Right about noon yesterday, Deb and I rolled off The Mountain, bound for the Airbnb where the cousins would gather for Thanksgiving dinner. The address, like ours, was Yellville, and a quick look at the map showed it to be less than five miles due north. Because this is Ozarkansas, however, it meant a ten-mile drive that took almost 30 minutes.
The last couple of miles had me grinning as I eased the Silverado up some of Marion County’s finest backroads. Narrow, steep and winding, the rough gravel track brought us to a picturesque homestead near the summit of Lee Mountain.
Our homesite sits at about 950 feet AMSL, and The Mountain tops out about 60 vertical feet higher. Behind us, Hall Mountain rises to just over 1,300 feet. Lee Mountain, which we can see from our place, is 1,230 feet AMSL and it shares proximate parentage (Hall Mountain) with our own summit.
The house itself was comfortable, clean and well-appointed. It featured a wraparound deck, a fire pit, even a tree house (tree deck). A fenced area and a small loafing shed behind the residence hinted that livestock, presumably goats, had been kept at some point.
Thanksgiving dinner was great, with seven of us at the table and (naturally) way too much food. It was great catching up with visiting family, and they’ll remain in the area for a couple more days.
I managed to get some chores done this morning. Notably, I picked up a new ladder, one of the telescoping variety. (No guarantees that I won’t fall off this one, too.) I burned trash. I hauled the remaining leftover concrete blocks to the lower level, and I assigned the pallet they were on to duty near the woodpile. (That expands our parking and turnaround area opposite the cabin.)
The cousins here from West Virginia hadn’t been to Ozarkansas before making this trip, so this afternoon we (all) showed off some of the high points. The itinerary will be familiar to regular readers of this blog — Gray Spring, Buffalo Point, Black Sheep BBQ. While we were out, we also stopped by a neighbor’s place for an extended visit.
After that early BBQ dinner, we watched the sun set from our homesite. The best of times.
I’m not sure exactly what’s on tap for tomorrow. We’ll see how the day unfolds.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB