Dick and I follow Mr. Magoo and Abby as they trot towards the walking path at Denton’s Ferry RV Park. We are taking our daily walk on the last day of vacation, and as I pass the clear water pool formed by a swift flowing stream, my eyes search for the fat brown brook trout I spotted several days ago. It’s not there.
Mr. Magoo, the pug, pulls on the leash as Dick and Abby, the lab/setter, move ahead. I speed up to catch them and wonder. What will I miss more when we leave Arkansas- –the glowing white dogwoods in full bloom or the soft cooing of mourning doves? Maybe the eagle’s nest across the river or the fantastic BBQ at K.T.’s? No matter what, tomorrow we pack up our bags and head home to Minnesota where, hopefully the last of the snow will have disappeared.
We take a slight jog to the right and step onto the walking path that meanders along the White River. Wildflowers abound and cardinals flit through the tree canopy. Each morning, we take this walk, but since this is the last one, I find myself thinking back to our quiet days of relaxation and also to the people who’ve come and gone during our three week stay at the RV park.
One of the most interesting is the couple next door who own five Pekinese dogs. Every dog needed a home, and they fell in love with each one, somehow, ending up with a pack of Pekinese, although they never planned it. They converted their fifth wheel toy hauler into a dog patio. I look forward to late afternoons when they set up the fencing and screens so the little dogs enjoy fresh air on their outside patio.
Another RV park neighbor is a fellow we call “the cowboy” since he wore a cowboy hat the first time we saw him. A solitary guy, he appears to live full time in a converted bus with three air conditioners on its roof hooked to a Haulmark trailer from which he pulls various toys—a road bike, a mountain bike and an inflatable kayak. Since he keeps to himself, we (okay we are snoopy) are forced to speculate on his ‘story.’
We continue our walk and pass a series of caves. One morning, we climbed the small hill to the entry of the largest and took a quick peek. The cave was dry with soft red soil and led far back into unseen reaches. A great place for spelunkers, but not me.
Our days of relaxation and enjoyment of the warmth and green grass and trees have been restful. The dogs also took well to relaxation. Magoo enjoys napping outside, preferably on my lounge chair, atop of a soft blanket. Abby, whose favorite activity is to sleep on the green grass and move from sun to shadow, has also been enjoying the antics of a large squirrel living along the river banks.
We walk past the dead tree where we watched an eagle warn off a hawk. Across the river, a heron rookery, which swarmed with activity only a week ago, is now silent, As we make the return walk home, I take a final close look at the at the Jack-inthe Pulpit I noticed yesterday.
Finally, our walk is completed and we relax for a few hours under the RV’s awning, reclining in our lawn chairs and watching the White River flow by.
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