The rally actually started on Thursday, but we, and a few others, arrived on Tuesday for an extended camping experience. It was the usual sitting around and visiting with a few unorganized side excursions for individuals and small groups.
Marsha and I were in search of the "Original Gnaw Bone Tenderloin" which we discovered last year in a little diner in the village of Gnaw Bone, about 4 miles east of the North entrance of the park. Someone in our group was told that the guy with the great tenderloin sandwiches had moved. Then someone else was told that he had set up shop at the 19th Hole Bar and Grill at the public golf course. So, we headed for the 19th Hole only to find that they used to have his tenderloins there, but he had moved on and the waitress didn't know the new location, so we had hamburgers. Later that day, one of our group announced that the Gnaw Bone Tenderloins could be found at the original location in Gnaw Bone, so we had lunch there the next day. Great food!
We went for a hike around Ogle Lake where we had a not too close encounter with a large Copperhead snake. I didn't recognize it as a Copperhead because it was sort of a brownish color, unlike the normal orange/copper color. I showed the picture to one of the park rangers who identified it as a Copperhead. Turns out, they turn sort of brownish when they are getting ready to shed their skin.
The weather was fantastic all week long. Check out the pictures below for a look at some of the 23 Aframes and 40, or so, people in attendance.
We left the rally at Devil's Den on Sunday morning and headed for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR ( http://www.crystalbridges.org/ ). This is the world-class museum founded by Alice Walton, the daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. This place is absolutely phenomenal. Even if the buildings were empty, it would be worth the trip just to see the architecture. The five centuries of American artwork in the permanent collection is mind boggling and there's no general admission fee!
I'll let the pictures do the talking, but they can't do it justice.
We left the house on Tuesday, April 24 and headed for the South Central Region Aliner Owners Rally at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas. It's over 500 miles to Devil's Den, so we decided to take my friend, Mark, up on his offer to spend some time at his house on Lake of the Ozarks, near Sunrise Beach, MO. We got to the lake house around 4:30 and popped up the camper. We slept in the camper so as not to mess up a bed in the house.
So, on Wednesday, I did a little maintenance to earn our keep. I installed a couple of new storm door closers, replacing the ones damaged when the wind blew the door open sometime in the past few weeks. Mark gave me the new openers before we left home and I installed them in about twenty minutes. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the boat dock watching the ducks and the fishermen.
On Thursday morning, we headed for the rally at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas, arriving around 3:30PM. The official first day of the rally was Friday, but there were several early arrivals. We had met most of the people at previous rallies, but there were some whom we met for the first time.
Somehow the rally was designated a Spam (the greasy stuff that comes in a can) event, so there was a Spam tasting session on Friday night. Luckily, I was busy helping a friend with a computer problem and got there just after the last samples had been eaten and just in time for the rice and beef tips. Marsha got there in time for the tasting. I asked her how it was and she said, "I didn't get sick!"
Saturday, after morning coffee and visiting, six of us hiked the Yellow Rock Trail which had a total elevation change of 400 feet at its highest point before we started back down. We got back in time to prepare for and attend the potluck which included some twelve Spam-based entrées. Believe it or not, the several that I tried were very good!
Other than the above, the rally was pretty much the usual: sit around, shoot the breeze, eat some food, then do it again.
See the pictures below.
