Calico Rock, Arkansas

I like to take drives in the Ozarks on my days off from the hotel. On Monday, I made it all the way down to Mountain View. It sure has a pretty downtown made up almost entirely of stone buildings. I didn't take a picture of it this time, but I will on down the road. The town sure earns its name because there are mountains in every direction.

On my way home, I ventured through a town I'd never been to before, Calico Rock, which apparently has quite the history. Once I came out of the mountains into the meadows, there were cliffs that appeared to my right and in front of me. I saw a couple of houses built on the cliffs to my right and I really liked how different it looked.

Well, that was nothing. Before I came to the bridge that crosses the White River and separates Stone County (Mountain View) from Izard County (Calico Rock), I saw the town laid out on the cliff complete with an old-fashioned water tower. I think it stopped me in my tracks, well, at least mentally. If I wasn't driving, I would've stopped instantly. I'd never seen anything like it before in my life. It was just so cool.

Then right as I crossed the bridge I saw the downtown and I swear I felt transported back over a hundred years ago. One of neatest downtowns I've ever seen. Love the architecture. The whole town ranks as one of the most unique towns I've ever visited.

I won't go into the colorful history or the ghost town within a town, Peppersauce Alley, because there's plenty of it on the Internet that can be readily had. I'll just share my photos.

I didn't feel like taking any photos downtown because I felt too overwhelmed with where to start. Maybe another day. You can see a glimpse of the downtown behind the White River - Izard County sign. Behind that first building is Peppersauce Alley.

The meadow between the mountains and Calico Rock.

This is where I ate the most amazing Mushroom Swiss Burger ever!

I want to spend more time in the town poking around. I especially want to see those downtown stores and maybe venture deeper into Peppersauce Alley.

First Snow and New Additions

We finally had our first snow yesterday and it didn't consist of much accumulation, but it sure was pretty falling.

You can really see the snowflakes much clearer in this one.

This is what most days this winter have looked like.

The woods above and Table Rock Lake below.

Considering the weather, the new additions aren't regarding the shop/house build, but rather to some new fur friends that have joined the household.

First, we have Samantha, a calico kitten, and Lily, a Yorkie mix. They are both from the Stone County Humane Society. John and Lily are BFFs and can't be separated. Samantha is like a parrot and sleeps on my shoulder or chest/neck. I've never seen such a cuddle monster of a cat in my life. They've been here since November.

I guess since they came home together, they bonded.

They spent the whole first day in bed. Samantha spent most of it under the covers where she still loves to sleep. They even ate together in the beginning.

Then a random new addition from this weekend is Vince. John named him. He's the hotel kitty.

We get strays in Branson that come around the hotel. Most of them won't let you within a mile of them, but this black and white kitty would let you pet him and he'd come running whenever he'd see me at work. A hotel guest bought a box of cat food and when it ran out, I brought in some cat food from home. My coworkers would put out sausage and eggs from breakfast for him.

I couldn't take it anymore and figured this is no life for a kitty and brought Vince home. He spent the first day on the shelf in our pantry adjusting. Now he's out and about and he's playing!

It's a new year. Happy New Year! May all you dreams come true this year.

Posted with Blogsy

Back to the Lake

It's good to be back!

From that first moment in August 2011 when I drove across the Cape Fair Bridge over Table Rock Lake and to the Cenex gas station in town, I knew it was home. I'd never felt more comfortable in my life!

Early Harvest

I just wanted to grow pumpkins this year.  Don't know why only them, but I guess I just like pumpkins.  There's something so fun and quirky about them.  Little did I know that my harvest would come mid-summer instead of Halloween.  Silly me!  I figured you started stuff in the Spring, so that's what I did.  Little early, I'd say.

I also grew cantaloupes and watermelons since the folks here like them.  I figured, why not.

Here's what I just now picked.  There's one pumpkin out there that's still green and the largest one of all, so it'll be interesting to see how big it gets.

Magical Faerie Woods

We are having the most insanely beautiful thunderstorms right now.  It is so lush and green.  It looks like the magical faerie woods around here.  Plus, there's something about southwestern Missouri that is naturally like that.

The hard-pouring rain and loud thunder stopped almost like a conductor stopping an orchestra - all at once.  Eerie!  In between storms, I ran and shot a few photos of my set of favorite eight trees.

Here they are for you to enjoy.

Have a Great Sunny or Rainy Day in Your Neck of the Woods!

View to the Lake

The view to the lake from the house is opening up now that leaves have started falling.  I even took this shot inside.

I finally got fed up with my Sony Handycam, even though I've always had a soft spot for Sony.  Perhaps it's because mine is standard definition.  If I can't get over my Sony fixation, I'll give high definition a try someday after I ensure via YouTube that a high definition takes good videos first.

But for right now, I went after a brand that I know has sharp and clear photos and videos, JVC.  In my search for a JVC, I got a little crazy and once I started shopping, I just couldn't stop, so I ended up with three different camcorders.  Keep in mind one only cost $10 and the other one wasn't too pricy either.

I'll introduce them all individually.  This particular photo was taken with my ematic eCAM.  It's a pocket camcorder that is super simple to use and takes great photos and videos.  I'm very impressed.  Now if you go shopping for one, watch out.  I've seen the prices range all over the place.  I found mine via Amazon for a nice and comfortable $34.95, brand new, free shipping and with everything you need to go with it.

I'm very happy with this camera and its design, so you'll be seeing more from it.  If you'd like to see the ematic eCAM and watch the video that convinced me of its quality, I've included the link.

The Old Y-Bridge in Galena

The cool old Y-Bridge in Galena, MO is off Highway 248/265/413, which is just one road.  The bridge closed in 1986 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It crosses the James River and opened the year my sweet Mom was born in 1927.  It got its name from its shape.  It does look just like a Y.  It allowed drivers leaving Galena heading east to cross the James River and to make either a left and go north or a right and go south onto then Highway 43/44, now 248/265/413.

Here we have each end of the bridge.

I got a few shots from above of the beautiful underlying structure.  When I return, I will indeed be taking the gravel drive down to the river's edge so that I can capture the bridge from below.

Here's the James River to the south.

And to the north.

You'll notice a train trestle to the south and the current highway bridge in operation for 248/265/413 to the north.  Now I know we came to the Y-Bridge on this same highway, so talk about confusing.  Keep in mind that the highway comes to a T just a bit up the road from the Y-Bridge, so it runs both north/south and east/west.  At the T intersection, you can go right and take 176 and head east or you can take a left and continue on 248/265/413 to the west.

And the James River shore.

And the neverending Ozark hills.

And here's the infamous Y.

Autumn Images

Here's a photo I took today while exploring the old Y-Bridge in Galena. In the last few days, seasonal colors have really become apparent on all of the hills.  I've got quite a few photos that I need to go through for the Y-Bridge and when I'm done, I'll post them.  I did put up my first YouTube video of a walk across the bridge from one end to the other and it includes the James River.

 

I finally got fed up with the lack of quality, so I'm learning how to use the advanced features on my Sony Handycam DCR-SX40, so you should see my photos increase in quality over time.  I did discover the Picture Motion Browser (PMB) software and now I can do an Autocorrect that makes a difference.

For instance, here's a photo before and after Autocorrect.

It really brings out the depth of colors while staying true, and sharpens it up quite a bit.  I would rather be able to do this on the camera itself when the photo is first shot rather than doctoring them up afterwards, which feels wrong somehow.  I'm just hoping there's something I can learn to get the colors, focus and sharpness a lot better from the get go because the dark faded colors and fuzziness in my photos are really bugging the heck out of me.

Quick Photo of Table Rock Lake

I didn't want anyone to think I fell off the planet since I started posting here more frequently.  When I came across this nice shot of Table Rock Lake I saw for a property listing on Murney, I wanted to share it as it's such a lovely shot.  I'll be talking more about the lake, you can count on that.

My A-Frame Devotion Continues On

I just discovered another A-Frame and out of the ones I've featured here, I like this one the best.  Plus, it's for sale at the amazing price of only $26,000.  If I had this amount saved up, I might just shelve my tiny house project and buy this house.

To boot, this A-Frame is on the waterfront at Table Rock Lake, which is a gorgeous lake in southwestern Missouri.  The address is 16 Opal Lane, Lampe, MO in Stone County.  It has two bedrooms and one bath.

It is listed by Branson Best Realty.

If you buy it, please invite me over.