Planning a Labor Day Canoe Trip?

Labor Day marks the traditional end of the Summer season. Some canoe outfitters will shut down after the holiday weekend and the kids are returning to school. I'm starting to look forward to cooler temps, more water, less river traffic and the Autumn color changes.

River levels are still pretty low around most of Oklahoma, but the LMF River has enough flow to paddle.

The Caddo River in Arkansas has caught some water recently as well as parts of the Buffalo River. Speaking of Arkansas rivers, the Oklahoma Flatwater Paddlers are making a trip to the White River for the holiday. It sounds like a great trip. The White River is about 5 hours drive for us, but well worth it for the misty paddling on waters that feel positively air-conditioned!

I am planning on trying to get our little kayaks on Lake Bixhoma, a tiny no-wake lake just outside of Bixby, Oklahoma. However, there are some municipal permit issue to resolve first (sigh). I don't mind spending the money, but as usual the city does nothing to make this process easy or painless. Personally, I like the lake permit vending machine that Arbuckle Lake offers at the Guy Sandy Boat Ramp. Bixby demands a visit to City Hall or the local police station. I'm told the lake is quite scenic and it is always nice to find a no-wake zone for canoe and kayak paddling.

Got any tips for paddling at Lake Bixhoma?

Kayaking the White River Mists in Summer

The White River, located in northern Arkansas is an excellent Ozark river that originates in the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks. You can find good canoe launches on White River at Bull Shoals dam, at the Concrete Arch Bridge in Cotter, Arkansas and at boat ramps at Rim Shoals and Buffalo City, Arkansas. There are also a number of put-ins after the North Fork confluence at Norfork, Calico Rock, Sylamore and Guion, Arkansas. Since our riverside lodging was just south of Mountain Home, Arkansas, we had to drive for about five hours on this Oklahoma Road Trip.

The water in the White River is so cold that it creates a white mist as it mixes with the hotter surrounding air. This is why they call it The White River...and here I thought there was going to be real whitewater rapids.

Dianne and I began our first-ever, White River float trip at 7:30am on Saturday. We had my Perception Swifty and the Malibu X-Factor Kayak that Dianne had rented from Riley's Station Outfitters & Hide-away. The put-in at Rim Shoals was about 15 minutes from our cabin by road and just less than two hours by water. I assumed that we would catch some good kayak photography light by launching early, but the mists fooled me! Next time, I think I will sleep in a bit more!

At the Rim Shoals launch, we could only see about 6 feet in front of our boats due to the thick mist that rose over our heads. However, we could hear the steady whine of boat motors on the river. Smarter paddlers might have waited for the mists to clear, but we paddled right out into it with nervous giggle.

The feeling of paddling blindly through these chilly mists in our kayaks, knowing the water below is too deep and too cold to stand, was thrilling. Although the temps were well into the mid-eightees already, at water level it felt like 71 degrees in full sun! The water was deep for the entire trip and the current never slacked up. It was a real 'float trip' with no slow pools to slog through.

Dianne's huge Malibu X-Factor Fishing Kayak came loaded with great features. We have rented SOT kayaks from other outfitters before but we have never gotten such high-end gear. At nearly 14 feet long, this was a much larger craft than either of us have ever paddled. This made it a bit cumbersome to turn quickly, but we never really needed to make any quick turns on the White River.

The Riley's supplied the X-Factor with a top-notch high-back seat and a very nice paddle from Crack of Dawn. You ride very high and dry in this kayak, even in waves and boat wake. A true anglers kayak, the X-Factor is stable enough to climb all over and can carry about 600 lbs! The lodging they supplied was quite good as well. You can't beat their front row seats at the Buffalo River / White River confluence!

Stop by our White River Kayaking page for information on how you can plan a trip to paddle these magical water yourself. Riley's Station makes an excellent base of operations for exploring the White River, the Buffalo River, Crooked Creek and the other amazing outdoor resources in the area, but our page lists a number of other choices as well.

In any case, I would suggest you break out the serious cold water paddling gear ANYTIME you paddle this river. Whether you prefer wet suits, dry suits or quick drying synthetic shirts and shorts... you will certainly want to leave the cotton clothing at home for this float trip.

Mountain Home Arkansas Road Trip Planning

Our next Oklahoma Road Trip will be to the scenic Arkansas Ozarks town of Mountain Home. They call this part of Arkansas the Twin Lakes region. We have a cabin booked near the confluence of the Buffalo River & The White River. Due to a strange weather phenomenon, rain seems to follow us to every river we visit this year. I see it is already entering the Arkansas forecast for this weekend.

Dianne and I love taking float trips on the Buffalo River, but this will be our first trip on the White River. My son is a bit concerned about the surviving for two days without a TV, but it looks like the area is loaded with fun to me. With attractions like the ones listed below, why stay in the cabin?

The North Fork of the White River

The North Fork of the White River begins in the Mark Twain National Forest and flows to the south for around 78 miles before it empties into Norfork Lake. It is loaded with exciting class II rapids. An abundance of springs keeps the water level almost constant year-round and the water quality excellent. Relatively swift current moves paddlers downstream at about 4 MPH over moderate drops. The White River State Park marina/store offers: kayak and canoe rentals, supplies, equipment, boat / motor rentals and gifts for sale.


Bull Shoals Lake

45,400 acre lakes with clear water, rocky shorelines and cliffs, gravel points, numerous tributary creeks and numerous coves.


White River Canoe Race July 23-26, 2008

The 42nd Annual National Invitational White River Canoe Race is an adventure of over a hundred miles from the heart of the Ozark Mountains near Bull Shoals Lake to the foothills of Batesville, Arkansas. Visit the White River Canoe Race website for full details!


Family Fun at The Zone

The Zone in Mountain Home, AR offers: 18 hole Mini Golf course, Go Kart race track with both single and double Karts, batting cages, video arcade...the Works!

The Zone
4818 Hwy 62 West
Mountain Home, AR
870-425-GOLF (4653)


The Dripstone Trail at Blanchard Springs Caverns

Blanchard Springs Caverns, part of the Ozark National Forest, is located 55 miles South of Mountain Home, AR off Arkansas 14.

As you can see, we are unlikely to require much time for watching TV! The few hours I spend awake indoors will most likely be devoted to deciding which BBQ restaurant in Mountain Home to choose: Beuford's, The Black Wolf, The Blue Pig, Couch's, KT's, Fireside or Brent's Barbeque.

Got any local dining tips for me and Dianne?

Barbecue 101 Field Research

Dianne and I have been trying to do more 'field research' on smoked meats and styles of barbecue lately because we bought ourselves and electric smoker! We chose the Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse because it was on sale and looked easy to use.

It is a pretty cool device that uses electricity for heat, like the oven in our house, but it uses wood chips for the smoke. In our past attempts at BBQ, we had problems maintaining consistent heat around 200 degrees and getting the right level of smoke AT THE SAME TIME. An Electric Smoker offers a thermostat to keep the heat right and an easy way to monitor/control the smoke levels.

I like using the wood chips because it is easy to find a wide variety of inexpensive choices of woods to smoke with. I love keeping the heat and smoke outdoors, especially during the hot summertime. Cooking at such low heat levels takes a really long time, so we also grabbed a Wireless BBQ Thermometer. It literally yells at your when the meat starts to get ready!

Naturally the successful deployment of the new BBQ technology forced us to go out looking for great new dry rub and sauce formulations. If you know which spot in Mt. Home Arkansas creates the best Q, then please leave a comment on our blog... soon!

Happy paddling!

Kings River Life-is-Good Landmark

Kings River Life-is-Good Landmark,
originally uploaded by FreeWine.

Things got pretty busy on my day job these last few weeks. My Boss took a well-deserved vacation that has left me struggling to fill his shoes and Dianne has been upgrading our home network. This has left both of us tragically landlocked for the last couple weeks. I am hoping we can get out on some water again on Father's Day weekend, but until then we will have to get by on pictures and memories.

The photo with this posting is a recent one from our great trip down the Kings River near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Anyone familiar with the popular line of Life is Good - Paddling T-Shirts should be able to recognize Jake, the smiling face that adorns the rocks just up river from Riverside Resort and Canoes on Hwy 62.

I just had to snap a picture of it because it totally caught us by surprise. Paddling up to meet Jake was like unexpectedly meeting up with an old friend on the water. Dianne and I buy paddling t-shirts as souvenirs from just about every place we can. Many of them aren't real original, but I love them all because wearing them takes me back to the river.

We had a river map with us that listed the 'Life is Good' landmark, but that was mostly for use in the event of an emergency. We ignored the map completely until we were back in Oklahoma. Next time I'm in the area I think I may ask around about that painting. I am curious as to whether it is advertisement or graffiti. Did the outfitter down the river commission it? How long has it been there?