News: Arkansas

Ark A Bagos
State Club
By Judy and Nate Brandes

Monday Sept. 5, Labor Day holiday saw the Bagos coming into camp at the Corps Dam Site Park on Greers Ferry Lake just outside the city limits of Heber Springs in AR. The main focus for this gathering was to once again participate in the National Public Lands Day, Great AR Cleanup 2011, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District. Bagos making this campout were the Bolt, Brandes, Ford, Grice, Harris, Kadrzynski, Peach, Perrenod, Stout, Wintroath, Wren, and Wyble.

Monday was an arrival day and setup! Following an AARP session dinner was a YOYO. That evening we had an opening camp meeting where we reviewed the week's agenda with changes made.

Tuesday morning the girls had a craft workshop presented by Bonnie Harris. BJ helped us make domino tile holders and recipe card holders out of plastic canvas. They are unique!

Following an AARP session with dinner and YOYO, the gang gathered under the big top for the game "on the bus." After a very lively regular session, the game came down to a tie which under club rules resulted in the pot carrying over to start another game to be played on Wednesday night.

Wednesday we conducted our third quarter Bago business meeting under the big top. Matthews and Sims drove in to attend the meeting resulting in fourteen coaches being represented. After the meeting, the girls all gathered to have lunch at the Tea Room in downtown Heber Springs. The lunch was excellent and afterwards, a little shopping followed at the unique shops on Main Street.

Following our AARP session we had a post Labor Day potluck picnic featuring Wren's smoked barbecue pork butts. Yum Yum! With the many contributed side dishes and desserts, this picnic was indeed a winner!

Following we had to have our "on the bus" tie game-breaker and it was pleasing to see that the Harrises, both being the two tie game participants, won the breaker with Bonnie Jo coming through!

Thursday featured the Cleburne County Fair and senior citizens day for a $1 entrance fee!
With lunch being YOYO, later we then gathered together for dinner by driving to Mack's Fish House and a good meal was had by all! Upon returning to camp, we had our 86" screen set up to catch the opening NFL season game between the Packers and the Saints. With a feed from Virgil and Mary Grice's remote satellite dish setup, we enjoyed the game under the stars with a nearby campfire for warmth on a cool evening!

While some of the guys were going to see the U.S. Army Corps William Carl Garner Visitor Center mid-morning on Friday, Bonnie and Ernie, along with Nate and Ralph, went trout fishing early on the Little Red River, which is what forms dammed up Greers Ferry Lake. The Red is home to the previous 40 plus lb. world record Brown Trout! We didn't see anything that close but had a fine time fishing the clear waters and catching a couple of rainbow trout, too! Almost too beautiful to describe!

Later, Judy conducted the girls on a visit to the infamous Aromatique Visitor Center in Heber Springs. Many of the girls were delighted in the seasonal specials Aromatique was offering. They then had lunch at the Jitter Bug Café. The Café was overwhelmed by their number but they did an excellent job. As you may have guessed, shopping followed!

Following our AARP session dinner was leftovers. We believe the smoke pork butts even tasted better the second time around! Fellowship and games followed with another campfire for the evening.

Saturday was the day we got down to business and experienced the main reason for choosing this campsite. At the camp check-in gate, we got our marching orders from Corps Ranger Gary Ivy. Ranger Ivy, having told us that our immediate camping area was covered, assigned us to an adjacent Corps property road which had just been paved. Working this half-mile road provided us the opportunity to pick up two auto tires; one dried up 12-volt battery with exposed acid lead plates; hypodermic needles and syringes; numerous cans, butts, and other trash items filling up all of fifteen trash bags. Gary was surprised both by the type and quantity of the trash we had found on the road!

Following a YOYO lunch and afternoon activities, we gathered for our pregame, never-ending tailgate party! This feast led directly into our featured evening viewing event via satellite on the big 86" outdoor screen—the Razorback Hog football game from War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock! During halftime and following the game, we checked out the NASCAR Race from Richmond, VA to see who qualified for the season-final ten race chase in the run for the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship. All in all, a fine viewing evening under the stars with once again, a campfire nearby to cheer us on!

Sunday we broke camp with a few Bagos having breakfast/brunch at the Rustic Inn in Heber Springs before they departed. Dam Site Park is a beautiful camp area and we all had a great time working and playing together. We definitely want to return again next September for the Corps Great AR Cleanup 2012—just too much fun to miss out on!

Winnebago-Itasca Travelers