Another Corner of the Ozarks

Last week a group of Illinois friends helped me to explore "another" corner of the Ozarks.  I have floated, paddled, capsized, swam, fished and had fun on the Jack's Fork and Current Rivers since I was 12 years old.  I had been to Greer Spring a couple of times, but I had never before floated the Eleven Point River. 

They invited me to join them on this adventure.  So I loaded my canoe and met them at Alton. 

Tom, the expert, brought five kayaks and camping gear.  He was well-equipped for two nights on the river. 

My friend Jerry, who is even older than I am, agreed with me that we did not want to camp on the river bank.  And we decided on a much shorter float than the experts and adventurers wanted to take. 

This is their camp site the first night at the campground at Greer Crossing. 

The second night they camped down stream (somewhere), while Jerry and I slept on comfy beds in air conditioning. 

This is Bob, the adventurer.  He is always up for anything.  This was not his first time on the Eleven Point.  And actually, he is one who at one time survived floating the upper St. Francis; albeit, in an unprepared state. 

My paddling buddy, Jerry, likes to fish much more than I do.  He worked hard at it.  I think he wore out some of his lures, but not much luck. 

We floated 7 miles from Whitten Access to Riverton.  The five Illinois kayakers floated 19 miles from Greer Crossing to Riverton in two days.   

We enjoyed the Eleven Point River, which is a National Wild and Scenic River. 

The gradient is 5.6 feet per mile.  That's a little slower than the upper Jack's Fork (8.6 ft./mi.) or the upper Current (8.7 ft./mi.). 

The water was beautiful and the scenery amazing.  We saw a bald eagle, blue-winged teal, great blue heron, green heron, belted kingfisher, and many other birds. 

This is our camp site, a cabin at Riverton.  We were hosted by Hufstedler's, owned by Mike and Wendy Jones. 

It was very comfortable and well-equipped.  Jerry and I were well-rested and ready to paddle.

The weather was great.  The water was wonderful.  It was a good time.

I can't believe it is summer.

Time certainly flies by.  That may be a condition of age or just being busy.  It seems like only a few weeks ago I was looking forward to spring.  Now we are in the heat of mid-summer.

Spring for me yielded Turkey Number 21.

I still enjoy being in the woods in April and early May.  But I miss my hunting buddy.  Dad shot 68 turkeys in his hunting days.  He's the guy who taught me to shoot, to hunt rabbits and quail, to train a pointing dog, and to call turkeys.

The hot weather has drawn us to the river.  We have had two kayak/canoe trips on the Jack's Fork and Linda went on a "ladies-only" kayak trip on the Current river.

In June we hosted long-time Hall of Famers, Dean and Julie, which included a float trip.

We enjoyed hosting the Cobb family at the river and watching the children master the kayak.  We "invested" in two small kayaks this year.  Linda loves paddling the kayak.  I still prefer the canoe.



Now we are entering the "dog days" of summer.  The upper Jack's Fork is too low to float.  The sun scorches exposed skin.  The Ozark humidity saps your strength.

So we sit on the deck and watch our butterfly garden hoping to see some Monarchs.

Happy summer to you.