Mulberry River Whitewater Two Hours from Home

Our first visit to The Mulberry River in Ozark, Arkansas this weekend was a blast!

Just a couple hours down I-40, the Mulberry River offers a fun ride with constant current and loads of fairly easy rapids. In fact, the Mulberry offers about 40 miles of great canoe & kayaking water. This river is rainfall driven, so you must plan your trip carefully. Too much water makes it very dangerous and too little water means dragging your kayak through the shallows. Visit the Turner Bend website for a daily updated gauge of the current river level. They will even sell you a detailed river map and canoe guide with all of the named rapids listed.

Since Dianne and I arrived at Turner Bend late in the afternoon, we took the short four mile float trip from the public access at Redding Campground in The Ozark National Forest down to the Turner Bend take-out at the Highway 23 bridge. The Mulberry River level was at 2.05 feet according to the Turner Bend gauge. The river level was perfect for a couple of recreational kayakers like us. As you can see from the picture on the right, the Mulberry provides lots of chances to test how cold the water is! The nice folks at Turner Bend shuttled both of our kayaks for a mere $16. I am eager to return and paddle more of this thrilling river.

Kayakers had better snap on the sprayskirt for paddling the Mulberry River. Although it is not as rocky as the LMF, there are loads of ripples and standing waves that make it difficult to see the rocks that are there. There are many more rapids on the Mulberry River than the Lower Mt. Fork River. Rather than the typical pool & drop, the Mulberry River water descends at a consistently swift pace through rapid after rapid.

Since we launched so late in the day, we had the river practically to ourselves. This was surprising because the Turner Bend store where we arranged the shuttle was absolutely packed with bikers! Turner Bend is located where the river crosses Highway 23. This is part of 'The Pig Trail', a scenic roadway popular with motorcycle clubs and car clubs. The Pig Trail and the National Forest campgrounds bring folks from all over the country to this beautiful part of the Arkansas Ozarks.

One of the best features of this river is the great put-in and take-out spots. Our put-in at Redding Campground was large and made with tons of lovely native stonework. With so many riffles and S-curves to paddle on the Mulberry, it is easy to lose track of time. Thankfully, Turner Bend has a take-out that you simply cannot miss. One highlight of our Turner Bend visit was seeing the electric boat lift they use to bring canoes & kayaks out of the water. For me, it was love at first sight!

The Mulberry River is an exciting series of whitewater rapids, so keep your wits about you. Watch the river levels closely, dress for immersion and paddle sober for the ride of your life! Dianne and I paddled the river without flipping the kayaks, but we still managed to get quite wet. To contact the Mulberry River outfitters and plan your own float trip, visit our Mulberry River page at: http://www.oklahomaroadtrips.com/Float-Mulberry-River.htm

While you are there, check out the town of Altus, Arkansas, home of several local wineries & vineyards, just 20 minutes away! If you don't have time to visit the wineries in person, just grab a few bottles of Arkansas wine at the Turner Bend store!

Oklahoma Area Rivers Up for Floating

It looks like we have perfect paddling conditions on tap for this weekend. Recent rains have nice river levels flowing on a number of popular Ozark area kayaking locations.
This weekend, I like the looks of these waterways:

The Mulberry River - Whitewater off I-40 near Ozark, Arkansas
The Illinois River - Scenic paddling in Tahlequah, Oklahoma
The Kiamichi River - Remote backwoods canoe trips in Antlers, OK
The Upper Mountain Fork River - Watch out for the six foot waterfall.
The Kings River - Scenic canoeing trips near Eureka Springs, Arkansas
The Glover River - Big time whitewater in Southeastern Oklahoma

All of the above rivers are running strong and the Oklahoma weather forecast is calling for nothing but sunshine. I've got a load of work to do this weekend, but I still hope to slip off somewhere to enjoy some shady water.

Chronic Summer Wanderlust

Although our recent trip to the Illinois River was great, it really got me itching to paddle some new waters. Reading other bloggers talking about their awesome summer road trips is just making it worse. I was reading the Gliding Calm blog this morning. The author is traveling across the US, while working toward sticking to her rather strict diet (she is a chia seed dieter like me). As she visits state after state, I am struggling to find time to hit a few paddling spots right in my neighborhood! Thankfully, this month we will be visiting the Upper Mt. Fork River for the first time.

Speaking of the Mountain Fork River, I hear through Twitter that Broken Bow's Lower Mountain Fork River is back open for canoe and kayak float trips and trout fishing. This is great news, the LMF River is our favorite Oklahoma paddling location. According to American Whitewater's site: The Tulsa Wave is running and Arkansas' Saline River at Dierks Lake is kicking up some great whitewater. Happy paddling!

Illinois River Watershed Appreciation Day June 6, 2009

Bald Eagle on the Illinois River
Originally uploaded by FreeWine

The Illinois River Watershed Partnership will hold Illinois River Watershed Appreciation Day from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6, 2009 at Lake Fayetteville.

The day's itinerary includes children's games in the pavilion from 2 to 4:30 p.m., a geocaching treasure hunt, Stream Team watermonitoring demonstrations, canoe racing, fishing and volleyball contests, barbecue and a concert. Everything's free and open to all.

The Illinois River originates near Hogeye, southwest of Fayetteville, and flows west, crossing the Ozarks into Oklahoma five miles south of Siloam Springs. Eventually it flows into the Arkansas River near Gore, Okla. More information is at http://www.irwp.org/ or 479-238-4671.

Preparing for Spring Paddling in the Ozarks

With today's low wind and high temps, it is clearly and excellent day for winter kayaking in Oklahoma. Naturally, you can't get weather like this on the weekend. I would take a sick day to go paddling on a day like this, but wouldn't you know it...I'm already sick. I picked up a head cold somewhere, so I will be spending this wonderful 70 degree February day at home sneezing like crazy. More warm weather is currently on tap for tomorrow, but the wind speeds and rain chances are higher as well. Since I am likely to be sick all week, I will miss this fine weather, hopefully you will be more lucky.

If you do get out for some paddling, do me a favor and wear a PFD, the water is still quite cold.

Do You Facebook?

I've been trying to learn the ropes on FaceBook this week. With Spring kayaking season just aroung the corner and the Tulsa job market tightening, I thought that this would be a great time to expand my social network. I've already managed to form ties with a couple of my friends from the Oklahoma Flatwater Paddlers, a large amount of my wife's family and several friends from High School. I haven't figured out all of the applications on FB yet, but I cannot help but be impressed with its ability to locate old buddies that I have not spoken to in years. If you are a local paddler in the Tulsa area and you find yourself on Facebook, send a friend request for Thomas Jones in Okmulgee, OK. Maybe we can go paddling sometime soon.

I hope to be hale and hearty again in time to make a trip to OKC for the Paddlesports and Outdoor Gear Swap at OKC Kayak March 6th and 7th. I recently aquired some neoprene waders, that would be excellent for Winter kayaking, but they are one size too small for my comfort. I also have some kayaking DVD's I could part with.

The Buffalo River & The Kings River

Float trip outfitters throughout the Ozarks have begun inspecting their rivers in preparation for the Spring paddling season. The early February ice storms have created some serious timber issues this year for both paddlers and outfitters on the Buffalo River and the Kings River in nearby Arkansas.

The last I heard, the popular Ponca-to-Kyle's-Landing Buffalo River float isn't possible because Kyle's Landing Access is closed. The nearest take-out to Ponca is the Erbie access 15 miles downstream. The Steel Creek access, just below Ponca, Arkansas is also closed. To check the status of the Buffalo National River access points, visit the Buffalo River park's Web site, www.nps.gov/buff or call park headquarters at (870) 365-2700.

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?