/03/mark-another-couple-off-list.html">Mark another couple off the list - 2016/03/21</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2016/01/new-years-trip.html">New Years Trip - 2016/01/02</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2015/11/on-road-again.html">On the Road Again - 2015/11/24</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2015/09/another-weekend-more-caches.html">Another Weekend More Caches - 2015/09/07</a><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebyrdnest.net/2015/08/caching-state-parks.html">Caching the State Parks - 2015/08/23</a>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-46465578238751776262015-11-24T21:56:00.001-06:002015-11-24T21:56:44.754-06:00On the Road AgainSchool's out for Thanksgiving so must be time to visit more State Parks and grab a few more geocaches. October was pretty busy so we didn't manage to collect any State Park Caches but now we should have a bit of time.<br />
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This trip it was time to hit a cluster of parks in North West Arkansas, and to visit the new niece/cousin.<br />
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First up was <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakefortsmith/">Lake Fort Smith State Park</a>. This is a new old park. Back in 2002 they closed the old park to allow for the expansion of Lake Fort Smith. They packed up and moved 2 miles north. We hiked a bit of the Ozark Highland's Trail to get to the cache.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDgJqayZA3c/VlUs2oKHUEI/AAAAAAAABLQ/WSl-DioLJ4Y/s1600/Lake%2BFort%2BSmith%2B2015-11-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDgJqayZA3c/VlUs2oKHUEI/AAAAAAAABLQ/WSl-DioLJ4Y/s320/Lake%2BFort%2BSmith%2B2015-11-24.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Next up was <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/devilsden/">Devil's Den State Park</a>, 9 miles as the crow flies, 32 as the car drives. We've camped at this park before, it's a nice place to go "off the grid" since it's now in a hole that cell signals don't get to. It's also unique in that it has both sandstone and limestone caves. They are all closed right now to protect their resident bats from the White Nose Syndrome but there's still plenty of trails to hike.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7zU-sv925xA/VlUv8k76GTI/AAAAAAAABLk/MScjDWf_u7I/s1600/Devils%2BDen%2B2015-11-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7zU-sv925xA/VlUv8k76GTI/AAAAAAAABLk/MScjDWf_u7I/s320/Devils%2BDen%2B2015-11-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The last stop was Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, one of many Civil War parks in the State. We learned a bit of history. The park was flying 2 flags, the current US flag as well as another flag that took google to determine what was. It was the official flag of the Confederate States. Most people assume the Confederate Battle Flag was their flag, it wasn't. It has 3 stripes (2 red, 1 white), a field of blue, and a circle of stars. Lots more information <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Flag_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1861-1863).svg/270px-Flag_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1861-1863).svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Flag_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1861-1863).svg/270px-Flag_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1861-1863).svg.png" /></a></div>
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So, for those keeping score we've collected 11 of the 52. Maybe we'll manage to grab another 3 next weekend to keep our streak alive.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-40253301206594496982015-09-07T22:03:00.001-05:002015-09-07T22:03:54.089-05:00Another Weekend, more cachesWhat do you do on Labor Day? You head out to find more caches. In-laws in town? Bring them along. 250 miles and 10 hours later we have another 3 Park Caches in our collection (had to skip the 4th one on the list due to time).<br />
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First we headed west on Highway 10 to Peron and headed up the mountain to <a href="http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/">Petit Jean State Park</a>. We've already been there several times so it was a quick stop to grab the cache.<br />
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We headed out the other side of the park on our way to Havana (Arkansas, not Cuba) to head north (and up, you gain almost 2000 vertical feet) to <a href="http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/">Mount Magazine State Park</a>. We've been here before but the cache was a bit down one of the trails. After tracking it down (which required a smidge of bushwhacking) we went ahead and completed the loop. Once we returned to the cars we had a nice picnic lunch before heading out for our next destination.<br />
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Next up was <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/mountnebo/">Mount Nebo State Park</a>. After a brief stop at the visitor center to refill water, use the restrooms, and pickup an ice cream treat (thanks Opa) we headed to the trailhead for the Bench Trail. We quickly picked up the cache and headed on 'round the mountain. We had hopes of scenic views as we traversed the 4 mile trail but opportunities were far and few between. They became more numerous once we got back on the North side of the mountain.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ubwAnm8olHI/Ve5PCoNMybI/AAAAAAAABG0/88iAwYb5Wc8/s1600/Mount%2BNebo%2B-%2B2015-09-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ubwAnm8olHI/Ve5PCoNMybI/AAAAAAAABG0/88iAwYb5Wc8/s320/Mount%2BNebo%2B-%2B2015-09-07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had to cut our trip short, not making it back to our cars to make it to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakedardanelle/">Lake Dardanelle State Park</a> before the visitor center closed. Since we want to do more than just "grab the cache" we'll stop back by next time we're passing by (probably Thanksgiving).<br />
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So that gets us to 8 of 52.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-34939282001504610672015-08-23T21:41:00.000-05:002015-08-23T21:41:00.785-05:00Caching the State ParksBeen a while since I've put anything on here been doing most of my "sharing" on Facebook. But, this medium is more conducive for this kind of thing.<br />
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So back in 2008 the Arkansas State Parks created a Geocaching series to encourage folks to visit all of the state parks. The general gist is, find a cache in each park with a clue to the whereabouts of the final cache. Well, back then the kids were too young to really do much with it so I ignored it. A couple of weeks ago they "re-announced it" so we decided to have a go at it.<br />
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We decided that we should actually visit each Park (previous visits counted) instead of just "cache and dash". The whole family also have to have visited the park.<br />
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The next Saturday we headed over to our local state park (<a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/pinnaclemountain/">Pinnacle Mountain State Park</a>) and eagle eyed Emily quickly found the cache for us. 1 down, 51 to go. I forgot that I've been "collecting" pictures of the State Park signs. Fortunately it's close so I'll swing over there in the next couple of weeks to grab a picture of it. I'd also like to "collect" some of the caches that are located there.<br />
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This weekend we thought we'd snag a few more. We started off at <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/plantationagriculturemuseum/">Plantation Agricultural Museum</a> in Scott. Learned a bit about Cotton Ginning and such.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxkEOPhqNVQ/VdqDGVqbPxI/AAAAAAAABFE/zJRBVpA-Ibo/s1600/Plantation%2BAgriculture%2BMuseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxkEOPhqNVQ/VdqDGVqbPxI/AAAAAAAABFE/zJRBVpA-Ibo/s320/Plantation%2BAgriculture%2BMuseum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then it was on down the road to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/toltecmounds/">Toltec Mounds Agricultural State Park</a>. Watched an interesting 10 minute movie about the history of the site. Started to walk one of the trails but were chased off by an approaching storm.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YQzBJEc0jNo/VdqDNCYva8I/AAAAAAAABFM/wsdePpeHTYE/s1600/Toltec%2BMounds%2BArcheological%2BState%2BPark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YQzBJEc0jNo/VdqDNCYva8I/AAAAAAAABFM/wsdePpeHTYE/s320/Toltec%2BMounds%2BArcheological%2BState%2BPark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then we headed east to the <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/louisianapurchase/">Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park</a> (a nice long drive). After 15-20 minutes of fighting the swarming mosquitoes (it is located in the middle of a swamp) we failed to find the cache, quite frustrating after the drive. Storms were looming, it was getting dark, and the mosquitoes were swarming. So, we headed home.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IXUYWXOZpUU/VdqDSwNvPUI/AAAAAAAABFU/OJHDzkaQIyI/s1600/Louisiana%2BPurchase%2BHistoric%2BState%2BPark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IXUYWXOZpUU/VdqDSwNvPUI/AAAAAAAABFU/OJHDzkaQIyI/s320/Louisiana%2BPurchase%2BHistoric%2BState%2BPark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Today, we headed north to <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/woollyhollow/">Woolly Hollow</a>, a nice jaunt down a mountain biking trail led to a wooden bridge. Then we had to do a bit of searching to find it. Found a suspicious pile of sticks under a tree, bingo.<br />
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Eli and I headed back to Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park armed with bug spray and determination to find the cache. After searching for 15 minutes and forcing my phone to "relocate" itself I set my phone down to within a foot of the cache. Continued searching with no luck. Was ready to give up, turned around and said "hey Eli, here it is". Success.<br />
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So, we're 5 for 5. 47 plus the final one to go. The rest are going to be a bit longer slog from the house. We've visited 4 more (<a href="http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/">Crater of Diamonds State Park</a>, <a href="http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/devilsden/">Devil's Den State Park</a>, <a href="http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/">Mount Magazine State Park</a>, and <a href="http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/">Petit Jean State Park</a>), as a family so those will be quick "cache and dash" visits.<br />
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Some of the ones we need to visit are 30 minute visit kind of places with no camping, etc. Others are bigger with lots to do. So, hopefully over the course of the next year we can visit the rest. Use some of the bigger parks as a "basecamp" to go visit some of the smaller ones. Should be a good way to see the whole state.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-55525772624653648692012-02-12T14:18:00.000-06:002012-02-12T14:18:07.069-06:00Amature PhotographerThe kids both received new cameras for Christmas. Eli has always enjoyed playing with the tripod, now he has a camera to use with it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YdB7FEQ9_UA/TzgeZzdwuUI/AAAAAAAAAqs/V8TfDKiPkAk/s1600/DSC07136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YdB7FEQ9_UA/TzgeZzdwuUI/AAAAAAAAAqs/V8TfDKiPkAk/s320/DSC07136.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-31117283341380909192011-12-17T11:47:00.001-06:002011-12-17T11:47:40.003-06:00Water + waterproof electrical box = ????What happens when water gets in a waterproof electrical box? Yup, it<br>can't get out and causes the GFI to cook itself. Now the box has some<br>weep holes in the bottom.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-14208104668243565982011-12-14T20:18:00.001-06:002011-12-14T20:24:25.305-06:00Blast from the PastEli's working on a biography of me for class. He asked mom if she had any old pictures of me. Well of course she did. She dug into her archives and came out with these 8 oldies but goodies. Enjoy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JnSvA3BEhs4/TulYFU-1CNI/AAAAAAAAApQ/b-HRptJoppI/s1600/Sam+000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JnSvA3BEhs4/TulYFU-1CNI/AAAAAAAAApQ/b-HRptJoppI/s320/Sam+000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Helping build the 1st deck. I think the deck on on revision 4 now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQMvaT2SLnc/TulYFpC2TOI/AAAAAAAAApY/XxDthTIeNKc/s1600/Sam+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cQMvaT2SLnc/TulYFpC2TOI/AAAAAAAAApY/XxDthTIeNKc/s320/Sam+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Science fair</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-67tt-yLrIDY/TulYGZNHClI/AAAAAAAAApg/RTAfqu2njlo/s1600/Sam+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-67tt-yLrIDY/TulYGZNHClI/AAAAAAAAApg/RTAfqu2njlo/s320/Sam+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">February 27, 1982 - played Cuckoo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Piano workshop at UALR</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2UgPDcEX2Ss/TulYHrbEdHI/AAAAAAAAApo/R93JHNVRtJY/s1600/Sam+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2UgPDcEX2Ss/TulYHrbEdHI/AAAAAAAAApo/R93JHNVRtJY/s320/Sam+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">March, 1982</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First bike ride</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_cRC2FrHNM/TulYIN6nRDI/AAAAAAAAApw/xfl4Pj4Ow-I/s1600/Sam+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_cRC2FrHNM/TulYIN6nRDI/AAAAAAAAApw/xfl4Pj4Ow-I/s320/Sam+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sam, Sarah (cousin), Erin</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a9m2Wmcvcdc/TulYM4iWH4I/AAAAAAAAAqA/y3JHjvKX5N4/s1600/Sam+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a9m2Wmcvcdc/TulYM4iWH4I/AAAAAAAAAqA/y3JHjvKX5N4/s320/Sam+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">House construction</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kWvbbiRuRho/TulYOvOi9II/AAAAAAAAAqI/lVm3yh_9Fpg/s1600/Sam+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kWvbbiRuRho/TulYOvOi9II/AAAAAAAAAqI/lVm3yh_9Fpg/s320/Sam+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Garage Construction (Sam, Rachel, Dad)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TBe9tFVt_oI/TulYQJNIraI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/6mkV2uRbgy4/s1600/Sam+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TBe9tFVt_oI/TulYQJNIraI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/6mkV2uRbgy4/s320/Sam+007.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dad, me, Eli</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-80317653140505904212011-09-11T23:58:00.000-05:002011-09-11T23:58:41.847-05:00Nana and PawPaw's PoolNana and PawPaw finally have water in their pool, so we went to go check it out. Let's just say, it was brisk. The kids didn't care.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRsvIlAR4mA/Tm2RYBK5fmI/AAAAAAAAAos/S4x8YLTQ4M8/s1600/emily.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRsvIlAR4mA/Tm2RYBK5fmI/AAAAAAAAAos/S4x8YLTQ4M8/s320/emily.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1iLre-cnF9Q/Tm2RYgBAYwI/AAAAAAAAAo0/HhfzXlpMgXs/s1600/eli-chilling.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1iLre-cnF9Q/Tm2RYgBAYwI/AAAAAAAAAo0/HhfzXlpMgXs/s320/eli-chilling.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYAyPKU4dcc/Tm2RY1E-ZsI/AAAAAAAAAo8/AcgrK2HBr1c/s1600/eli-cannonball.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYAyPKU4dcc/Tm2RY1E-ZsI/AAAAAAAAAo8/AcgrK2HBr1c/s320/eli-cannonball.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-91965691666160535902011-07-17T22:33:00.000-05:002011-07-17T22:33:24.246-05:00I know, I know (again)Yea yea yea, I know, I know, I'm slacking.<br />
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Let's see, we went on vacation (I've got a draft post around here somewhere that I need to finish up). The kids competed on the neighborhood swim team. Errr, it's been hotter than blazes. We went GeoCaching today.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-9636946143528352842011-06-01T19:53:00.000-05:002011-06-01T19:53:23.924-05:00$500 or $50 + about an hourSo the driver's side headlight on the Prius has been going on and off. So I started doing a bit of research. Apparently this is a sign that the HID (read EXPENSIVE) bulb is burning out. Toyota apparently got a bad batch of bulbs when they were building the '06 models. For $350 worth of parts and 1.5 hours of labor (I figure $500 total at least) the local dealership will be more than happy to replace both headlights for me (this based on Googling, not an actual quote).<br />
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So I headed to my friendly auto parts store. I figured I could do it myself. They wanted a mer $149 per bulb. Time to head to the great online shopping world. I found a place where I can get order a pair of bulbs for $50 shippped (with a 1 year guarantee, since they are willing to go upto a 3 year guarantee for $12 they will last a while). So, I figure I can swap them a couple of times for the $350 Toyota wants.<br />
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Then the fun began. First I tried following the instructions in the car's manual. They left out a few steps. Back to the internet, more luck (at least for the passenger side). To get to the driver's side bulb the 1st recommendation was to pop the top off of the fuse box to give you more arm room. This might work for someone with skinnier arms than me (and mine aren't that large). Back to the web. Ah, remove the entire headlight assembly, which requires detaching the bumper.<br />
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So, an hour and a half later, both headlights are swapped out. And now that I know how to do it I bet I can swap them in 30 minutes.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-7933336357781352932011-05-17T17:28:00.000-05:002011-05-17T17:28:45.273-05:00My Baby Girl is 5?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">My baby girl turned 5 yesterday. Where has the time gone?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption">Alicia made a doll cake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rN4r3Sk3Ntg/TdL0FwvIRSI/AAAAAAAAAn4/24qeI5gvFFw/s1600/DSC06564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rN4r3Sk3Ntg/TdL0FwvIRSI/AAAAAAAAAn4/24qeI5gvFFw/s320/DSC06564.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eli made her a doll house out of cardboard boxes and egg boxes</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3DFRTZVmdFY/TdL0TZJOMBI/AAAAAAAAAn8/OlXQMpiV5wM/s1600/DSC06560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3DFRTZVmdFY/TdL0TZJOMBI/AAAAAAAAAn8/OlXQMpiV5wM/s320/DSC06560.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-80038607795776225432011-05-03T19:12:00.001-05:002011-05-03T19:18:38.779-05:00Dance costumes!<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KeT3SOyx_A/TcCaJ1AsWXI/AAAAAAAAAns/0uf_Cs8VcYk/s1600/photo-706671.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602647430088382834" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KeT3SOyx_A/TcCaJ1AsWXI/AAAAAAAAAns/0uf_Cs8VcYk/s320/photo-706671.JPG" /></a></div><div class="mobile-photo">Alicia really took this and posted it, but emailed posts show up as me.</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-45636890898618160132011-05-01T22:49:00.000-05:002011-05-01T22:49:40.818-05:00Easter 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We hosted Easter at our house again this year (10's a crowd but a good crowd).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post hunt posing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RZfX69LMGh8/Tb4o31Y4LvI/AAAAAAAAAng/681YM4dIyJM/s1600/DSC06546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RZfX69LMGh8/Tb4o31Y4LvI/AAAAAAAAAng/681YM4dIyJM/s320/DSC06546.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The annual family pictures</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w99BtaoGSWM/Tb4pISNQjpI/AAAAAAAAAnk/EYMN71J0Aa8/s1600/DSC06548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w99BtaoGSWM/Tb4pISNQjpI/AAAAAAAAAnk/EYMN71J0Aa8/s320/DSC06548.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25502989.post-25016545469858975352011-03-28T01:35:00.000-05:002011-03-28T01:35:16.923-05:00Crater of DiamondsWe took a couple of days off from work during spring break and towed Nana and PawPaw's palace-on-wheels (aka The Camper) to Crater of Diamonds State Park. It was a learning experience towing a 27' trailer behind the Excursion but our 40+' of traveling steel made it down the road just fine. <br />
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Saturday afternoon Paw-Paw towed the camper to his house we could load it, learn about it, etc.<br />
Sunday morning I made a reservation for us for Tuesday and Wednesday night.<br />
Tuesday morning we got up, loaded everything in to the Excursion and headed west to get the camper. We got all hooked up, stowed, and headed out. A little over 2 hours later we got to Crater of Diamonds, got checked in, and headed off to our campsite.<br />
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It took a couple of shots to get it backed into our campsite but after surveying what it was Alicia was trying to get me to make the camper do it worked out much better.<br />
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We got all setup, hooked up, etc relatively quickly. Emily and I went off to find the playground (Eli wasn't feeling well). We had decided to treat the kids to foil packs on a fire so I built a fire, then we played games, etc while waiting for them to cook. Either the fire was hotter than I thought it was or I left them on too long, or some combination of the 2 but let's just say they were a bit on the done side. We ate what we could of them and then broke out the hot dogs.<br />
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Wednesday morning we awoke to a beautiful day. We had breakfast and then hiked over to the mine. We all searched for a while, then Emily discovered a hole with "play-do" in it (clay). She was hooked. Eli joined in the fun as well. We found lots of jasper and mica but unfortunately no diamonds. After the fun meter had peaked we headed back to camp for lunch. After lunch we headed off to one of the trails that took us down to the Little Missouri river. The kids took their bikes and had a big time. We then headed back, played on the playground some more, then grilled burgers for dinner.<br />
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Thursday morning we got up and had to turn the heat on. We did around a bit then started packing up. We got on the road shortly before noon. After an uneventful trip back we backed the trailer into its parking spot at the Byrd Compound. Took a bit of finagling to get the trailer hitch to release but we then headed back home to unload.<br />
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I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08513776916798233690noreply@blogger.com0