We spent a few days this week in northern Arkansas on the White River. Leif tells everyone that I made him go trout fishing! We did catch trout – Rainbow and Brown. A couple of the Brown trout that Leif caught were very nice size – exciting for him!
We did a little site seeing. We saw the devastation caused by the January 28, 2009 ice storm that went through northern Arkansas and headed to Tennessee and Kentucky. There were literally millions of trees damaged by the ice – anywhere from a branch or two, to totally ripping the tree out by its roots due to the weight of up to 3″ of ice on the tree. An awesome site.
Thursday afternoon we drove through Cotter, Arkansas. They have one of the loveliest little city parks that includes a large natural spring and the old fashioned swimming hole that Huck Finn probably would have swam in. While in Cotter, a lady parked her van, looked at Leif and said in her true southern accent, “Why ain’t you got a fishing pole in your hands?” He promptly went back to the car, got his pole and started fishing from shore – just as she was doing. I never did find out what her name was, other than “Grammy” but she told me about her husband, the city of Cotter, her grandkids and several stories of the grandkids. She was very proud of a picture of her that was published in the local paper with her fishing and a Rainbow trout that she had just caught. Her 5 year old grandson had told her “Grammy, that sure is a big fish”. I could have put a picture of Leif here with his Brown trout, or the daffodils that are now blooming down in Arksansas, some wildflowers, the damage to the trees, and others, but “Grammy” was a highlight. Friendly, welcomed us to her little piece of heaven in Arkansas and so willing to share stories with complete strangers. There is Minnesota nice, and there is Arkansas nice. Anyone that reads this from Arkansas and knows “Grammy” from Cotter, please let her know that she is a part of my blog and that her little grandson would sure be proud of her! Thank you Grammy for making our trip just a little more special!
