outdoors F◊◊◊ field trip

TRI-LAKES AREA — Eleven members of the Little Red River Audubon Society planned an October field trip to view the elk in Boxley Valley, meeting at the Cliff House near Jasper for lunch, then on to the Hilary Jones Elk Center and to look for elk.

Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. The night before, she dumped nearly 3 inches of rain - totaling almost 10 inches in eight days. The creek at the bottom of our drive roared, washing away the soil over our culverts. We couldn’t drive out without major road work.

Luckily, my husband, Bob, was able to get a load of rock to work over with his tractor and box blade, but it was noon instead of 8 a.m., and still raining when we finally left our Choctaw home. Five other field-trippers had canceled.

Driving north on U.S. 65, we saw a patch of blue sky and sunshine! Glory! Autumn colors glowed, rocks changed from shale to limestone, and after 60 miles we turned west on Arkansas 123, crossing a muddy raging Buffalo River. Continuing on Arkansas 74 to the Hilary Jones Elk Center near Jasper, population 498, we received maps, pamphlets and helpful information. Four of our Audubon party had already been here and gone.

Our room reser vations were at the Front Porch Inn in Jasper; we found the office at the Ozark Café. Three local gents sat in rocking chairs on the front sidewalk next to benches a nd pu mpk i n displays, catching up on the news. Our suite had a beautifully furnished bedroom,kitchen, living room, bath and a big Jacuzzi.

Next stop: el k countr y in Boxley Valley. We drove 14 mi les on t he “crooked and steep” Arkansas 74, and turned left at Arkansas 43. Max and Edna Nigh of Fairfield Bay met us at this intersection, featuring a historical district of old log cabins and outbuildings.

A short distance away on green meadows next to the Buffalo River we saw an awesome view of 40 majestic elk grazing and lying in the grass, chewing cud, enjoying the sun. Four trumpeter swans fed on wetlands near the fence. Among other roadside watchers, we also found two more Audubon members, Pat and Gordon Bailey of Fairfield Bay, seated in lawn chairs with binoculars, camera and spotting scope.

Driving less than a mile down the road, we watched four bulls and a cow. One bull, obviously the boss, displayed impressive antlers, sharpened tines glinting in the sunlight.

We returned to the first location, two herds now standing and grazing. A big bull contentedly sat in the grass, chewed his cud and surveyed his harem of 23 cows. When a cow ventured a little farther than he wanted her to, he stood up, raised his massive head, and chased her back into the herd. He controlled and protected his females.

Adult elks are massive, weighing between 500 to 700 pounds. Antlers weigh about 40 pounds; male neck muscles are well developed. This bull’s magnificent rack had 12 pointed tines, gleaming from being rubbed on trees. We could see bare cedar trunksby the river.

Eastern elk were native to Arkansas, but in 1840 became extinct; 112 Rocky Mountain elk were successfully introduced in 1981 and 1985 near the Buffalo River. Food plots and habitat improvementhelp maintain today’s healthy population of 450. A hunting season has been established to control the herd size.

The best time to hear an elk bugle is during fall mating season, especially in late August or early September. Watch new calves in May. Elk are most active at dawn or dusk. Two Audubon members, Frank Cavender of Quitman and Dora Badders of Heber Springs, had arrived at daybreak Friday morning and said that elk were walking near the road, where they got good close-up views.

I used a tripod, telephoto and two-second timer to take dozens of digital photos in the late afternoon light, until the moon came up and the elk faded away into darkness. We returned to Jasper, welcomed by twinkling lights of homes in the valley and surrounding mountainsides.

Max, Edna, Bob and I ate dinner at the 100-year-old Ozark Café, Jasper’s social center. Both big rooms were packed, and live music played in the back room. We found only one available table, by the stage, and ate dinner as Joe Villines played the guitar, banjo and sang. His wife, Genevieve, tends the Villines General Store and told me that Joe is an eighth-generation farmer, still farming the same land along the Buffalo River as his ancestors. At the next table were two more Audubon members, Laura and David Timby of Gilbert, who had come just for the music.

Saturday morning the smell of bacon filled the air at the Ozark Café. Diners packed the seats at tables and at the old-fashioned soda fountain. Rocking chairs out front were again occupied as folks called out “How ya doin’?” A waitress in a Halloween costume poured coffee into cups that said “Drink our coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!”

After breakfast (free with our room) of eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, toast and coffee, Bob and I went to Boxley Valley again. Elk grazed in the hay meadows. At the mill pond, thefour trumpeter swans paddled and slurped algae.

We decided to hike nearby Lost Valley trail, a great example of Karst topography. My favorite sight was seeing the fast-flowing stream next to the trail just disappear into a large crack in the ground. Down it poured, raging, foaming, underground to unseen caverns below. Upstream we saw a torrential waterfall pouring out of a natural rock bridge. Seeps dripped from other rocky bluffs. Farther on is Eden Falls, tumbling 170 feet, and finally, the cave falls, all an uphill climb.

We looked for field-trippers Betsy Slaughter and her grandson, Michael Shady, both of Fairfield Bay, but these early birds had already hiked and gone on. But we did see two more Audubon friends, Bob and Kay Verboon of Clinton, returning from the strenuous hike to the cave. They had just arrived that morning and said they’d seen elk close up while walking near the cemetery at the Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area and at Bear Creek.

We ate lunch with Bob and Kay at the Cliff House. Dubbed “The Grand Canyon of Arkansas,” a spectacular view is seen from the balcony, where knees get weak as eyes see down hills and over valleys for miles. Mountainsides showed trees topped with orange and yellow foliage.

As we ret u r ned home, knowing that even though rain and individual schedules kept field-trippers from connecting in one organized group, there was so much to see and do here that everyone found new memories of Arkansas beauty: autumn color, spectacular wildlife and friends along the way to share the good times.

Tri-Lakes, Pages 133 on 11/29/2009

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