BNR 50-MILE, 50-YEAR BIRTHDAY EXPEDITION!

 2022 marks the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the Buffalo National River:

 

 

To commemorate the 50 years, they developed a special logo.  The blue background represents the bluffs that line much of the river.  Notice  also, the reflection  below the modern day paddler, of a Native American in a primitive canoe :

This blog has photos of the various parts of BNR that I visited during its 50th anniversary year.

One can log their miles (on foot, by bicycle, or padding) within BNR and get an embroidered patch (after logging 50 miles) with the logo.  One can go to www.nps.gov/buff to download and print the form.  You have until the end of 2022 to complete your fifty miles.  A photo of the record sheet is shown below:

 

 

One of the records I included, was the hiking trails near the deserted mining town of Rush, Arkansas.  There is a "ghost town" at Rush, with remains of buildings from when it was a mining boom town:

There are hiking trails on the mountain above the ghost town of Rush

 The trail at Rush takes you by equipment left there, from its days as a zinc mine, called Morning Star:

The trail will also lead you to the very scenic Clabber Creek, a tributary to the Buffalo National River:

Another nice winter hike towards my fifty miles, was taken with my hiking group, starting at the Ozark Campground in Newton County:

The icicles I am posing behind in this photo can be a clue that this hike took place on a cold day in January!

 

The chilly temperatures made a fire at our lunch spot a welcome bit of warmth!

This lunch spot is called Cedar Glade and is an enjoyable hike from Ozark Campground:

One needs to keep in mind there may be some water crossings when you hike this section:

Many paddlers put their boats in at Ozark campgound, but the only creature I saw paddling on the day I was there, was a deer in the river!

Another stop on my journey to get fifty miles was Tyler Bend.

I had come to Tyler Bend to do some volunteer work with the Arkansas Master Naturalists  (www.ArkansasMasterNaturalists.org), in the native plant garden at the visitor center:

When we finished, we had a sack lunch at the park pavilion:

The river was flowing great from recent rains:

After lunch, I explored the paved path from the river launch:

 It leads over to the group campground:

Another interesting site at Tyler Bend is the Collier Homestead:

Behind the Collier Homestead there is a trail that leads to a scenic overlook:

When I was there, redbuds and dogwoods  were blooming.

Yet another part of the national park where I hiked, toward my fifty mile badge, was the Buffalo Point area.  The staff member on duty the day I visited, said I could take her photo:

I was there with a group of Arkansas Master Naturalists who came to study the wildflowers:

As we were studying these plants, my mind went back decades, to my very first science project, which was a requirement in the seventh grade.  I chose the subject of medicinal herbs, and persuaded my mother, and elderly uncle, Olney Rudd, to go with me into the Ozark woods, and teach me what they knew about old time plant remedies.  I took photos of our "expedition", and put it on the required poster board, and got an "A" for the project, but no first, second, or third place ribbon.  I determined to do better in the future, and how curious that I am still chasing after "prize ribbons" at my age--but this time in the form of a fifty-year BNR anniversary "ribbon"!   As a youth, I thought my purpose in life was to get as many awards, Girl Scout badges, and "A's" as possible.  I thought to be an OVERcomer, I needed to be an OVERachiever.   As I have aged, and started studying God's Word, however, it became evident to me that I had my focus on an ephemeral goal.  Now this First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verse better expresses my goal: "Everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."  I John 5:4-5

That being said, I still set earthly goals, like getting in fifty miles of activity at Buffalo River National park!  Hence, I volunteered to help with parking, whenever there was a day of live music concerts at Tyler Bend, within Buffalo National River boundaries.  The concert was made possible through a joint effort of the NPS and the Buffalo National River Partners (bnrpartners.org)

There was a professional stage and lighting erected for the event, and even included big electronic screens on each side of the stage, that would enable folks to see close-up photos of the bands that were performing:

The final event that "put me over the top", in terms of completing my fifty mile goal, was the "Longest Day River Cleanup", that is held annually around the time of the summer solstice.  Our group started at Tyler Bend, equipped with trash bags, gloves, shovels, grabbing tools, and plenty of drinking water!  The photo below shows the strikingly beautiful bluff we paddled by, at Tyler Bend:

Between Tyler Bend and Gilbert, our fleet of about two dozen volunteers, and three BNR staff, picked up lots of trash, and had a fun time while we worked!  A pile of a portion of the refuse we collected, is shown in this photo taken at the end, by volunteer E. French:

In short, if you ever have the opportunity to explore Buffalo National River---JUST DO IT!  If you are like millions of other visitors, it will give you "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia

Addendum:  I received my much-sought-after 50-miler patch and certificate in the mail today!  Challenge met and gratitude expressed!

CHELAN EXPEDITION!

The inspiration for this expedition may seem a little strange, because it was a food label:

Since I was not familiar with the word "chelan", I looked it up, and found out it refers to a city, a lake,  river, and a county in northern Washington State.  The label was on an apple I purchased, so I set out to find out more, and started planning a trip to the Chelan ( pronounced sheLAN ) area.

Even though the apple blossom is the state flower of my native home of Arkansas, for this expedition I was interested in the apple blossoms of Washington State!!

Chelan is within a tourism marketing area known as the "Cascade Loop", and is one of the highlights of those who start to explore the Cascade Loop drive.

Washington State is famous for its apples, and I was delighted to be visiting when many of the orchards still had a few blossoms on them:

Huge storage containers were usually seen by the orchards.  None of the old fashioned "bushel baskets" like my grandparents always used for their apple harvest, were seen in the orchards.  However, the round, wooden bushel baskets were often seen in the grocery stores  and roadside fruit stands, for display purposes!

I was very impressed with the Lake Chelan visitor center:

When I was gathering visitor information at the center, I learned that Chelan has a variety of sculptures around town, installed by their Arts Council.  One of them close to the visitor center,( the bear shown below), is a favorite for folks to have their picture made with. 

The visitor center has comfortable seating, a fireplace, videos about the area, clean restrooms, a very helpful staff, and free WiFi.  Their website is www.lakechelan.com and has links to everything you need to know, to make your visit to this area, your best vacation ever!

The Visitor Center even has a grand piano on their premises!

One of the first buildings to catch my eye when I was doing a walking tour of downtown Chelan, was a historic log church building:

II learned that it was the St. Andrews Episcopal Church, and that it was built more than 110 years ago.  As the oldest permanent structure in the town, the church became the centerpiece around which the community grew to eventually become a city of approximately 4,000 full-time residents. 

The side garden of the church connected to the beautiful waterfront walking trail, that borders Lake Chelan:

The promotional material for Lake Chelan emphasizes that it is 50.5 miles long, so that means 50.5 miles of lake fun!

The trail leads to a boat launch area, and even has a sand beach, for those who want to use it.

As one would expect, visitors and residents have a variety of options for getting out on the water.  In  recognition of the long history of marine navigation, there is a spot along the lakeside trail that gives a nod to one of those vessels from a time long ago.  These days, there is a new Lady of the Lake vessel one can ride on, and their website is www.LadyoftheLake.com

After my walk around the lake, I headed north on the highway that sits precariously between the bluff and the lake; falling rocks from the bluff create an on-going need for drivers to watch out for rocks on the highway.  Whenever possible, there are pull-off sites, where visitors can enjoy the view:

 

I was driving north because I wanted to see where the public ferry launched.  The photo below shows the vessel, as it prepares to leave for the ride to Skehekin:

Because I did not know for sure, when (or if!) I would be in Lake Chelan on this trip, I had not made advance reservations for the boat to Skehekin.  But at least by getting a glimpse of the boat and setup at the loading dock, I know what to expect if I am ever able to go back.  The schedule for when this ferry operates can be found at www.StehekinFerry.com

Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the USA, measured at 1,486 feet.  Therefore, the Salish tribe of Native Americans were accurate when they chose the word "Chelan" for this body of water, because in the Salish language, "Chelan" means "deep water". 

Lake Chelan was listed as the largest natural lake in the state of Washington, before 1927.  Then in 1927, with the completion of the Lake Chelan Dam, the elevation of the lake was increased by 21 feet.

The fact that I "missed the boat" to Skehekin, gave me more time at the Fields Point Landing area, which is a part of a USFS National Recreation Area. 

It has a Visitor Center, lakeside trail, interpretive plaques telling about the area, and a huge parking lot. The parking lot is for those who are leaving their cars there, while they head for adventures in  the more remote areas of the lake. I was glad it was a blue sky day to explore the nature trail:

The large clumps of yellow wildflowers (seen in the photo above) line the highway between Chelan and Fields Point Landing, so I was glad to be able to photograph them at a location where I was walking, and not driving!

If you want an uncrowded place to have a picnic, that also has a stunningly beautiful view of water and mountains, Fields Point Landing is the place for you!

There is a well-maintained trail that leads from the loading dock for the ferry, up to the picnic area on top of the hill.

The dock for the ferry boat landing is designed so that it can be adjusted to accommodate various levels of the lake water.  The primary in-flow for Lake Chelan is the Stehekin River.  ("Stehekin" is a Native American word that means, "the way through").  The primary out-flow for the lake, is the Chelan River.

After returning to the town of Chelan, I took the highway to another small town, called Manson  that is on the opposite side of the lake.  It also had a walking trail, in a park called "Old Mill Park":

From this park, I could enjoy views of the orchards and vineyards on the opposite shore of the lake; also, I could observe the always-entertaining task of unloading a boat from its trailer, and floating it in the water

The rows of green you can see on the hillside in the photo below, are apple trees.

In addition to apple orchards, Chelan has a expansive variety of vineyards and wineries.  Since I was driving, I did not imbibe, but I wanted to visit their facilities, because of the photogenic offerings of their locations:

I observed several groups of visitors who were participating in winery tours, and had chartered limousines or buses, to assure they were not "drinking and driving". 

The COUNTLESS grapes that will be harvested from the vineyard shown in this photo, are a reminder to say that there are COUNTLESS references to Lake Chelan tourism in the media.  In fact, I read there were over a billion references in 2021, and already 41 million references just six months into 2022! 

In addition to wine tastings, some of the wineries have picturesque areas surrounding their main building that can be used for weddings, and other festive occasions.

Many of the wineries are on steep hillsides, which must be challenging for the growers to tend their crops, as well as harvest the grapes!

When I was in Chelan on May 13, 2022, it appeared to be peak season for seeing the strikingly beautiful, pink dogwood trees. I took so many photos of them, I could almost call this the "Pink Dogwood Expedition"!

This closeup view of a grapevine is my visual aid for learning one of my First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verses that references one of the Jesus parables.

The full Bible text of the words of Jesus from John 15:5 NIV says, "I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Every fruit grower wants to "bear much fruit", and it seems to me that the Lake Chelan area is, indeed, "bearing much fruit"---be it in the form of apples, grapes, or visitor smiles!  This expedition to Lake Chelan, Washington, gave me "50.5 MILES OF LAKE SMILES"!!  Tricia