Outhouse

Seems these are what come to mind when we think of "outhouses".











In yesterdays post I failed to mention the cute decor of the bathroom at the restaurant in Calico Rock. It was a very old building with high ceilings, rough painted walls and the original wood floors.
















The walls of the men's restroom were covered with framed 8x10 photos of old outhouses and a caption with the state where it is located. Very original, I thought.

Fall Colors

We made a drive thru the Ozark National Forest today to take in the beautiful fall colors. We drove to Mountain View, Ar. and up hwy 5 to Calico Rock.

Since my photos will not do justice to the foliage, I thought I would show you the quaint hamlet of Calico Rock.











Just around this curve is the bridge that crosses the White River and Calico Rock.












This was taken from the bridge and shows some of the building on the bluff of White River.












These two were taken from the end of the bridge.
What you see is about all the old town there is. Just over the hill the road forks and there is a little newer town but not much.











We had lunch at Don Quixote's Restaurant. Their menu is written on a black board and today they had a choice of six items if you count "cheeseburger".
The other five choices were gourmet quality meals.

We had Grilled Ham and Cheddar Sandwich and Pasta Fagoli Soup. The bread was homemade multi-grain wheat that was about 8 inch square with about 1/2 inch of thin sliced country ham and a large thick slice of quality Cheddar. It made for a VERY large sandwich. The Fagoli soup was made with homemade pasta. All this for $5.95. We were stuffed so had the homemade Apple Strudel to go.

Tunes

Even tho I spend long hours in my truck, I seldom listen to the radio. Music is just not a big part of my life. That said, I would like to tell you about "Flintstone" (my car toy). Flintstone had no radio when I bought it and I finally bought a stock radio to fill the hole in the console.

I didn't need a gadzillion watt radio as I am not into that "jungle bunny noise" being passed off as music. I like classic rock and if a rear seat speaker was all I needed back in the day, then a modern factory radio will more than surffice.

Yesterday was the first day to drive Flintstone to work with "tunes". For a old gear head, it doesn't get much better than this. Just like yester year.

Roll the window down, crank the music up, power shift thru the 4-speed, listen to the barely legal exhaust tone, and hear that 4-barrel moan. Hot dang, that is therapeutic.

Step 1

I applied for my passport today. I plan to visit my son in Le Mans, France in the spring.

If you know me then you know this is a big step for me. I am looking forward to the trip but don't mind telling that I am a little apprehensive about it.

Doldrums

I seem to be stuck in the dulldrums after coming out of a period of anger and depression. I swing into these moods from time to time and am glad when I recover.

I was paid a "compliment" at work this week. I was told that I am "opinionated". Not stubborn or bullheaded but opinionated. I would hate to be so shallow that I didn't have an opinion. One should stand up for their opinion even if it is not the popular one.

If at work there is a statement made that everyone is afraid to say. No one has to ask who made it because they know it came from me. I have always thought if something needs said then it should be said.

Why should we be afraid of stating our opinions? Changes only come about when enough people stand up for what they believe in.

Teachers

Yesterday while unloading 1/2 pints of school milk, I noticed the side of the carton asking kids to nominate their teacher for "Teacher of the Year".

As a student of six different (seven it you count going to one 2 different times) schools, I have had my share of teachers. Most were OK, several had no business in the profession, and 3 were outstanding.

Mr. Stark,
As a young boy who had lost his father this teacher was special to me. He lived on the back side of my block across the open field we all used as our playground. Mr. Stark was elderly and several times he asked if I join he and his wife for dinner. Sometimes I would go over and just talk with him. I can't recall anything we ever talked about and that wasn't really important. Just the fact he was there to listen.

Mrs. Roach,
She and her husband were both teachers. He taught History and she taught English. They were in the twilight of long teaching careers and were childless. She made me realize that my poor grades had little to do with my intelligence. She was the one that administered the standardized tests and I always scored a lot better than my grades indicated that I should.

Mrs. Slayton,
My senior year and in a new school. I was a very scared and angry teenager. I was trying to act tough and not let everyone see my real feelings. Six years after my dad had died, my mom married his younger brother. To make matters worse, I was plunged in a house without a bathroom and a first cousin/step-brother my same age. He was honor student and a nerd. I had always been the quiet (cowed-down) type but at a new school, I could appear to be anything of my choosing. Mrs. Slayton saw thro to the real me and helped me fit in.

These three teachers might or might not have been great classroom (but I think they were) teachers but they possessed the greatest characteristic a teacher can have. They believed in me when I did not believe in myself. That is huge!

Terrible Weather !

The weather here the last couple of days have been horrible. Temps in the 70's with a light breeze. God, I hate it. I deplore having to work under these conditions.

I like to work when I need to get in the truck to get warm, cool down, or dry out. These gorgeous days make it hard to be cooped up in a truck. It is bad this time of year but the spring is the worst.

Every fall and spring it all I can do not to quit and just enjoy the weather by spending all day outside.

Hope you are also having this "terrible weather".

Roadtrek 190

As I approached the restroom at the roadside park south of Gurdon, Ar. on I-30, I spotted a Roadtrek 190 B-class motorhome like the one in the picture. Being a big fan of B-class motorhomes and the Roadtrek in particular, I decided to investigate.

As I walked past the front, the Dashound in the front seat let out with a "Mom, someone is here" bark, followed by a "would you pet me" look.

The lady in the kitchen looked up as I said hello and asked her about the camper. She said they had been to the east coast for the summer and were on their way back to Beaumont, Tx. When I asked about the gas mileage, she turned to the rear of the coach and asked "Sue" about it.

Turns out it was two older ladies traveling together. They said this was the third year for them to head for cooler temps for the summer. About 200 miles was a long day for them. They were not in any hurry to get back home. They were staying in campgrounds about twice a week and boondocking the rest of the time when the weather cooperated.

It was about 4pm when I talked to them as they were having dinner . The camper was parked under a big shade tree with the windows open and they said they were there for the night. A beautiful night for camping, about 55 degrees and a gentle breeze.

Really nice to see two independent older ladies out enjoying themselves.

Disappointment

As a long time reader of

Countryside magazine

, I have been hearing about the book, Five Acres and Independence, for a long time. It is not an easy book to find, but I finally obtained a copy last week. I am SO disappointed in it. I thought the copyright was in the 70's but that was when it was re-released. The copyright is 1934. The book is full of common sense ideas but for the most part it is just too outdated to be a "good read".

October Book Review

Seeing "the walker" a few days ago reminded me of this book.










"A Walk Across America" by Peter Jenkins.
Peter sets out with a backpack and his dog in the 1970's and walks from the northeast to New Orleans, finds the love of his life and he and his wife walk to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way his dog is accidentally killed, he lives with a black family for several months while working at a sawmill in North Carolina, meets a mountain hermit and he and his wife are befriended by an old rancher in Colorado.

I think you will find this a very interesting book.