Earlier this year I met a wonderful group of people from The Ozark Society during the Annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Little Rock.

 

Part of their mission is promoting and protecting the outdoors including the Buffalo River. I had actually sat with their group at the luncheon that day by complete accident, which in my life means it was fate.

Not knowing anyone there that day, I walked in and asked the group if they minded me joining their table. “Sure we need someone new to our group.” said Dave Schmiemier.

One member of their group was Ken Smith. He played an integral role in achieving the Buffalo Rivers designation as the first National River. Ken devoted countless hours to building trails and promoting conservation of the river. A former civil engineer and park planner for the National Park Service from 1962 to 1974, he served as education director for The Ozark Society from 1974 to 1977 and has remained a lifelong member and continues as a leader of the Buffalo River Foundation.

He was being recognized for his service to Arkansas and the Buffalo River, along with Chuck Haralson, former chief photographer for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, and were both being inducted into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame. Ken who is in his eighties took the stage, his frail body ready to seemingly give a gracious “thank you” to the crowd, but instead he exploded with a forceful voice, that of a young man! He spoke of the Buffalo River with such passion that it could be felt throughout the room bringing to light the plight of the Buffalo River and its battle with a commercial pig farm that slipped through the cracks of the government offices of Arkansas.

“Arkansas should buy back the property of the Pig Farm at any cost! You can’t put a price on preservation!” he exclaimed.

He went on to explain how the waste from the pig farm makes its way to the Buffalo River and that Arkansas should spare nothing to shut down the farm. The crowd gave Ken a standing ovation, cheering him on. I was so taken by this man, who until hours earlier I had never even heard of, of course I had to meet him!

“That was wonderful use of podium time!” I said.

He smiled with a youthful twinkle in his eyes and agreed. We got to talking about the Buffalo River and the articles our publication Arkansas Outdoor Country had published including several regarding the Buffalo River and that we were aware of the pig farm. I knew right then it was meant for me to cross Ken’s path in life. While at the table we all got to talking. They were curious as to what brought me to Little Rock. Steve Heye said, “Hey we are going canoeing on the Buffalo in May, would you like to go?” “Sure.” I replied thinking it would be no more than an overnight trip. The next week Steve contacted me. The planned trip would cover 60 miles and take about 5 days.

“Wow, what have I signed up for?”

Well not knowing a thing about canoeing or the river I enlisted longtime friend and river guide Jimmie Lunsford to accompany me. I had previously published an article featuring Jimmie and his adventures on the Buffalo River. Jimmie made a list of the essentials. My friends Arthur and Monica Loyd, owners of Fallin Feathers Duck Club, loaned us their Old Town 16.9 ft. canoe, saying it knew the Buffalo River very well. They had enjoyed the river for many years with their children and grandchildren.

Feeling we had everything but the kitchen sink, we packed up the truck and headed out with our canoe in tow. Being my first river excursion other than day trips to the Current or Spring rivers, I was ready for our 5-day adventure.

Before long we were at Tyler’s Bend meeting up with our new Ozark Society friends. We all were busy getting gear, kayaks, and canoes along with two supply boats to the water.  It was hard to imagine that just weeks prior, the Buffalo River had savagely risen over 30 plus feet and to see it now rolling ever so gently, our timing was perfect! Jimmie instantly went to meeting our new friends as we canoed along one another making our way down the river.

They were intrigued with his adventures not only of the Buffalo River, but other rivers running from Missouri into Arkansas and beyond. He had many river miles for a young guy.

Just a few miles into our trip we stopped at the little town of Gilbert, Arkansas located at the river’ edge, population 33, perhaps counting the local cats and dogs as the saying goes. We stopped at the ever so popular General Store to enjoy a pop and ice cream. As we walked into the store, along the wall were the original post offices boxes. The sounds of the wooden plank floors echoing made one think the Walton’s would have been standing at the counter.  Ben and the crew at the Gilbert Store were all so friendly, speaking of their own canoe trips and quaint log cabins to those lucky enough to find this hidden treasure along the Buffalo.

We made our way down river to Red Bluff to make camp for our first night. The sky just glistened, as the night grew blacker the stars seemed to glow brighter. Up early the next morning, I was ready to start the day. After everyone had a quick breakfast, off we set, out for the day’s adventures.

The beauty that surrounded the river was amazing. It flowed with emerald waters and rock formations that changed around every bend, it kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was ahead.

Marilyn and her son Steve paddled along with us. Marilyn was just a breath of fresh air herself, telling us of marring very young and raising to two sons as a single mother and yet becoming a very successful business lady in her own right. She had a true love for the outdoors.

Along the river’s edge were deer, raccoons, along with snakes hanging from the limbs of the trees! Jimmie explained to us if we spotted a snake swimming from the low side to the high bank of the river, rain was coming. Steve made it a point to keep a watch for this phenomenon.As we went around a bend in the river, a group on the bank heard our music and waved for us to come in. They were from Florida and as far away as Wisconsin, and had started on the Buffalo days earlier at Ponca. The outfitter of the group, Greg, told us he had traveled many waterways in over eighteen countries but this area was one of his and his clients’ favorites.

He told Jimmie stories of years passed when he first started as an outfitter. He explained he was so poor that to get by “I had to jack the dog to feed the cat!”

“You’re my hero!” exclaimed Jimmie.

Jimmie told him that being an outfitter was his goal as well. Greg told him to follow his dreams and never give up! We said farewell to our new friends hoping to seeing them again. Once we headed down the river Jimmie said, “This was a sign, that we met them.”

I agreed. As the evening came, Jimmie and I set out to explore Spring Creek located across from our second nights camp. Some of our Ozark Society friends had come up to join us. Jimmie went to our cooler got a water bottle full of Jose’ out for us and as good manners we passed it around.

They reminisced with stories of their younger days. Alice told of her early years in the mid 1960’s when she and her husband went to Honduras to help set up medical facilities. He was a doctor and she was a medical tech., but when they arrived they became builders, plumbers and whatever it took to get the job done. She said at one point they were even asked if they were CIA, she chuckled.

“Times were different then for the good and the bad.” said Alice.

Alice and her husband had worked two tours helping the people of Honduras, but were unable to return because her husband had become ill, later passing away from his illness. After that her path brought her to Arkansas and meeting Dave. They have been together for the last forty years and have both been part of the Ozark Society for many of those years.

Charles was a story in himself, the man practiced Tai Chi every morning and was as agile as a cat. He said that he once taught English in China and on his way to work he would pass gardens filled with the Chinese people doing Tia Chi together every morning. He thought it was beautiful how the group was always at peace. So he decided to learn the art as well. These folks may have some years on Jimmie and I, but let me tell you they were so very young at heart!

The gleam in Alice’s eyes said it all. Marilyn and the others had made spaghetti and meatballs along with fresh tossed salads. We all ate to our hearts content. Sitting around the campfire with our fellow river rats we passed around the sweets; cherry pie and peach cobbler. I tell you what, this group had no intentions of going hungry!

Before long, Jimmie, David and some of the ladies tried their hand at the alphabet game. It was hilarious watching them using their bodies to create different letters. We laughed so hard!

The next morning, we woke to the sun gleaming off a huge rock bluff and the smell of eggs, bacon and fresh coffee. “Who needs a fancy restaurant?” We packed up our canoe and headed out, with our Motown music playing to a sun-shiny day, life was good.

Our first stop was Water Creek. Alice explained it was worth the hike up the creek and boy was it! The creek bed was covered with flat rocks as though placed there like steps with water gently flowing down towards us. It was just beautiful.

On we continued to Buffalo Point for lunch. We caught up with Jack and Roy from Louisiana. Jack had traveled many of Arkansas’s rivers and truly enjoyed the Buffalo every chance he could. As we made our way closer to Buffalo Point I noticed a large boulder dead center in a sharp bend of the river. Jack and Roy were ahead of us not seeing the large rock in their path and struck it sharply with their canoe, capsizing!

Within an instant they were pushed against the boulder with the water pounding against them. Then they were swept down the stream along with all their gear and the canoe. Jimmie quickly went into rescue mode, maneuvering us around the large boulder and onto the bank ahead of the two men. Jimmie pulled Jack and his canoe onto the bank and I went out into the river to pull Roy up as well, he was stunned from the accident.

We managed to recover nearly all their gear and everyone was unhurt and safe. So we decided to have a bit of lunch.

Our next stop was Rush Landing. We decided to make a final call on the weather and some were taking out at that point as well. Up ahead we saw our pals from Florida stopping for the night. We let them know we were expecting storms by morning and more the next night. The group had decided to push ahead and finish a day earlier than planned taking out by Friday afternoon to beat the rains and rising river.

Around the bend was Clabber Creek Rapids. I had no idea this would be such a thrill! As we came around the bend you could hear the roar from the water as it white capped against the rocks. Jimmie said, “Hold on, you video this and I’ll handle the rest!” So that’s what I did as crazy as it sounds! He made it all seem so easy, we made it through with nothing more than a little water in our canoe.

“Let’s do it again!” I exclaimed.

He looked at me as if I were crazy. We could see up ahead some had not been so lucky. They had flipped their canoe and lost a portion of their gear. We all pitched in dipping out their canoe and gathering up gear. Before long we were at camp for our last night.

After dinner, they had planned a riverside remembrance for their dear friend and longtime Ozark Society member Bob Ritchie. Lighting luminaries and sharing stories of his past trips on this very river and his devotion to the Buffalo.

A severe storm hit before daylight. It came through with not only heavy rains but fierce winds that howled ever so loudly. Morning came and we went to see how the others made it. A couple of tents had blown over but for the most part everyone fared well.

This was our last day, we started our morning with a huge breakfast and packing up our gear after the rain. Jimmie and I kept our rain gear close, in case of more rains to come and headed down the river towards Buffalo City. Riley’s Resort would be our take-out point, but we would have to be motored in by boat due to the spillways on Bull Shoals Dam being open to full capacity with all the recent rains.

As we made our way down the river the mist coming up off the water was mystical. Water ran from the bluffs up above giving you the most surreal connection to your surroundings.

Jimmie and I thought “If only time… we could get more supplies and keep on going down the river perhaps even to the Mississippi.” I told him I was game and we would make plans for other trips as well. He told our new Ozark Society friends we should all make plans to canoe Jacks Fork and the Current Rivers together. “You get it together and were in.” they said.

As we made our last bend in the river, I spotted a group of young people playing along the bank. This river was enjoyed by so many diverse types of people; the thrill seekers, those looking for seclusion’s and families with children instilling the sense of what the outdoors is all about.

Our group stopped at the bank just north of Buffalo City, here the Buffalo joins the White River. There we would meet up with Miles, owner of Riley’s Family Outfitter and Camp, located along the edge of the White River. The name says it all, Riley’s is such a beautiful place to enjoy private river front lodging surrounded by mountains, rivers and wilderness.

Miles helped motor the canoes and kayaks down river to his dock for takeout. At Riley’s everyone loaded up to go their separate ways. We were going to miss these folks. We may have all been from different generations but age had no factor here. The smile on their faces and twinkle in their eyes said it all. Meeting this group was another sign to me that my life was on the right path and to keep pursuing new Arkansas adventures no matter how out there they may seem. I considered this trip priceless, with all the new friends we had made along the way and the new adventures to come.

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