Back to Arkansas again ...

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... this time to the Buffalo National River for a canoe trip. We drove south for a little over an hour through scenic rolling hills and woods. Of course, after 4 straight days of non-stop sun, today it was rainy! When we arrived at Buffalo River Outfitters, the rain had stopped and it was a little overcast. After we explained that we really, REALLY didn't know what we were doing, they sent us on our way for a six-mile trip. Our guide pointed out which way was downriver, for which we were thankful. (Apparently, a group of college kids went 12 miles the wrong way once - they thought 'since the river was low, it was flowing in the other direction ...') The river was low and slow in most places, and we got grounded a few times and had to scoot and push off against the bottom to get moving again. But we never had to get out and drag the boat, re-creating the leech scene from 'The African Queen'. It did start raining pretty good once, but we happened to be close to an over-hanging tree so we parked there and had our lunch.
The scenery really was pretty with interesting rock cliffs along the way. It was very peaceful and quiet, with the river hardly moving in most places. This meant that most of the progress down the river was provided by our paddles! We later found out that often by this time of year there isn't enough water for canoes, so I guess we were lucky.
We were also lucky that Allison didn't notice the list of warnings in the canoe rental store until AFTER we completed our trip. She was shaken to read the one regarding 'snakes in the river...' - I think that might have been a deal breaker if she had seen it before we left.
So - we survied. Our shoulders are a little sore, but not too bad. And we got back in time to have our best meal of the trip so far at the Candlestick Inn, which is on top of a ridge and provides beatiful views of 'old' Branson and Lake Taneycomo (which is really a river - don't ask!).
On last interesting note: we have come to discover that there are no liquor stores here. After a brief panic attack, we noticed that there are no wine and liquor stores for the same reason there are no bread and milk stores: you can buy the stuff anywhere and everywhere - you don't need a special store. Gas stations, Wal-Marts, country markets - all have beer, wine and liquor in addition to the products you'd expect.

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