Bikes, blues, and the Buffalo?

After 10 years we are kind of over Bikes, Blues, and BBQ.  About the only aspect of the whole festival I've always enjoyed is the BBQ anyways but my days on a cooking team were over years ago.  We don't have a motorcycle and my days of listening to blues in a beer garden we over about a decade and half ago.  I love the festival mainly because of all the money it brings to our area.  Day to day though all I can think about is the TRAFFIC. Yes I went all caps there.  I can turn my radio up enough to not have to deal with the constant need for bikers to rev their engines at stop lights (what's up with that really?). But starting on Tuesday the traffic was noticable and within 24 hours you couldn't get anywhere. Campbell missed ballet on Wednesday because it took Jenna 50 minutes instead of the usual 20 to get to pick her up from school.  So Friday afternoon, I had to get away.  Noah had an ATA workout Friday night and a baseball camp on Sunday afternoon so it would be a quick getaway but it would be quiet nonetheless.  First thing I did was call the BOC (Buffalo Outdoor Center) to see if the campgrounds were overrun by motorcycles.  He reported a lot of motorcycle traffic through Ponca and Jasper and a few were at Steel Creek.  So down the dirt road (or trail is more accurate) to Kyle's Landing we went.  Of course, we got off to a late start and it was lunchtime before we got on the trail.  The campfire was worth it though. It was rushed and way too much work for such a brief trip but it was nice to just be the 4 of us for awhile. 

The bikes got there revenge on Sunday though.  We stopped in Kingston for a quick bite. We were on schedule to have Noah back on time, when we got bombarded by....TRAFFIC. Foot and road. The poor King's River One Stop was overrun. While we were there they both called for extra help and it arrived before our food was ready.

It will be one of those weekends where the romance of the memory will be greater than the actual fun we had but I'll take it anyways.

Full Gallery

Quick bike...er...hike

Jenna, Noah, and I went for a quick bike ride around Lake Fayetteville this afternoon. We had a full schedule so we were rushing to cram it in. We got there and somebody (think of me doing the Blake Shelton finger point at myself) realized he only threw 2 of the 3 bikes in the back of the truck...so...
Jenna, Noah, and I went for a quick hike around Lake Fayetteville this afternoon.

Natural Falls 2012

On Sunday afternoon we really needed to get out of the house.  Cam and I sat at home all day Saturday and that night we should've gotten out.  As it was we chose to have a family outing Sunday after church.  We were on a time crunch to get Noah back for choir practice so we stuck close to home.  We headed across the Oklahoma line to Natural Falls.  It's an easily accessible paved trail down to the base of the falls so it was perfect.  The kids spent some time ​on a playground afterwards while Jenna and I sat on a bench. It was Campbell's first waterfall to see and she ooooo'd and ahhhhh'd. 

Buffalo River-Fall 2011

Buffalo River Photo Gallery

Ron and I have decided we want to get the boys involved in backpacking.  To get from point A to point B is going to require a lot of babysteps  We've done a lot of hiking the past few months. We've slowly been collecting gear when we find good sales.  Noah and I even spent the night a few times camping in the backyard (on the trampoline which is surprisingly comfortable). Our next step was to go camping but we missed that window this year.

Or so we thought. On Tuesday the weekend forecast stared to creep up to lows in the mid-50s.  So with a little trepidation from us and a lot of understanding from our wives we charted a course for the Buffalo River National Forest. We roughed it a little more than typical camping calls for but it was a learning experience for us and what works when camping with little kids.

Saturday was spent hiking to Hawksbill Crag and Sunday we explored the riverbed. We had rain come in Saturday night but the equipment held up to task. The boys had a blast and the dad's returned them safely to their mom's. Bring on the Spring!