Blanchard Springs Caverns

On Thursday, we got to spend several hours at Blanchard Springs Caverns. If you've never been, I'd say it is worth going, at least once. I know that many caverns say the are "the best" at this thing or the other. I would say that this one (and I've only been to a few) is one of the nicest inside. There is enough light as you walk in to be able to take some nice pictures with a good camera and once they turn lights up, you can get good pics with your phone. The images below are from iPhones. 

There are multiple tours from which one can choose. I opted for the easier walk (Dripstone tour), while many of our group decided to go on the Discovery Tour. They are about an hour and an hour and a half, respectively. Our tour had a few steps, but the Discovery had around 700 steps, hence my decision to choose Dripstone (chronic back pain). 

http://www.blanchardsprings.org

Anyway, we enjoyed the tours. Additionally, this cave is owned by the US Forest Service, so it isn't a ridiculous price for entry into the cave. As I recall, it was about $12.50 for adults, with a reduced price for children. 

I'd recommend this as a nice way to spend a few hours of the day with your family. Your ticket also allows you to use any of the day use areas in the park. We took a picnic lunch and ate at a nice pavilion without an additional fee. We also took a family picture under a huge rock overhang. 

In the Cathedral Room by Jody Bowie

Photo credit: Jeff Wright

By the Fire

We spent some time last night around the fire. The owner had a huge pile of brush down by the pond and we told him we'd be happy to burn it form him. While we did that, we got some camera fun in. Here are a few of the results. We spent some time doing some long exposure and even got to do a bit of "double exposure."

A long exposure of the fire, fire tenders, and the moon.

A long exposure with some of the family in a flash picture.

There was some dancing that went on, too.

Sliding

The Golf Cart Roller Coaster

Jeff and I were going to head up the hill toward the road. No reason, just because. In this family, there's no way anyone can get on a golf cart alone. Therefore, it became Jeff, me, and 6 of the kids (one of them another adult!).

Pretty sure we are at max capacity for this golf cart.

We go up the hill and get all the way to the road. As we begin to come back, I notice that the cart will coast quite nicely on the way down. So I decided to see if we could go without touching the brakes. While I wasn't able to do that (almost) we did have a good time all the way back down.

Epic Catch Phrase

Last night, we played an epic game of Catch Phrase and I am not one to throw the word "epic" around very often. We did modify the rules of this game. There was no keeping score. You just got a super loud, "Awwwwwww!" when time ran out on you. The other rule was that if you had a word or gave a hint that related in any way to 'Murica, we began to chant, "USA, USA!"

Finally, one of the nieces looked at the word, hesitated, and then began to give clues. The clue was, "when you cut up chicken..." and I guess "Salmonella!" She pointed to me and said, "Yes!" and then passed off the game to Papa. We were then informed that the word was actually "Somalia." Meh, whatever. Salmonella is close enough, right?

Salmonella

Somalia

Convergence of Friday the 13th and the Full Moon

We've been sitting out on our front porch talking about scary stuff this week (we are in the boonies of Arkansas, after all.) It started out as us talking about the stain they've used on the cabins being splattered on the white doors. It looks a little like blood splatter. We talked about how we could easily write a story about some murders here and include the giant spider that lives under our cabin.

Anyway, we have just discovered that this Friday is going to be the 13th. AND it is going to be a full moon. So maybe we really do have a chance to write a good story.

Yes. We are scared.

Spiders

There's a lot of this going on during this vacation.

Risk [Update]

I won. The Black Empire has ushered in a worldwide reign of peace.

The Jones Family

The Jones family was established in 1970 when Mom and Dad married. They had 3 children Michelle, Stefanie, and Daniel.

Michelle married me (Jody) in 1990 and we are the Bowie part of the Jones family. We have two children: Jessica and JC.

Stefanie married Jeff in 1994. They comprise the House of Wright and swear fealty to the Jones family. They have 3 children: Samantha, Abigail, and Olivia.

Daniel married Keri in 2007. They are the ones who carry the Jones family name on. They have two children: Juliana and Campbell.

In all, there are 15 of us (so far) who make up this loud, obnoxious, loving, amazing group of people. This year, to commemorate the vacation and as a way to say thanks to Mom and Dad for making this happen every other year, Jessica designed a tshirt and we got them printed.

The Jones family logo

Each symbol on the image means something to us. We like to burn things, its always fun to have fireworks when we get together, Papa and Nana own some cattle, we've been to the beach, the "family home" is in Louisiana, we've been to the mountains, and Nana and Papa now own a franchise of haircut places for guys.

The "Big Weapons" storage: a relic from a paranoid bygone era

As previously mentioned, we are staying this year in a former Y2K compound. According to the current owner, a doctor from Florida purchased the house and property and built multiple cabins around the older home in the middle of the property. He effectively left his practice in Florida and moved here. As you likely know, nothing happened on Y2K. He sold the place and returned to his life in Florida, leaving all of the food and supplies behind. Those supplies were all auctioned off.

What he did not leave behind was his guns. He had some small handguns (we assume) but also apparently some larger guns and ammunition. He kept these under a cutout in the floor of the gazebo. It is a metal box, lockable from both sides, and is approximately 6ft by 8 ft and roughly 4 feet tall. While I did not go down inside others did and verified that it would be a perfect place for guns. 

Here's where all of the big guns were kept.

Pigeon Fail

I shooed a couple of pigeons off my vehicle this morning. Their getaway wasn't very smooth.

Nana Scares us to death

Papa, Grandma, and I were sitting outside on he porch, while Nana was in the restroom. We hear something fall and it sounds like something more than a box or trashcan. We listen for a sec and grandma says,"Linda." No answer. Papa says,"Linda!" No answer. "Linda," No answer. We get up (rather quickly) and run inside. Papa yells, "Linda!" Multiple more times, each with no answer. Then he proceeds to try to open the door (which is locked) and there's still no answer.

An example of the type of lock Papa was about to break through to rescue his love

This is an image of the type of latch. Not exactly easy to break in. So on the 3rd "bump of the door," Nana starts yelling "Hey! What's going on?" 

Good grief. Now my adrenaline can subside.

Risk

A years-long dream of mine came true: people actually played Risk with me. 

The Grocery Store

Normally, Papa goes to the grocery store. In fact, he had already been before we arrived this time. However, Michelle and I went this morning to get a few things. We had a list and even asked everyone if they needed anything. No one needed anything. While we were there, our group text blew up and we started getting requests for every thing from ingredients for complete dishes to floaties for the little kids to use in the pool.

By the time we left, we were on the verge of insanity from the huge number of text requests we got. 

This was how I felt, minus the LOL.

Outhouse

We have an outhouse. That's how you know your vacation spot is good.

Did everything come out okay, Jeff?

Lunch

This is what it was like to coordinate lunch orders at Sonic with Stefanie, Grandma, Jess, Sam, Abby, Liv, and me on the way to our vacation spot.

JWB Vacations

On even years, e.g. 2014, the extended Jones family takes a vacation together. We've gone to Tennessee three times, Cedar Lake south of Dallas one year, to some friends' cabin and to Galveston two times. This year we have decided to go to Arkansas. We are in the middle of nowhere (specifically Marcella, AR). Most often, we stay in a single large house. However, this year, our accommodations are actually a repurposed Y2K compound with a cookhouse including 2 bedrooms, 3 cabins (each with a couple of bedrooms), a pool, and what I like to call "the tabernacle." In reality, it's an outdoor pavilion with 4 bathrooms. 

So we are in the middle of the woods, next to a river and it's pretty dark. I'm looking forward to a good week. 

Here's an over head view of our place.

Shower Fail

Stefanie does a fantastic job packing for our trips but this morning she was a little too efficient. After she took her shower, my wife packed all the soaps and shampoos. So my vacation started by washing my hair with a bar of soap. Very squeaky.