Tag: #hiking

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Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

Our search for sunshine led us to Buckhorn Campground at the Lake of the Arbuckles near Sulphur, Oklahoma. 

Camping in the woods
Lake of the Arbuckles

It soon became apparent how Sulphur got its name.  As we drove through the town’s valleys, our nostrils were assailed by that familiar rotten egg smell.  It turns out that Sulphur has natural springs that are high in elemental sulfur.  While public mineral water fountains are available in Sulphur, we didn’t try the water this time.  Thankfully the noxious smell tended to hang in low spots and didn’t permeate the whole area. 

While we were there, we explored nearby Chickasaw National Recreation Area. 

A spring from the rocks
A spring that bubbles up into this pool

As we hiked the trails, we watched armadillos snuffling through the woods.  These little creatures buried their noses in the ground and bulldozed their way through the forest, eating dinner as they went. 

He looked at us, scurried deeper into the woods, and continued his lunch.
Thankfully, we didn’t see any but they might have seen us!

After our time in Oklahoma, we went back to KC so we could vote absentee.  We had planned to vote before our trip south, but we failed to remember that county offices would be closed on Columbus Day.  Although the miles add up, we didn’t mind returning to KC to perform our civic duty.

When we are in Kansas City, we get to see some of our kids and we get to worship with our church family.  When we are on the road, some Sunday mornings we watch our church’s online services and sometimes we find a local church to attend.  It’s encouraging to meet fellow Christians throughout our country and it’s fun to experience how different churches worship the Lord. Upon arrival at one church we visited, we were each given a small paper lunch bag which contained our communion elements.  In the churches we have attended, communion is celebrated with a small wafer and a sip of juice.  However, this church gave us a generous wafer and an eight ounce can of grape juice.  After the communion meditation and prayer, the sound of popping can tops echoed throughout the sanctuary.  It took several swallows to drain the juice can.  At first, the copious amount of juice made us chuckle but on reflection, isn’t that what Jesus offers?  His blood was shed to cover all of our sins, not just a sip of them.  He invites us to drink deeply and be filled with His love and His grace.  An acronym for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.  We left that service with a fresh reminder of God’s riches and Jesus’s abundant, overflowing love for us, thanks to an eight ounce can of Welch’s Grape Juice.   

https://youtu.be/Ju-9_NBB1Yo
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Splish Splash

We celebrated our birthdays in Arkansas.  Our trailer needed a few final tweaks so we left it with the friendly folks at Mid-America RV in Carthage, MO and continued on our way to Hot Springs.  Since we were without our ‘home’, we splurged on a hotel and enjoyed the luxury of a king-size bed.    

Hot Springs is a fun town to explore. The main attraction is Hot Springs National Park which is on the city’s main street.  Historic bathhouses line Central Avenue with the Grand Promenade behind the bathhouses at the base of the mountain.  From the Grand Promenade, numerous hiking trails offer opportunities to explore the mountainside.

Hot Springs National Park headquarters
The Grand Promenade

Because of Covid, only two bathhouses were open, the Buckstaff and the Quapaw.  We enjoyed a relaxing soak in the healing mineral waters at the Quapaw.  Both bathhouses use water collected by the National Park System from the mountain’s natural thermal springs.  Each day, over 700,000 gallons of water flow from the springs.  When the water emerges from the earth, it is a scalding 147 degrees.  The mineral water is cooled for use in the bathhouses.  

This former bathhouse now houses the only brewery in a national park. They make root beer and beer with the mineral water.

In addition to the baths, thermal spring fountains are available for drinking the water.  We didn’t realize this until we watched a local resident fill about 20 jugs to take home.  We followed her lead and filled our drinking cooler with the water.  The water did not have a mineral taste and we enjoyed drinking it.  

From the Grand Promenade, we hiked the Peak Trail to Hot Springs Mountain Tower.  While the trail was short, just 1/2 a mile each way, the 12% grade made it seem longer.  When we got to the tower, we decided to continue our workout and used the stairs up the 216 foot tower.  The views of the city and the surrounding mountains were worth our efforts. 

Peak Trail
Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Stairs or elevator?

In addition to the national park, we explored the Garvan Woodland Gardens.   The landscaped gardens cover 210 acres and include numerous waterfalls, bridges, trees, and flowers. 

Several unique structures exist in the garden including the Anthony Chapel, The Anthony Family Trust Carillon, The Bob and Sunny Evans Tree House, and the Garvan Pavilion.  

Anthony Chapel
The Anthony Family Trust Carillon
The Bob and Sunny Evans Tree House
Inside the treehouse
The Garvan Pavilion’s glass oculus

Lake Ouachita offers hiking as well.  We did a section of the Caddo Bend Trail and encountered a fuzzy arachnid along the way.   

Beautiful view of Lake Ouachita from the Caddo Bend Trail
EEKS! He would have filled the palm of Bill’s hand.

After relaxing in Hot Springs, we headed south to Dallas, TX to help our daughter and son-in-law move from there to the northwest Arkansas area.  Kyle’s family helped clean their apartment and load the truck.  Our son and daughter-in-law and Cy’s sister and nephew came to help unload the truck.  Everyone’s assistance was greatly appreciated! 

Upon leaving the Arkansas kids’ house, we picked up the trailer and drove to Kansas City.  We spent the week at Smithville Lake.  When the weekend arrived, we dropped the trailer at a friend’s home and went to Kansas to spend the weekend with our parents.  

Fully deployed at Smithville Lake

On the way to our parents, we planned a second look at some property outside of Manhattan, KS.  When we were about 30 minutes from Manhattan, Bill opened his email to discover two properties of interest had popped up near Smithville.  Since land has been selling so quickly, we detoured back to Smithville.  Once we looked at the land, we decided it wasn’t for us so we headed west again.  This time, we made a flying trip, hoping to see the sun set over the land.  We were about 10 minutes past sunset.  When the coyotes started howling, we ended our brief visit.  The property has a stark beauty and we really like it; however, it has some usage restrictions that give us pause.  Because of that, we continue to monitor the real estate listings in the KC Northland and in Manhattan.  At some point, we know God will lead us to the property He has in store for us.              

Kansas sunsets are hard to beat!

Lesson Learned:  Until you experience something, you don’t know what you’ve missed.