Bull Shoals - White River State Park, AR

 November 11, 2020

Our first look at Arkansas while driving to

Bull Shoals State Park

We set up on our campsite, a generously sized pull-thru.
We needed to check-in at the Visitor Center so off we went to check in.
After we were all checked in we checked out Bull Shoals Dam which
is right at the Visitor Center.

Here is the river side of the dam where water is sent out.
You can also see where the electricity is collected on the far shore.

And on the other side of the dam is Bull Shoals Lake.

"Bull Shoals Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the White River in northern Arkansas in the United States. The dam lies on the border of Marion and Baxter Counties, and forms Bull Shoals Lake, which extends well northwest into Missouri. Its main purposes are hydroelectricity production and flood control."

Okay a little guessing game on the construction of the dam

(question found at an exhibit at the visitor center)

Now, that was one awesome conveyor belt!

Here are some photos from a park sign of that 7.8 mile long conveyor belt.

If you read the sign, it speaks of Flippin - that is the name of a town in Arkansas.

I want an address in Flippin Arkansas, or Flippin anywhere, love that name.

Don't worry no more questions on this pop quiz.

Not wanting to turn down a hike, 

we did this not so big 0.54 mile long trail

which did provide a leisurely walk, some information on local trees

and the photo of the conveyor belt. Well worth it.

Time to go back to the campsite.

Here is a shot of the White River from the top of the bridge.

Yes, the blue sky today was marvelous.

We drove within our campground to this access point on the White River. 

Here we could see quite the current flowing from the dam.

The water flows out of the far right side of the dam in this picture

when we were up top it looked like it flowed out the middle

because the right side of the dam is obscured by trees here.

The water was very clear.

So clear we saw 3 or 4 fish swimming upstream,

not sure what happens when they reach the dam.

After driving country roads here, setting up camp,

and visiting the dam, it is time for some reading

down by the river ( a short walk down from our campsite). 

View from our reading spot.

A fisherman letting the current take him and his boat down the river.

We later saw him again, motoring back up the river.

This is a good place to be.

November 12, 2020 

This morning we hiked the Bluff Trail.

with that name, you know it would be uphill 

most of the leaves had fallen

but under these blue skies, it was nice.

View of the White River from the bluff.

Jim took advantage of this bench to enjoy the view

even if the seat portion had only 1 of the 3 slats still in place.

We spent some time down by the river after checking out

their big spring, not so impressive.

""Big Spring" in the White River/Bull Shoals State Park is not a natural spring. It is a seep from Bull Shoals dam. It provides a near constant supply of water coming into the tailwater"

This fly fisherman is fishing at the big spring.

Here is the view from our lunch at Gaston's White River Resort.

It's just down the road from the state park, so we came to check it out.

Bicycles and boat motors decorate the dining room.

Out by the Nature Trails they had turkeys

peacocks

even an all white peacock

all roaming the grounds outside the bird pens.

The nature trails had various old pieces of machinery

strewn about the field like this.  It was interesting.

Jim was drawn to the air strip they had

so private planes can fly right in.

"At Gaston’s, we offer our own Bermuda grass airstrip. It’s open to everyone, not just guests staying in our cottages. Feel free to fly in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner any day of the week, or on Sunday for our famous Sunday brunch. "

For those of you with a pilot's license and a plane, feel free to fly on over.

We recommend the Louisiana Shrimp Burrito.