ISLAND HIKING/KAYAKING EXPEDITION!

This is a photo of me at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain Island, the first time I visited there, in June, 2016.

 

That experience was made possible, because of the free boat shuttle being provided by Fairfield Bay Marina.  They were partnering with the Fairfield Bay Chamber of Commerce (www.ffbchamber.com) , for an event called "Surf the Bay Watersports Festival", which was celebrating a 50-year anniversary of the formation of the Fairfield Bay Community. 

The shuttle transported us to the boat dock, that is located on the east side of the island.  As we approached, we could see there was another boat moored there, so that its occupants could explore the island.  Our shuttle boat dropped us off, then told us they would be back to pick us up, in 3 hours.

 

 

   A short distance from the drop off location, one sees a sign that shows a satellite view of the island, with markings showing where the trails are located, as well as other features, such as benches. If you are interested in making this trip, but have no boat of your own, you can contact the Fairfield Bay Marina (501-884-6030), to find out the hours and fees for the island shuttle service they operate.  Also, you can read about their rental boats and other amenities on their website at www.visitfairfieldbay.com/marina

The sign at the trail head also has boxes to hold print copies of a map of the trails, but there is good cell phone service on the island, so you can also see maps on your phone. 

This photo shows our 2016 group, starting up the trail, that leads to the top.  As you progress up the trail, you will see several more of these signs, indicating you are on a National Recreation Trail. 

In some places, the terrain and elevation change,  necessitated the building of wooden staircases :

Other improvements along the trail had wooden crossbeams, to prevent trail washouts from heavy rains. The photo above shows that some of these also have handrails. 

Although the crossbeams take some energy to step over, they are a vital aspect of trail building.

I was very thankful to make it to the top of this island mountain in 2016 (because it was on my Arkansas bucket list for a long time!), so I wanted a photo of me with hands uplifted in gratitude to God.

The next time I went to the island was in September, 2022, and  it was via self-power,  paddling my kayak!  My WHOYAKER group carpooled in trucks, to haul all these  kayaks down to the closest public ramp to the island, (which is not Fairfield Bay Marina).  Rather, it is in  a Corps of Engineers public launch, with concrete ramps, and ample parking.  

This photo below shows our group, on September 29, 2022, preparing to paddle to the island behind us.  We were all very thankful it was a sunny day with no rain!  One can tell our group members are smart and safety conscious, as we wear life jackets when we are paddling.

 

We paddled across the lake for about 45 minutes, then landed at the island shore.  It was refreshing to see how clean the shoreline was, and I found out later the reason for this:  It is because the first public, organized shoreline clean-up in the NATION, was held here in 1969.  It served as the national model for environmental cleanliness.  It was the model for the "Great Arkansas Clean-up", and the nationwide effort called "Keep America Beautiful" and "National Public Lands Day". 

When I was here in 2016, I barely noticed the part of the sign indicating the trail we were on, was part of an Eagle Scout Project, spearheaded by Riain Andrew Florczak of Batesville.  So a big THANK YOU to him and his team for taking on such a worthwhile endeavor!

An interesting feature you will see along the trail is this curved tree.  It has an official sign on it, to make sure no one misses it.  Often when trails are being laid out, they purposely route the trail to go by interesting/unusual natural features, and this definitely qualifies!

I asked for a volunteer to pose on the tree, and Diane M. kindly volunteered:

Then she asked if I wanted my photo with the tree, and of course, I said "YES!".  Our fellow hikers waited patiently while we took advantage of this photo opportunity. 

Stairs have been placed strategically, so that no actual "bouldering" (hand over hand climbing over big rocks)  is required. 

My friend, Penny, is shown posing for me, on one of the stair landings.

Once on the top, the views are stunning, and you see why it earns the name on the sign: The graphic shows mountains, shore, and water, and spells out USA.  National Recreation Trails (www.nps.gov) are existing land-based and water-based trails that provide recreation opportunities on Federal, State and local lands.  National Recreation Trail designation promotes some of our country's highest-caliber trails with the intention of providing recreation access to rural and urban communities, economic development through tourism, and healthy recreation opportunities. 

These two ladies are enjoying a view that is unbelievably gorgeous, and FREE for all to enjoy.  It is a "Million Dollar View", but you do not need a million dollars to enjoy it,  for (almost) as long as you want!  (I say "almost", because overnight camping is NOT permitted on the island). 

When you are at the top of the mountain island, you have a "bird's eye view", of the many marinas that service Greers Ferry Lake. 

In the photo below, Laura is pointing to some trees just below her that have already changed to their "autumn auburn" leaf color, although most trees still have on their summer green "outfits"!

Greers Ferry Lake has 340 miles of shoreline, and much of it can be seen from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain Island!  The fact that there are TWO Sugarloaf Mountains in this area can be confusing to tourists.  This blog article is about Sugarloaf Mountain Island.  I wrote about the hikes our group did on  the other Sugarloaf Mountain (closer to Heber Springs, Arkanasas), in a blog dated December 26, 2020, that you can find in the Archives.

Greers Ferry Lake was formed when a dam was constructed across the Little Red River in Cleburne County, Arkansas.  It opened in 1962, and was dedicated in October, 1963, by President John F. Kennedy.  It was his last major public appearance before the president's assassination in November, 1963.

The jubilant gestures the hikers show in the photo above, express our joy in getting to have this magnificent experience together, in such magnificent weather, and with such magnificent views!

The Hebrew word for praise means "HANDS UPWARD TOWARD GOD", and that is the meaning I want for the photo of me, shown above.  When I reach a summit after a hike, and lift my hands, let the interpretation  be praise to God, NOT praise to Tricia!  One of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses from 1 Corinthians 1:31 says:  Therefore, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."   I do not want to boast about myself or my accomplishments, but rather boast about the undeserved grace of God on my life. 

I saw this graphic below on social media, and it captured my feelings about living a joyful life, where God is at work, with every step taken!

MILES OF SMILES!  Tricia

CROSS EXPEDITIONS!

One can see representations of a cross all over the planet, and they are especially prevalent in the Ozarks area of the South, where I live. 

For example, a sacred pilgrimage site in Branson, Missouri, called Shrine of the Holy Spirit, has a silver-colored, metal cross, perched on a pedestal beside their entrance wall.  The site has an indoor chapel, plus dozens of Bible verses dealing with the Holy Spirit, etched on stone tablets in the outdoors,  surrounding the shrine.   Perhaps these tablets could be thought of as modern-day "petroglyphs".   A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art.  Petroglyphs are estimated to be thousands of years old, and classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's world heritage sites.  Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples.  Perhaps, thousands of years from now, someone will come across these words carved on stone in Branson, and be intrigued by the civilization that made them. 

   More info on this very inspiring Branson location is available on their website at www.shrineoftheholyspirit.com  

 

Another attraction near Branson is a "hard to miss" roadside anomaly, with the name "Images of the Cross".  

This photo was taken when I visited in March, 2020, shortly after my California cousin Lynette, posted a photo she  took of the cross in the dark, on their way to the airport, in January, 2020.  Although I go to Branson often, I had not been on the highway north of Branson, since the cross had been erected.  The photo she took from a moving vehicle is shown below:

After some searching on the Internet, I found the directions to the Missouri site she had photographed.  Surfing the Internet to research "crosses along the highway", I was reminded of a long road trip my family took out to Southern California in the 1950's, to see our cousins and their parents.  My mother always referred to the road as "Bloody 66", so I remember in my childhood naivety, being fearful of the drive to California on "Bloody 66".  I insisted on taking along the life jacket I used for swimming at the lake, so that I could sit atop it in the back seat, thinking it would be beneficial, if we had an automobile accident. (Remember, this was before the advent of seat belts in consumer automobiles).  It was not until much later that I learned there was another name for the road we were on, and we were one of many families who used this famous road between Chicago and the California coast.

The reason Lynette's photo "struck a nerve", was because when our family made that trip on Route 66 in the very hot summertime, my father planned it so that we drove across the Southwest desert at night, (recall that the 1950's  was before the days of air conditioners in cars).  Being unable to go to sleep, I sat in silence in the back seat, with the window rolled down so I could feel the wind.  For hundreds of miles, I sat in the dark, wide-eyed,  as we drove by dozens of small white crosses along the roadside, being illuminated by our headlights. This was not something I had ever seen in the Ozarks, and it really "spooked" me, as I had no idea why they were there!

It was not until I was an adult, and the practice of "memorial crosses" at the site of a traffic fatality, had made its way to the Ozarks, that my fear of driving in the desert at night, became manageable!  

 

Back to present day information regarding the Branson cross,  I read an article in the Springfield, Missouri, newspaper that gave the information I needed on the Missouri cross, and learned that its physical address is 4180 U.S. Highway 65, Walnut Shade, MO  65771.

Due to ongoing construction at the time I visited, I could not get close to it, so this photo was taken from the parking lot.  

When you are a long distance from this roadside cross, you cannot see the 8 blue "tear-drop-shaped" designs painted vertically on the cross.  They represent the Grace of Christ, and are representative of new beginnings.  Because of God's Grace in the Old Testament, 8 people were saved in the Ark---Noah, his wife, three sons, and their three wives.  (see the April 8, 2017, article in the archives of this blog, for info on the Noah's Ark replica in Kentucky).  The 5 horizontal tear drops are representative of the 3 nail wounds, the spear in the side and the crown of thorns that Jesus suffered.    This photo is serving as the visual aide for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness: 'by his wounds you have been healed'." 1 Peter 2:24

This is almost the same photo, but I included the truck in the picture to give it a sense of scale. 

After visiting their website, I learned that the cross memorial is a father-son project (one might think of Jesus' association with the cross, as a "Father/Son" project!)  Mr. B. Dean Brown (born in 1932) is the author of the book, "Turning Points: From the Outhouse to the Penthouse" had the original vision for a cross on property he owned at this location.  His son, Kerry Brown, a former attorney,  continues to oversee the project, which is located on the west side of the intersection of U.S. Highways 65 and 160, in the Walnut Shade, Missouri, community.  The cross shown here is now listed as the tallest roadside cross in the USA.  It is 218 feet tall (any structure over 200 feet tall must have a beacon at its apex, according to FAA regulations.)  More information and photos are available on their website at www.imagesatthecross.org .

Before the Missouri cross was built, a roadside cross in Effingham, Illinois was the tallest.  I remember the first time I drove that highway and set my eyes on the gigantic cross in the distance, I was awe-struck!  Although I did not stop at the time (because I did not know which exit to take to access it), I determined to find out more about it.  Thanks to the Internet, I learned that it is sometimes called "Cross at the Crossroads".  On Facebook, their page is called The Cross in Effingham.  The crossroads referenced are Interstate 57 and Interstate 70.  It stands 198 feet tall, and was built around 2001.  In the summer of 2001, plans were made to have a dedication and nighttime illumination ceremony on the darkest night of mid-September, the evening before the new moon.  Then the terrorist acts of destruction on September 11, 2001, (known as the "9/11 Attacks) in New York City, Washington, D.C., and rural Pennsylvania, made the need for a symbol of hope especially important for the throngs of people that gathered at the base of the cross, for its initial lighting ceremony,  on the evening of September 16, 2001.  

Another place where you can find a cross sculpture, at an angle seldom seen, is in Saint John, Indiana, where you will see the cross laying on the ground,  instead of standing up.  The location is The Shrine of Christ's Passion, which I did an article on in this blog (available in archives with date of  Sept 16, 2019).  It shows life-size sculptures of Jesus laying on the cross, with a soldier hammering nails into his hands.  This sculpture is one of several the visitor can meditate on as they walk (free of charge) along the half mile winding pathway that allows you to journey through the Passion of Christ.   This is a very worthwhile site to visit, and you can learn more about it at their website, www.shrineofchristspassion.org

Another cross that I have visited that was part of a "winding path" (aka, switchbacks ascending a very steep mountain in the Ozarks) is the one on top of the bluff overlooking Buffalo City, Arkansas.  I had observed the cross from far below several times, while kayaking at this site on the White River, where the Buffalo National River empties into the White River (shown in background of photo).  When a friend offered me the opportunity to hike to the cross, via a boat her husband navigated across the river to a drop-off location at the bottom of the mountain, I jumped at the opportunity!  My arms are uplifted in heart-felt gratitude to Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins, and to Dave and Carol, who facilitated the opportunity, and Marilyn who took the photo!

 

Another location in northern Arkansas with a cross landmark, is Cross Church (www.crosschurch.com), in Rogers, Arkansas.  Anyone who has ever driven the very busy I-49 corridor between Fayetteville and Bella Vista, has seen this landmark, that is located in front of the main sanctuary of Cross Church:

The cross atop Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is another "destination" cross that many people drive to, as it makes a stunning addition to a sunset photo, like this one taken by Mary French.  The "Cross at Overlook Park" was part of the Mount Sequoyah Retreat and Conference Center, founded in 1922, by the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The location continues to be available for retreats and other events, which you can learn about at their website, www.mountsequoyah.org .

This photo with two of my grandkids illustrates the reason we share the good news of the Gospel---so that others can experience the abundant and eternal life that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross made possible.  We especially want that for our loved ones, like the ones shown in this photo!

Thanks to Jesus willingly dying on the cross for my sins, then being resurrected from the grave, I can rejoice in the good news (aka, "Gospel") that the cross remind us of!  That gives me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia