The Young Americans!

Yesterday Rick and I had the extreme pleasure of spending the afternoon with a friend of EIC, Jeffery Hodges, and his wonderful family.

Jeffery teaches at a University in Seoul, South Korea but was raised right here in the Ozarks. His childhood home was in Fulton County around Salem. His children, 8 and 11, are visiting the 'States for the very first time and we are so happy to have been able to give them a taste of the Ozarks!

Our group, consisting of the Hodges, My family, and HillbillyRecon and kids, first visited the high bluff across the White River from Calico Rock known as City Rock Bluff. After enjoying the awesome views from that vantage point, we stood in the Fuh-REEZING breeze and ate a bite before heading north to visit the Natural Bridge near Dolph.

The children enjoyed the various natural features of the deep hollow that is bridged by the massive stone arch...climbing rocks, challenging the icy spring-fed Calico Creek as they stepped from stone to stone to cross it. They stooped into cave-openings and examined crevices in the rocks.

The parents tried desperately to keep from falling on butts because of the heavy blanket of leaves obscuring the loose rocks beneath.

A typical day in the Izard County Outback! Sharing the Wonder!

I hope we didn't wear Sun-Ae, Jeff's wife, out on her first excursion. The Calico Creek "Gorge" is certainly rough and rugged terrain to navigate when one is used to clearly marked and relatively level trails. We'll know next time the family comes home to visit, though. Because no-one...from any place...who cherishes natural beauty...can resist a trek into these beautiful hills.

We welcome your return, Hodges Family. We so enjoyed your visit!

You can read Jeff's account of the trip at Gypsy Scholar.

Snowed Under!

The past week has been exciting in the county and on the blog. Earlier in the week, we had a major wind-storm sweep through the county that blew some structures down and started a brush-fire that threatened several homes. On Thursday, we had snow that lasted until Friday before it began thawing due to welcomed unseasonably warm temperatures.
This, of course, offered us various opportunities for photos which you can see at Exploring Izard County.

Also exciting the past week was finishing up the single best month we've had concerning visitors and page-views at the blog. Thanks to everyone who has interest in this amazing place.

Also, a "thanks" needs to go out to whoever has shared the site through e-mail with others. Yesterday saw the single best DAY we've had on the blog with around 170 visits and well over 1000 page-views!

So...Thanks to whoever you are!