The annual edition of the Grace Bible Church-Tulsa Arkansas Retreat was this weekend. It was beautiful scenery that was great to look at.
About 35 people were there in total, the largest group ever - mostly young families and old people, so a typical Sunday. Which meant, as usual, that I had Danny's line from The Family Nobody Wanted running through my head a little bit: "There's nobody the right size of me!" (It's from a memoir by Helen Doss.) The Wheelers, Selbys, and Purviances were the young families (and Mom was watching Amy), and then Courtney and Caleb had Mattie to hang out with. Met some newer people I vaguely knew by sight, which was nice, I guess.
Met the Gundersens' friends Nann and Quint from Branson; they were awesome to talk books and play poker dice with.
Went on a couple short hikes; maybe five or six miles in total, to Triple Falls, Chickenhead Bluff and Hawksbill Crag/Whitaker's Point. (The last one is considered the "Most Romantic Spot in Arkansas," which is kind of interesting. Many couples get engaged there.) They were all incredibly pretty. On Saturday had lunch at a cool tourist trap restaurant called the Ozark Cafe; the Jasper eatery is the oldest in the state, with the original 1907 floorboards and an awesomely random collection of items on the walls. We spotted several sports-car groups and motorcycle groups along the highways, too.
Rode with the Selbys most of Saturday; they're awesome parents to have four small boys that well-behaved. It was good to get to talk with Justin and Melody. There was an interesting museum in Ponca called the Elk Education Center, besides showcasing local wildlife, there was also a lot of local history, which was fun to read. Enjoyed hearing Mr. Gundersen's stories he's learned of local history.
Watched some of the TCU-Iowa State and OU-Texas Tech football games on TV aside from the hiking and exploring, and I think I got a few good pictures. Tried to memorize the layout of the cabin, to maybe use in a plot sometime (maybe Winter's Grace, if it ever happens?).
A sign in Jasper read that the Pirates won the 1960 Class B state championship in basketball, and had the entire roster of boys underneath that announcement. Pretty awesome. Not so awesome is that Mr. Gundersen fractured his fibula while hiking.
Mountains are wonderful. It was sad to return to Oklahoma. I need to reread Shepherd of the Hills. Halloween was very quiet; I halfheartedly dressed up as Bill Murray in Space Jam.
