Ozark Outpost

Northern Arkansas Ice Storm January 09

2009-01-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here in White County Arkansas, we had ice for one day and warm rain the next. We escaped the brunt of the storm. 45 minutes North of us though was a completely different story. Mt. View was shuttered for several days; trees are splintered by the thousands. Even Wal-Mart was closed. (You'd think after a year that had 100 yr tornadoes and floods, Wally World would have its act together.) My buddies in Melbourne, Izard County did some A+ video reporting of the situation - they've had a very busy year with such. CHeck it out

We wanted to go up and check out our land in Mt. View this Saturday, but too many people have warned us that the steep road hasn't seen the sun yet and the creek will be too high to cross.

Dagnabbit, I wanna crank up our new chain saw.

Attack of the Beavers

2009-01-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

There is a pretty stand of Sycamore Trees on the bank of our slice of Sylamore heaven. It's where we camp. We hadn't been for a visit in almost 3 months. Low and behold the beavers have been busy.

They are eating the bark and killing the trees.

This is all a welcome diversion from the plague of bad front page news elsewhere. But we've got to save those trees! The roots are doing a fine job of staving off flood erosion. ( We lost very little soil during the TWO 100 year floods in the Spring of 08. The lot next to us lost a great deal.)

photos taken with cell phone - sorry.

my temp solution. at hand.

###

The Track (Dirt Bike)

2008-11-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Building this track has been Daren's main passion these last few months. He and our neighbor have it almost ready to invite folks over. (I'm pretty impressed - he is approaching his fourth decade after all)

(He's on a Husqvarna TE450 , BTW)

Jim Kress WMA / Big Creek

2008-11-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Jim Kress Wildlife Management Area has two purposes: atrocious clear cut timber and planted pine rows for harvesting on the perimeter and untouched wild beauty at its core, Big Creek.

Big Creek does it again. We feel like this is our own secret playground of the gods. ( a mere 15 miles from our house) One needs to buy a land permit use to officially access here and the gates are often closed, but a couple of weekends ago they were open. We went exploring. The jeep made it across a creek crossing so deep that water went over the hood of the jeep !

If you want to learn more about this area, there are several more posts over on the left category column.

Official Exploring Izard County : Fall Road Trip

2008-10-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

I joined the Explore Izard County crew this past glorious weekend for some, well, exploring of Izard County. Here are some of my favorite pics. Daren claimed my T-shirt as his as soon as I walked in the door.

Click here for all the details of their road club and roadtrips

Thanks so much EIC. I so admire what you do!

(Can you tell I have crush on Mr. Kanky?)

Canvassing for Obama in the Ozarks

2008-10-13T18:20:00.001-07:00

I saw a video of the Red Team leaving a recent rally in OH. A Blue Team member had a camera and was asking the question, "do you think Barack Obama is a terrorist?" The answers I saw sent a chill to my very core. About the same time, I got an email from moveon.org asking if I would be willing to drive to swing state Missouri and volunteer in a campaign office. Their email stated, "you'll have a lot of fun and you might be sorry if you didn't go". Well I said, "YES I CAN". I posted that I had seats to share. (no takers with 24 hr notice).

Saturday morning I packed a bed roll and drove North on Ozark Hwy 65. Through Rosebud, and Bee Branch and north past St. Joe, Harrison, Branson and I turned left into Nixa, MO. The office was in a shopping mall and the greeting from other Blue Team members was exuberant. I met (most astonishingly) another couple from moveon.org and AR that made a similar 4 hour trek. There was a 78 yo doctor who was moved by BO's health plan. There was a social worker volunteering for the not so fortunate she sees on a daily basis. There was a Catholic who was canvassing to keep a woman's right to choose and I was paired with her.

I was shaking like a leaf heading up to the first door. Were they going to be as ferocious as what I saw in the video?

The first person who answered was a mother who said that she hadn't decided yet. She hadn't even seen any of the debates yet. She stated that her issue was health insurance and that everyone in her family had pre-existing conditions. I was able to relay the story of Barack's mother whose last two weeks in life were battling her insurance company that said her cancer was a preexisting condition and that they weren't going to pay. We might very well have won a vote with this mother!

Of course we encountered McCain supporters. For the most part they were polite and we were polite and moved on. It was obvious that more than a few were racist. I told one red male how far I had driven that morning and he came out on the porch to speak with us. He asked our views and said he agreed with us on all points. He just "had always voted republican". Maybe he'll give a secret vote for Obama?

Nixa is population 13,000. It is considered a Red county in Red part of the state. 40% of the people we spoke with were voting for Obama. 40% for McCain. 20% undecided. One would NOT find these same statistics in White County, AR. Missouri is swing state and canvassing works.

Bambi, wildflowers and chiggers

2008-09-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

In my August post I wasn't joshing about the deer getting closer to the house. (Maybe related to the fact we got behind on our mowing?) I know in more Northernly states that deer sightings near residences is more common. But not in the South. To see deer munching near your house is rare! This Bambi was the first thing I saw when I woke up the other morning. Her mom was near and could hear the click of my camera. No, it wasn't a hammer on a shotgun, Mama.

Al-Ozarka sent an email recently welcoming Autumn. He spoke of the crop of Autumn wildflowers that were on their way. I still wasn't prepared. Since March, we've had wave after wave of new flower crops. The Autumn wildflowers have been my fave. The Goldenrod is crowning our lot. I had no misgivings about paying $6 for a small bundle in Memphis and now I've got an ocean of it around my house.

(courtesy Ellis Hollow)

We haven't turned on the A/C in a couple of weeks and I'm already cuddling under the blankets at night. Chiggers should be gone by now, right? After a recent good rain, Daren and I went to our special nearby fishing hole. It was a glorious, sunny Sunday and only 75 degrees. I wore long pants, boots and a t-shirt. You have to trek about 3/4 of a mile to get there through the woods, but this insures you're THE ONLY ONE THERE. We both caught fish and I caught all the chiggers - once again. I bathed when I got home too. But I ended up with about 200 chigger bites. Daren didn't get one. And we've been through this before. I cried and cried. When I'm eaten up with hundreds of bites, I can't sleep at night, my bites ooze plasma and blood everywhere and the terrible itch lasts for about 10 days with me. There is No remedy for this, although my personal belief is that if you have chigger bites in your crotch and 50 on each breast, Valium would be very nice. I've spent hundreds of dollars of the last couple of Arkansas Adventure years looking for the most soothing product. Hydrocortisone patted down with Gold Bond Extra Medicated powdered is the best I can find. Daren said he could of made a pie crust on my stomach with all the powder I had on me. Chiggers and ticks will jump on me when I walk to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. WHY???? NOT FAIR!!!!

Temperate August

2008-08-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

July was hot. Not too much adventuring to report on, yet Daren would tell you otherwise with the track he helped to build. The weather in this blog instance is remarkable.

My tomatoes shrieked and stopped growing, Sue Dog would do her business and then beg to come back in and our a/c bill was over $300. Every day was over a hundred.

Mercy came with August. In three weeks it has barely hit 90. Lots of clouds and showers. For weeks we've had our windows open at night to sleep by. Remarkable. The tomatoes have started fruiting again, in fact second generations of all the pots on our deck are begging to flower. Deer are huge and nosing up closer to our house every day and the leaves are blushing.

Smallmouth Fishing on South Sylamore Creek; Mountain View, AR

2008-07-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

4th of July, 2008

Autoharp and ukulele duo; Mountain View, Arkansas

2008-07-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

We're gearing up for the big time - from the porch to the Sqaure (Big plays a pretty mean ice cup)

tomato pest

2008-07-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

can you tell the front end from the back end?

$12k Lawn Mower: bushhogging our nature trail

2008-06-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

When we moved here in the winter, we found a half mile trail around our property perimeter. It passes three pretty pastures and heads to the little creek behind us. In the winter it was easy to naviagte. It has been impossible to breach in the summer. And boy are there some ticks; epic amounts. Our neighbor brough over one very fancy tractor and we're on our way to blazing our own little nature trail.

videos of the homebase

2008-06-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

entrance

flowers out front

Piney Creeks District: Ozark National Forest

2008-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

We strayed away from our home turf and explored West. Memorial Day weekend at Richland Creek we decided; somewhere new. It is ClOSED for an undetermined amount of time due to the severe Spring Floods. The roads are washed out and trees are washed down. Luckily the parade road guard alerted us to this fact while we were waiting for the Whitt Springs Parade to pass.

He advised us to trek further West and into the Piney Creeks valley for fishing and dirt biking. We drove down a long FS road and pulled into the last remote campsite available. A couple was there for an afternoon of fishing. They let us pull in and pitch tent.

This was the snakiest place I have ever seen aside from the Temple of Doom.

We got to know and like these folks. The lady is from just down the road on Moccasin Creek and she was up for the afternoon . The more we heard about her home, the more we wanted to go see it. She owns 40 acres of a hollow that are grandfathered into the National Forest. It is a apart of the old Paige Homestead. The Paiges were from Mississippi and resettled into Moccasin Creek in the mid 1800s. Supposedly a couple of hundred people lived down in the hollow - and this is just hard for me to imagine.

This valley is so remote. The homestead has a home built in the 50's and numerous outbuildings on it from the mid 1800s and pastures and more swimming holes than one could ever hit in a weekend. They fed us and toured us around and there was no place else I'd rather be!

Unlike the Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest, there were biting flying insects here and I'm not accustomed to that!

Arkansas Laws on Creek/River Pollution and dumping and who to contact

2008-05-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Popular opinion states that you can dump whatever you want in Arkansas, wherever you want. Even a local elected dignitary told us that if it’s on private property, you can almost forget about it. The renegade culture in Arkansas is part of its inherent charm; the trash ain’t so cute. I spoke with a chief inspector at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality today. He stated it is ILLEGAL to dump poultry or livestock into any stream. If you find instances of livestock or poultry (even their waste) you call this number to report it to the inspector: 501.907.2400. If you find solid waste like appliances, autos, household trash go here to find your local inspector. http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/ . The water guys I spoke with at ADEQ deferred to the solid waste guys. I have a query into them now.

Reporting a dump site/ pollution in Big Creek

2008-05-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

On a mission. Tossing and turning in my sleep about the trash we saw in wild and beautiful Big Creek. The following Letter was sent to the Arkansas Heritage Commission seeking advice. I've also written to ADEQ. Will seek help from TU and maybe the EPA? My friends at Ozark Anglers have good strong advice - some from experience; no reponse yet from any authority.

Dear Keeper of Big Creek Natural Area,

My husband and I have recently moved to AR. We are a short distance from Big Creek Natural Area of Cleburne County. It is a wonderful place that we visit often for hiking and fishing and whatnot. On our first visit we thought this creek looked like canoe heaven and indeed it is. This very wet Spring afforded us a long canoe trip a couple of weekends ago – almost 19 miles we think. The fishing and the scenery was spectacular.

We saw some bad dump sites and I am not resting easy about it. I write to you now for your guidance. I’d like to learn more about what I can do about this. The two worst sites have: cars (old and new), appliances (old and new) and even freshly dead cattle. The dumping is active and smells wretched. The ‘trash’ is pushed over the side of the ridge and sits very near the water level, which of course ultimately runs to the Little Red River …...

Big Creek is a wild treasure! Any advice you have for me will be appreciated. Who should I go to about this? It’s so remote that I doubt few will ever see this horrible pollution until its too late.

Sincerely,
Virginia

Big Creek Wilburn Creek Bass Fishing

2008-05-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

These are easy enough to hit after work for a couple of hours. The Little Red River is closer, but Wilburn and Big Creek are more fun for us - wade fish. Drive a little bit North of Pangburn, AR. Find Warren Mt. Access Road. Go Left and you can drive up to Wilburn Creek. It's in a WMA.

Go right on Warren Moutnain Road and you can walk down to Big Creek. Or visit the Natural Area of Big Creek. Follow the nature trail down to the river. Follow the unofficial trail left/upstream to a large rock out cropping. There is a deep hole there with abundant variety. Nearly ever cast landed us fish: stripers, smallmouth, 1 gar, brim/bass hybrids, etc.

Other Big Creek Posts on our blog

Arkansas Spring Storm Pictures

2008-05-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

My half hearted attempt at storm chasing this season. The first two are from the back porch and the third one is a little bit down Clay Road - behind our house. The dark skies in the back ground are the tornado 15 miles away near Heber Springs, AR. Each week since February there have been tornado warnings. All but three counties in the state are disaster areas.

Wild and Crazy Big Creek Canoe Trip Report

2008-04-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

The wild part was the fact that it was 19 miles long, full of wildlife, and it took 15 hours of regular and sometimes very heavy paddling. There were no open public access roads in the entire course and just about 3 private ones that probably lead to no one. Otherwise, it was 100-200 fts bluffs on either side. If the Buffalo River is wild, Big Creek is 4 x 4 wild. It should have been a three day float for us.

The crazy part was the fact that we got a hole in the keel of our borrowed canoe on the first day. We don’t remember where we got it and didn’t know we had it until making camp the first night and pulling it up on the bank. Every 45 minutes thereafter we needed to bank it, remove our overnight supplies and turn the water out to keep from sinking. The hole kept getting bigger. I was a bundle of nerves the last 5 hours and belatedly recall one should go canoeing with a good bailing tool, gum and duct tape.

Put in/take out: Warren Mountain Access Road through the WMA is closed off. Unless it’s a magical sanctioned hunting day and the gate is open, you need to go up to Low Water Bridge #3: Wilburn, AR SH101 and about 7 miles East on Tylar Road. There was 1.5 inches of water crossing the bridge and I wouldn’t float this again with any less. I read elsewhere that if there was a foot or more, don’t do it and I believe it. The take out spot is the bridge at McJester Baptist Church a little north of Pangburn on McJester. A prominent web review calls this the Old Iron Bridge, but that’s gone, it’s a new cement bridge. You can park past the bridge.

Fish: We were looking for smallmouth, but were surprised. Daren caught his largest fish yet; a 5 lb largemouth in the last 5 miles. He caught about 20 good size stripers , a ton of brim and only one puny smallmouth. We only had one rod and reel so I can’t add to the average. Other factors included a full moon, 75 degree sunny days and 40 degree night.

Canoeing: there is some white water. There are a few falls that take some thought. We had to portage around numerous recently flood felled trees that create long deep slow pools preceding them. Yet the trickiest and most treacherous part were the cypress groves that crept up the last 5 miles. White (cold clear) water shooting through a half mile stand of cypress and their knees was new to us. We got a second gash in our borrowed canoe which was already a sinking ship. The only way we found through was to walk it – each time thereafter.

Other Resources:

Bring your own canoe.

http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/whitear8.html

http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/mb/

http://ozarks3xw.blogspot.com/2008/02/big-creek-natural-area.html

Mountain View, Arkansas' Severe Weather Season

2008-04-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

In the span of three months, Mountain View has had a very bad time. In February there was the F3 tornado that flatened homes to the foundation and tore a part of the hospital out. Right in front of this tornado and right after it, there were record snow fall amounts. March 18-19 saw a 100 year flood. Jack's fishing resort on the White River was flooded several feet into its ground level. The restaurant and the rooms for rent were totaled and because they had no flood insurance, the community had to pitch in for the rebuild. (it needed it anyway IMHO) There are videos here of cabins floating down the middle of the White. Last week didn't bring this area tornados like predicted, but it did bring almost 5" of rain to the already saturated ground. Gail reports that this flood was worse than the one last month. The work done on Jack's resort was all for naught. Our neighbors and residents in the S. Sylamore Creek hollow lost their dogs, two horses, tool boxes and again, the picnic table. The water rose to their front steps. The tree below the Big Cabin (where we walked in to fish) is gone. The remaining soil is loose sand and silt and will quickly erode away - all the way to the rock bluff that once was 50+ ft from the creek. To compound the problems in our hollow, the front road access AND the back road access are completely washed out. The telephone lines are down and the water line to the cabins is kaput for the moment. The fence on our property has been knocked down by the high waters.

I neglected to mark it in the picture above, but the flood waters filled everything you see b/w the purple lines. (we know where NOT to build!)

"Extreme Tornado Danger"

2008-04-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

In my lifetime, I've never seen those words for a FORECAST. Record breaking tornados are expected April 9th and 10th for our area. In fact, we're right in the hot zone. Storm chasers are gathering around here from all over. I'm hanging out at http://forums.accuweather.com/ staying on top of it. As a matter of fact and some excitement, I will be heading down to the radio station tonight and tomorrow night to seek shelter AND help DD with the severe weather updates.

First Spring Camp

2008-04-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Pure Bliss. My brother Ben, just back from deployment in Iraq, asked to visit our Ozark Oasis. He brought my nephew Moss and my other brother Adam in tow. The weather cooperated for the most part even though we had to hunker down and dodge a tornado one of the nights. Ben's new truck got a good work out and we got a lot of fresh air. If you've been here before, note the how much land got eaten away in the recent flood!(all three of us took the pictures below)

not much to see in this video but it sure is worth a listen to hear a 6 yr old free style a campfure song.

first person to willingly jump in S. Sylamore Creek this season, I imgaine.

"I ain't never seen the likes of this": White and Buffalo River Flood

2008-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Some videos found on YouTube. Our friend, Exploring Izard County, has a large documentation...

Central Arkansas Snow Day

2008-03-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

The streets aren't iced, but there sure was a good deal of snow today. It's our very first snow of the season. I suspect we might have another b4 Spring.

Snow like a kid

2008-03-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

We moved from MEM to North of Searcy AR late January. It's March 5th. There have been 4 snow/ice events that have hit 20 miles North of us in the last 6 weeks. There was also an f4 tornado that has followed the same NE tract.

Yesterday the NOAA issued a winter storm warning for our county for this eve. I've had an eagle eye on on accuweather.com and the precip that has been falling for the last 4-6 hours 20 miles North of us. Howling North winds are bearing down on us. Where's our snow?

Coming, certainly.

I won't be able to sleep.

Arkansas Natural Gas: Colorado Natural Gas

2008-03-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

'Well' established and in abundance in White County already are hundreds of natural gas wells. More are on their way; it's a busy ant farm around here. I'm still collecting info to make a post on this from where I sit (as there is well in our backyard of rental property). But I can say from one month of observation, that the only impact I readily see are innocuous looking wells that sit on about an acre. There are many gas work trucks on the rural highways going to and fro. Property owners sitting near the wells have large custom built new homes onsite.

The Wildlife and Game Commission has given the go ahead to begin exploratory searching for natural gas in the Baca Wildlife area in South Eastern Colorado. Two documentaries have already been made about this subject and how it relates to Colorado. I Have yet to encounter many conversations in print about the impact for Arkansas - aside from economics.
http://www.krcc.org/krccnews/2008/02/baca_drilling.php

Mid February outing to Mountain View, AR

2008-02-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

Our first house (trailer) guest was most anticpated! I'll let the pictures tell the story of this past weekend. My highlight - and not pictured - was fording the swollen South Sylamore Creek . The low water bridge wasn't so low and the jeep plowed through with aplomb. If you order the "Local's Favorite" at Cody's restaurant in the town of 56, you'll get a bowl of pinto beans, fresh sliced onions, pickled tomatoes and 6 hushpuppies for $2.99.

>The means to get there - courtesy JR
>Tornado Damage in Mountain View
>Gunner's Pool (how on Earth did I miss this when it was 110 degrees this summer?)

Click here to see Jon's public album (snapshot collage >>>>)

1 inch of rain

2008-02-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

It has rained and dripped constantly for the last 24 hours yet the official count is only 1+inch. I would have guessed 4. Everything is high but not flood stage - yet. I wonder if Spring will wash this tire away. (the top pic is the creek behind our house. the bottom pic is the creek our creek feeds into - I'll get the true names later; seems to be some discrepency)

Upcoming Posts

2008-02-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

>Review: The Bodacious Ozarks; 1959 by Charles Morrow Wilson

>Natural Gas Industry boom in White County.

>White County: may be a dry liquor county, but it sure is wet this February with swollen creeks and branches.

Outpost Command Control

2008-02-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

I am not so steady with a tilted 2 x 4 as a tripod....

Ozark Valentine Gift

2008-02-14T17:48:00.001-08:00

1 camo long john T with faux jewels

1 Carhartt ladies overalls with zip up legs. ( I LOVE the overalls)

Big Creek Natural Area

2008-02-13T20:00:00.001-08:00

Big Creek NA is about 15 Miles North of Holly Springs, AR (the 3xw). The unimproved roads leading to the NA crossed many waterways - running and otherwise. The road was perfectly suitable for a Jeep - post winter rains. Motorized vehicles are stricly forbidden - too bad for you DD - camping isn't allowed either. We actually had to WALK to the creek. With all the recent rains, you could hear the creek/gushing river from a mile up the path. We wished we had canoe/kayak, but settled on a solid tree that was hanging over a bend in the river with some white water below us. Sue Dog fell in, and loved the tough current.

Bamboo, very mature Holly and River Birch trees, moss and ferns hug the creek. Look forward to returning with more foliage on the trees and fishing poles in hand. There must be a lot of trout and small mouth in there. I caught wind of some good summertime swimming holes as well from the local geocaching forum.

weather letter from our friends at Exploring Izard County

2008-02-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, EIC Readers!Our weather has run the spectrum here in Izard County the past two weeks! From a few inches of snow that transformed the landscape into a winter-wonderland, to a windstorm that spawned destructive fires and blew roofs away, then a direct hit by the F4 tornado that tracked over 120 miles and claimed lives in the county, to finally...a close brush with a nasty ice-storm last night, Izard County has had it's fill of Winter!Not that winter is all bad, mind you. This time of the year in the Ozarks offers views that are otherwise unnoticed during the months of foliage. For the amateur explorer, the bare trees offer insight into hollows and hillsides that hide delightful surprises during the warmer months. This year, winter has given us several excellent posts for the pleasure of our readers.Though we have not gone on any specific excursions in the past few weeks, we did get a chance to take one of our readers and his family out this past Sunday to see City Rock Bluff and the Natural Bridge near Dolph on Calico Creek. Jeff Hodges and his family, Sun-Ai, Sa-Ra, and En-uk are visiting the 'States for a couple of weeks all the way from Seoul, South Korea! Jeff is an assistant professor at a University in Seoul and found EIC nearly two years ago when he was trying to find an online photo of an outhouse. We've been in touch ever since. The day was wonderful and the crew was proud to have had the opportunity to share some of what we've been experiencing with friends of the site.Keep checking the site and looking for our e-mails. We're hoping to offer a group excursion to our readers sometime this Spring! If you're interested in something like that, shoot us an e-mail and let us know so we can get an idea if it is worth doing.Until next time, remember: Every place you haven't been is just another place to go!Cheers from the EIC crew!Denny Elroda.k.a Al-OzarkaFor Izard County Tornado Disaster Relief info: Disaster Relief for Izard County c/o FNBC 1001 W. Main Street Melbourne, AR 72556 (870) 368-4448 Fax: (870) 368-4337From the very heart of God's Country!

trailer trash Good Job?

2008-02-12T09:09:00.001-08:00

trailer trashy pics

2008-02-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

previous tennants at 3xw left mountain of beer cans in the backyard. Property owners considered burying it to be the best way to handle this situation.

http://uberphoto.com/index.html jamie harmon

2008-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

have ya'll seen his new page yet? http://uberphoto.com/index.html
oh my.

(there are ozark pics. it qualifies)

I crave snow.

lack of head proctection

2008-02-08T06:43:00.001-08:00

A concerned blog reader sent us this photo after viewing this blog entry.

the weather map that night...

2008-02-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

Watching the squall line march across the State of Arkansas the night before last was an event I will not soon forget. As the line was approaching our county, the 'casters were counting 40+ rotations. I was in a trailer with no emergency plan. Reading the news this AM and seeing the aftermath that is still being tallied, I am aghast.

This storm kept marching Eastward and affected so many people I know, yet no one has been directly hurt by it that I have heard. Mega Funnels, 1/2 mile wide - typical of Kansas and OZ - were reported almost everywhere I have ties: Mt. View, AR, Jackson MS, Oxford MS, Memphis TN and so on.

Yes, it was the worst tornado outbreak in 20 years. But this storm made the record books for being the deadliest storm EVER in February.

Hard Frost on the ground this AM as dawn breaks.

Super Storms on Super Tues

2008-02-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

We knew it was going to be hairy today b/c it was 70 degrees for the past two days. (treefogs and mosquitos for goodness sake!)
At the top of the day, Accuweather predicted it was going to be a record breaking storm day.

The stats aren't in yet, but it indeed, probably was. It's now 9:30pm. I'm watching the second round of tornados head into MEM. Tornados at the airport, Germantown, South MEM already hit around 5:30.

I joined a blog of amateur/junior forecastors/ enthusiasts to keep in the loop. http://forums.accuweather.com/index.php?showtopic=4656 What a thrill this was for me. My comments heat up on page two - look for Delta. Due to the fact that I am in a TRAILER in ARKANSAS, I caught the attention of several junior meteoroligists; they helped me hone in on cells headed my way or not. (eveidently we were in the clear by about 20 miles). But so many people were not lucky tonight in AR. I heard that a tornado hit the one hospital in Mountain View. I40 got shut down for some time. Perhaps there were 4 or 5 f3 tornados in AR this eve.? Fatalaties, yes.

I am not sure a helment, a blanket and a closet are going to help if I do get hit here at the 3xw. There was much discussion if I should drive away, crawl under the trailer or go to the creek through the woods. When the storm hit, my instinct put me in the closet. We need a different plan going forward.

Daren was in town reporting on the election and weather, I guess. Still haven't heard from him.

Weather Today

2008-02-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

Tree Frogs out. Mosquitos! High of 74. Moderate Breezes. Humidity 90%. Tornado weather tomorrow ?

Mountain View, On any Saturday

2008-02-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Click any image for a larger - mo'betta view...

Pre Jump: Sue Dog assessing terrain and relative ground tempertaure.

Gail, the Super Hero.

"DO NOT enter Virginia and Daren's property", says Norm..

This mudpuppy is all we caught today.