First Day Hike 2016 ... and National Park Service flush toilets are closed.

After driving all the way to Tyler Bend with our legs tightly crossed after drinking too much coffee, we discovered that the Visitors Center was closed, and roads to the campgrounds barricaded. So, we turned around and back-tracked a little bit to the privy (one-seat outhouse) at Grinders Ferry. At least it was clean and worked in a pinch. NOTE: The debris on the bottom, marks the high water line from the Christmas-week flood. If you have not idea where we're at, the Buffalo River is probably 40 feet, vertically, below the outhouse.

We feel better and are bundles for temperatures in the 30s, but the sun made it feel warmer. We're both wearing boots, flannel-lined denim pants, lots of "basewear", coats, gloves and Mad Russian (Ukraine) caps. They're really warm.

After a handful of trail snacks to boost our energy, we're off.  Alice Ivy had a snack bone, too.

Look down the trail, another adventurer. She greeted Megan with a: "Good morning. Happy New Year. Have a good day." Who wouldn't have a good day after that smiley greeting? She set the tone, and we followed through, wishing other hikers a Happy New Year.

Collier Homestead is always the first stop. In a few months, daffodils will be blooming. Megan always wonders, what stories that big oak tree could tell. Ages older than us, it's been sheltering that home since it was built. We bet children used to swing from its branches.

Now isn't that a picture? Megan's checking the smokehouse, wondering if she could hang upside down from the rafters. She knows she used to could. "I would have tried."

Who's having more fun in this picture? For Alice Ivy, this is the greatest day ever. She found lots of new smells to explore; branches to leap over; and curiosities to whine about. She's rather timid, and was glad we didn't encounter any other dogs or anything too strange. 

Although the trail goes much, much further, all the way to the Buffalo River, this was our destination, today. We've hiked the loop many times. We marveled at the blue sky reflected off the murky water. We didn't see a single canoe or kayak. Generally, we see floaters from this vantage point.

As the lyrics go: "You can hear from far and near, A world you've never heard before. And on a clear day, On that clear day, You can see forever, and ever, and ever, And ever more." That pretty much sums it up. We couldn't say it better.

  

We like to call this time of year, the season of long shadows. This picture was taken about noon Friday, January 1, 2016, New Year's Day. Look at the shadows.

 Because trees and shrubs are barren, the trail seemed so short. From this particular place on the trail, we could see the cabin and almost the parking lot up the hill, and behind us the overlook.

That's an eagle! We saw the white against the black. It was all by itself. They just fly differently from the buzzards that were circling a mile higher.

"Love lift us up where we belong, up where the eagles cry..."

Happy New Year and may all your dreams come true.
Megan and Dwain.
And may we win the lottery and take lots more excursions with Alice Ivy and our "reluctant" kitty cats.