This is the first time DUMC had ever been on a trip
to the Buffalo, but let me tell you folks, it won't be the last.
12 people left Douglas on Friday at around 7:00 pm. (I don't think
they liked the idea of leaving at 5 am the next morning.) They
made it to Conway Arkansas by 12 midnight and stayed at the Howard
Johnsons. The rest of us left at 5:15 am the following morning
from the church. It was a pleasant drive all the way, especially
watching the sun rise. We made it to Conway by 8:30, and decided
to stop at the Howard Johnsons, to make sure everyone was awake...some
were, some weren't. We went on ahead of them to get things
ready by the time they would get there.
This is a picture of the group that left Saturday
morning, after we left Conway, and just before we got to Marshall
Arkansas. This was a scenic overlook. We still had
another 45 minutes to go before getting to Buffalo Bill's where
we would all meet up to go rafting.
Finally, we make it to Buffalo Bill's motel. We had
so many people that BB said, just take the whole place. So we
did. The bunkhouse is was where the majority of the boys/men stayed,
and the other 5 rooms were mostly the girls/women. It was great
having the whole place to ourselves. The boys hot water heater
wasn't working, but BB came over and hit the reset button and
things were great from then on.
We unloaded the vehicles and changed into our river
canoeing outfits, and waited for the Howard Johnson's crew to
get here.
and waited......
and waited....
until finally.......yeah, they made it. (don't tell
them, but in another 15 minutes we were going canoeing without
them.)
and thus began the mad dash to get them ready for
the river.
That night the grown-ups sat around their campfire....
and the youth played around theirs!!!!!
One of the most engaging attributes of the Buffalo River,
is how clear the water is. This is about 4 to 5 feet deep and
you can see how vivid the view of the bottom is.
