Leaf Looking - Drive to Mt. Petit Jean

On Saturday, 24-OCT, we drove to Mt. Petit Jean (about 75 miles north) to see the fall colors. Although the colors weren't at their peak, we still saw some very pretty sites both at Petit Jean and along the way. Here's the first photo taken from the car on the way up.

We stopped at the first lookout in the park. We not only saw some pretty trees but also some black vultures just "hanging out." They weren't camera shy.We next stopped at a place where we could get a good look at Cedar Falls. Since we've had a lot of rain in Arkansas, the falls was flowing very nicely (and making a lot of noise).We also got some good views back down through the valley.Here's a picture Rosie took on the way back.The green pine trees really make the color stand out.

We also stopped at The Shack - our favorite place to get an old fashioned hamburger. Since we had already had lunch, we shared a small peanut butter/hot fudge shake. Yummy!

We simply couldn't resist this final photo. Each year during hunting season, the local liquor establishments put up signs saying, "Welcome Hunters." That seems like a great idea - NOT! That's all we need - a bunch of "liquored-up" hunters roaming around the woods. Maybe this is an evil animal rights plot; i.e. drunk hunters don't shoot straight.We hope you're enjoying the changing seasons and getting a chance to see some of God's beauty.

Fishing with the HSV Anglers' Club

On Friday, , 23-OCT, I (Bob) fished in a tournament with the HSV Anglers' Club; Dallas Middlekauff was my partner and we fished from his boat. We have tournaments about twice/month during the "warmer" months. However, Friday was not one of those warmer or nicer days. The temperature was about 50F and the wind was 5-15 mph; a pretty blustery day to be on the water.

In spite of the lousy weather, I had an OK fishing day. I caught a largemouth bass that weighed about 2.5 lbs and a striper that probably weighed 8-10 lbs. The striper was especially fun to catch since I was using lightweight fishing tackle. He fought hard and took more than 5 minutes to get into the boat.
I also won the "big bass of the day" prize for my largemouth bass. What a surprise!

Trip to Texas

On Friday, 02-OCT, we (Rosie and Bob) left HSV headed for Killeen, TX, and Ft. Hood. Chris, Amy, Adam and Lottie live in Ft. Hood after returning from Japan. We had a fun but short visit with them at Ft. Hood; on Saturday morning all of us packed up and headed for Dickinson, TX, to see Karen, Shane, Logan and Kayleigh. This would be the first time all 4 grandkids were together. It was also Chris and Amy's first time to see Logan and Kayleigh and Karen and Shane's first time to see Lottie (actually Shane's first time to see Adam, too).

Bapa (aka Bob) and Lottie are getting ready to leave Ft. Hood on Saturday morning.

Aunt Amy holding Kayleigh.

A key reason we all went to Dickinson was to see Kayleigh's baby dedication at their church - The Magnolia Creek Baptist Church. Here's Karen, Shane and Kayleigh with the pastor at the front of the church.Well - here's the picture you've waited for - the 4 grandkids all together.From the left: Lottie, Adam, Kayleigh and Logan. Aren't they a cute looking bunch!

Chris got a chance to play with Kayleigh. However, I think the dogs wanted to join in the fun.
After lunch it was POOL TIME! The kids and some of the adults really enjoyed Karen and Shane's pool. However, it was a bit cool that day, but not bad to be able to get in the pool in early October.
We had a great time with the kids, spouses and grandkids. We plan to get together again at Thanksgiving; this time Doug and friend, Ashley, will get to join us.