Everything but the Hillbillies!

While I try not to stereotype people. I think I was expecting to find something different when we got to the Ozarks. Brought up on Lil’ Abner and Daisy Mae, I came to the Arkansas hill country looking for Dog Patch.

Oddly enough, we found it! Down on route 7, on one of the most beautiful (twisty- winding -steep) drives our faithful Winnebago has been on. But Dog Patch USA , a once popular non-technology laden theme park is all closed up and Pappy and Mammy Yokum and Lil’ Abner himself are no where to be found. We didn’t even catch sight of a single Schmoo!

Following signs up the road, we decided we’d have to make do with buying our four sophisticated offspring tasteful gifts imprinted with their place of purchase- Booger Hollow. Sadly, Booger Hollow is also a thing of the past. Looks like the Ozarks have moved into the 21st century. I knew we should have bought the RV 25 years ago!!!

We’ve spent the summer at Cosmic Cavern in Berryville, Arkansas, located on Highway 21 North, 8 mi. out of Berryville. Technically, the cave is in Maple but the town sign is actually here in the garden and there are apparently only 3 houses. It has been a very restful summer in this laid back area. Business, while good at this interesting cave, is not the frenetic pace we’ve been used to at our previous Workamping positions.

While there are two usable RV pads here, we are currently taking up one of them. Motor homes (1 or 2 at a time) can make the turn into the parking lot and you’ll enjoy the cave, history area, and gift shop, but we strongly recommend staying in another park and visiting in your toad if possible.

We’ve worked with some wonderful and funny fellow staff members. Rand and Anita, the owners, work right along with us much of the time and they are great, generous folks. Rand’s also a deputy sheriff and there’s not a person in 50 miles who doesn’t know and like him.

Angie is a local gal who recognizes when visitors are expecting to find a “real hillbilly.” She can deliver when that’s who they are looking for! She does make a point of reminding people that the crooked and uneven stairs in Cosmic Cavern were built by those hillbillies- her way of ensuring they use the handrails. April can get a group of kids oohing and ahhing and laughing with her as they see this strange underground world for the first time. Lisa is a walking Chamber of Commerce and not only tells you exactly which restaurant to go to but what’s best on the menu as well.

Dorothy will convince you that when she rubs your back with magnetic hematite stones your aches and pains disappear. She’s so good at it she also makes the stones disappear at $6.50 a bag! They do work too- she's used them on me and Big Jim and even Clancy, she was a massage therapist in another life.

Mike is another person who got tired of doing what he was good at and decided to go looking for what he enjoyed one area at a time. He dropped off the radar about a year ago and spends most of his off time hiking and exploring caves. He’s been here for about eight months. He’s not in an RV but his lifestyle is pretty similar to ours.

A usual perk in this area for Workampers is free or greatly reduced show tickets and admissions to the many attractions both Eureka Springs and Branson have to offer. We thought that would be fabulous but we find that we really aren’t that into shows after all. We still spend more time driving around looking for a great picnic site, preferably one with a stream for Clancy to paddle around.

Our 39th honeymoon was spent in the little town of Mt. View AR, listening to wonderful blue grass and mountain music both on the town square and right on the pickin’ porch at Fiddler’s Valley RV Resort. Lunch at Joy’s Main Street Café was delicious and made even more so when we discovered our server was a fellow Workamper, known far and wide as B-Bop. She and her hubby have also fallen in love with this area and will be staying for the winter.

As things wind down for the season we are in the process of securing our next piece of the big backyard. We’ll probably end up back in Texas for the Winter. We may stop to say “hi” to our new friends the musicians once they open their new Music Valley RV resort in Mission.

A few of my patient readers here purchased copies of my childrens' novel The Tree at the Top of the Hill, and I thank you for that. If you write and tell me what Molly did all summer, I’ll be glad to send an autographed bookmark to go with it.

The relaxed pace has allowed us to get a good start on our next writing project and I’ll let you know how it’s coming along another time.

Guess what? I finally caught up with myself! Unbelievable!

See ya Down the Road!

Yarntangler

Life’s Little Circles

As we drove West again in late February, 2005, we watched with some trepidation as streams of motor homes, 5th wheels, and trailers hightailed it East on I -10. What did they know that we didn’t? The only thing that had never worked in the Winnebago was the radio and given Big Jim’s disenchantment with that world, we’ve never gotten around to doing anything about it.
We finally got to Quartzite, AZ, a place I’d always longed to go, about a month late for the biggest flea market in the world but right on time for a rain of biblical proportions. We camped on the famous free BLM land one night, woke up in a lake and headed out. Every single booth along the road was buttoned up tightly against the torrential rains and we missed out on the whole shebang! As we traveled farther into the West, the stream of RVs became almost bumper to bumper as hundreds of Snow Birds fled the wildfires in Southern California.

: >{ : > { : > { : > {

Northern California, a lovely campground, lovely town, not so lovely job as it turned out to be nothing like we’d been promised. (We had not taken Jaimie Hall’s advice to ALWAYS get it in writing!)

We left amicably after 3 months and ended up right back where we started from - at Moaning Cavern in Vallecito, (off of Highway 49) the place we’d spent our last few days before hitting the road a year before. I went back to work in the same gift shop I’d left on June 14th, 2004! We became the first Workampers the company employed and hopefully, there will be more in the future.

But what a difference! Big Jim, who was well known there as my hubby and #2 son’s Dad became a knowledgeable and respected guide and discovered a passion for caving hitherto unsuspected. Moaning Cavern is the deepest chamber,open to the public, in California. RVers are welcome to dry camp overnight for a small fee. Jim took hundreds of people into the cave by the famous spiral staircase while hundreds of others entered via a 165 foot rappel. Jim also served as night security and even took off on ten minutes notice to lead tours in another of the company’s caves, Black Chasm, near Volcano. Interestingly, he’d only been in that cave once before! He occasionally made deliveries to the other locations and soaked up all the cave lore he could.

There we sat, parked in the employee parking lot, able to “go home” in less than a minute from work. I was able to perform the merchandising job I had advanced into right there, at a picnic table, in the shade. Clancy sat with me near the picnic area and began her career as comforter to children who became frightened going into the cave and having her picture taken hundreds of times with school groups.

The staff loved taking their breaks and chatting with me under our canopy, away from the store. Since I also worked occasionally in the office we all got to know each other better. I was called on to host cookouts, and pot lucks and then wonderfully, an engagement party for #2 son, Jugglesorcerer and #3 DIL, Buttercup.

Ahhh, Buttercup...now there’s a story… The woman who finally stole the heart of our confirmed bachelor and showed him the way to HIS new life!

Are you ready for this?

She was my BOSS!

She was also HIS boss!

But she’s an intelligent woman; she was well aware of the rules. She told me what to do until 5:00. At 5:01 I was the MOTHER-IN-LAW!!!

Also a writer, someday Buttercup will tell her own story but in another Ramblings I’ll share the story of their beautiful wedding - 155 feet below the earth at Black Chasm Cavern!

But now we are almost caught up to the present so I’ll tell you about what we’ve done in the past six months and where we’ll be starting in June when next we meet.

See ya down the road,

Yarntangler

In the Middle of Nowhere Texas

Much to my amazement, in November of 2006, I found myself returning to the state of Texas, a place I’d bid a firm adios to many years before. This time around I brought a more mature point of view and was prepared to find only the best. Our six months at the Caverns of Sonora was a time of many contrasts. Dry, dusty, heat, and typhoon like storms; meanness and heartbreak, generosity and laughter; disregard for material things and respect for the wonders around us.

Caverns Of Sonora

We were lucky enough to begin working at Caverns of Sonora (Texas) on November 1st. It ranks among the top 4 most beautifully decorated show caves in America (the exact pecking order depends upon which one you are working for at the time). Only a few miles off I-10 at exit 392, they also have a small very affordable, campground with water and electric available for RVers and tenters too.

Like everything created by God, Caverns of Sonora is unique; every cave is different. There is a reason to visit as many as possible to see what Nature has done with the same idea in various places. Visitors who stopped by weren’t always sure they wanted to go on the tour. “We just went to Carlsbad.”, they’d tell us. I’d answer that “Carlsbad Cavern’s really big thing is that it’s a REALLY big thing! While the Caverns of Sonora are a more intimate work of nature and 90% active. You need to see both caverns to appreciate their individual beauty.”

My personal favorite part of the cavern is the Christmas Tree Room. Hundreds of tree-shaped formations, decorated with sparkling crystals, make me imagine snow fairies might be hiding behind each one.

Tears in the Desert

One thing the Caverns of Sonora had to show off was it’s trademark Butterfly. A rare formation made up of two fishtail-shaped helictites, it was a strange, translucent, and wonder filled thing. The Butterfly took thousands of years to form and brought breathtaking moments to thousands of people who stood in awe of it’s delicacy.

And then in a few seconds, just before Thanksgiving, it was destroyed forever by a selfish, thoughtless, ignorant vandal who thought nothing of snapping off and taking away a wing for the heck of it! This supposedly privileged young person, attending a prestigious college, apparently never learned the first thing about respect for what has been given to us all to enjoy. Where were his parents when he should have been learning that we are all the stewards of these natural gifts?

The Caverns of Sonora has scores of sights more awesome than the butterfly, and they will not suffer from it’s loss - any more than we will all suffer from the loss of one more bit of beauty in an increasingly unbeautiful time.

Bob Cats and Pea Hens and Armadillos-Oh My!

Clancy discovered and protected us from rattlers on 3 occasions in California, whimpered longingly at the sight of horses as we drove, survived vicious attacks by Smokey the Guard Cat at Moaning Cavern. She was even able to withstand the unstoppable energy of Mystic the Wonder Pup, son #2’s terrier mix, while trying to nap in the shade, For the most part, however, she had led a fairly sheltered Second Life of her own since joining our adventures.

Then we arrived at The Caverns of Sonora! In a dog’s world a terrific place to be is where there are new sights, sounds, and smells. At the beautiful Caverns of Sonora, Clancy was afforded an embarrassment of riches!

Our site was directly across the road from a solar powered deer feeder that spewed corn out for the gentle creatures twice a day. At dawn the release popped open and Clancy jumped up on our bed. She managed to push the accordion shade up a fraction of an inch with her nose and one of us would oblige her and open it all the way. Then she sat on our pillows and watched Deer TV on her wide screen.

Big Jim and I never tired of watching them either, and one morning I saw a doe teach her baby how to get a drink from a frozen water station right behind our Adventurer.

“Put your front paw on the hard water. Now raise it and bring it down sharply. Ha ha, I’m sorry, Sweetie, did I forget to say you might get your nose wet?”

We tried to let Clancy have some freedom, and at first allowed her to run around with the other 4 resident dogs who had grown up on the ranch surrounding the caverns. Unfortunately, she simply couldn’t figure out why the deer wouldn’t stick around and play tag and she’d follow them far out onto the range. There she took the opportunity to chase sheep and goats being raised for wool. She went wild with the exhilaration that a good chase involved - until she ran into a cactus, anyway. There were also cows, and her beloved horses but chasing any of these animals was simply against the rules. We also worried because there were snares set all over the ranch for bobcats and we were afraid if one of the cats didn’t get her, the traps would.

Gophers, prairie dogs, mice, squirrels, and even a skunk were considered fair game in her mind. Luckily they’d been there longer than she and knew the bolt holes so she never did catch them.
Then there were the armadillos! These funny looking armored rodents drove her crazy. She quickly learned to avoid the pair of pea hens that spent their days on the porch as these birds, which were bigger than Clancy, would, when backed into a wall, simply turn around and chase her! It was funny however, when they would fly up to the roof top to see her take a flying leap expecting to go with them. She finally met her match when she cornered a porcupine! At that point and since the only command Clancy simply ignores is “come”, we reluctantly attached her to a tether once more.

Meanwhile, back at the cave, Big Jim was delving ever deeper into cavern lore and soaking up all the experience he could at the feet of Bill S. one of the smartest and most knowledgeable men I’ve had the privilege of knowing. (he is also one of the all time great raconteurs and practical jokers as well as one of the best BBQ cooks in the southwest! ) Bill is the center of a great crew with a heart as big as Texas. His goal in life is to be a Desert Rat and spend his time exploring caves and studying artifacts.

Living in Sonora amongst some of the most open and honest people I’ve ever known, gave me a new appreciation for the Great State of Texas. There is little pretense and each person is welcomed for who he is rather than what he is.

See Y’all down the road!
Yarntangler