Musings of a Mom: outdoors

(Trying to play catch up on posts)

For our anniversary, we had a little getaway. I had read about this place in a magazine (one ironically I don't always read) like two years ago and had wanted to go ever since. Finally, we went! (a week after our anniversary which turned out to be the perfect time and weather)

The name of it? Longbow Resort.

For some reason, the term "resort" seems ironic to me. When I think "resort", I think fancy, high end. This wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I loved our time there and would go back in a heartbeat. I just think of it more like a getaway or a retreat. :)

Anyway, I took half a day of school off on that Friday afternoon (November 1). We ate lunch then headed down the road. Well, kind of. We kept forgetting things and having to turn around. It was almost comical.

I don't think that there are really "accidents" in life.

I think that there are often opportunities that God gives us.

Because of our departure time, we arrived at the resort right before sunset. We were following the owner out to our cabin when he suddenly pulled over by a field. He told us we were about to see a spectacular sunset. I, of course, got out, ready to snap some pictures. The pictures don't do it justice. Just trust me in that it was amazing. And perfectly timed. If we had arrived earlier, we would have been at the cabin which was beautiful but was down in a valley surrounded by trees. We would NOT have had the same view. And had we arrived later, we would not have had a good view either from the curvy roads (nor a place to pull over). We arrived at precisely the time we should have!

Here is just a sampling...

Our cabin was built on a rock. Literally. Here is the bathroom/jacuzzi tub with the rock as part of the wall. I could stand on the top of the rock when we were on the upper deck.

After settling in, we had a good night's sleep. The next morning, we headed out for a little hiking. We just happened to meet another couple staying in one of the other cabins. They invited us over to check their place out. This was right outside their back deck. Absolutely beautiful!

My sweet hubby walking along the creek.

One of my favorite sights on the hike was the little frogs we would find. They were truly camouflaged. Can you see it?

Here is the top of one of the cabins from a bluff we were hiking...

The colors were spectacular...not quite as brilliant as our area at home but pretty close.

Yes, it is another frog. Can you find this one?

On one of our hikes (all on the property we were staying on), we encountered some cows. This was nothing new for my husband but it was a first for me. I have never seen cows in the woods. It startled me then I got tickled. It still makes me giggle when I think about it.

I love these berries. They are such a beautiful color...

Another cow friend...

We didn't just encounter frogs on our walk. We also found this guy sunning. Thankfully it was fairly cool out AND he had just eaten. So it didn't scare me nearly as much as if it had been moving around...

Yes, it is another frog...this one is really hidden.

After a LOT of hiking, we headed over to Heber Springs (the closest "town" with food) for some lunch. We enjoyed the scenery along the way...

A little more hiking...

Finally, we headed back to the cabin for the night. We were truly "off the grid". We had no television (it only played DVDs which we didn't have). We had no cell phone service. No Internet. We only had one radio that was a bit fuzzy. Though it was hard to not be in contact with the kids, we really enjoyed truly getting away from it all...

We enjoyed some time on the hammock on the back deck...

We ended the evening with a steak dinner (grilled) and feeding the raccoon (we didn't get a close up of him though but he sure did enjoy the treats we left). The one and only bad part of the weekend was that I got really sick Saturday night (I am guessing from our lunch). The one good thing is that due to daylight savings, we at least had an extra hour of sleep.

We packed up and headed over to Mountain View to Blanchard Springs. I have read a lot about this park in my hiking books. But wow. Pictures/photos just don't do it justice. What a beautiful place!

Here is the "dam". We hiked for a little in the area but had to cut that short so we could take a tour of the cavern.

The cavern. Oh wow. I had heard about it but again, pictures just don't do it justice. It is a very easy walk and one of the most amazing caves I have ever experienced! We have already said we MUST go back and explore some more with the kids. (I tried to link to the website but the Internet wasn't cooperating.)

Blanchard Springs is a "living" cave which means it is still growing, still forming.

I thought this was really neat...it is part of the cave!

It was a beautiful and amazing way to end our day. We headed on back home (with one stop for pizza) then stepped back onto the grid. And back to the crazy reality that is our life...

Reba

I mentioned not long ago that the sunsets recently have just captivated me. They continue to do so.

This fascination in God's artwork each night has developed into the Sunset Project for me.

Basically, I try to capture the sunset each night via camera. I considered setting up a separate blog and posting a picture daily but I am not sure there are many out there who are interested in an unprofessional photographer's poor attempt to capture the beauty of the skies every night.

Still, I click away on the camera. The main reason is because it makes me stop and take just a few minutes each day to truly behold and consider God's greatness. It also is a reminder to me that there is beauty around even when I cannot see it (like after a rough week of allergies, conferences, and other health stuff). Even our little guy often runs out with me to take pictures (I promise my neighbors I am not crazy or stalking...just trying to get a photo of the sky), exclaiming, "It is so beautiful, huh, Mommy?"

And it is.

Here are just a few pics from recent days. Remember, I do not claim to be a photographer. And I am pretty sure no camera could truly do it justice...but I try anyway. :)