Tour of the Ranger Boat Factory, Flippin, AR

On 24-MAR, Rosie and I had the chance to tour the Ranger boat factory in Flippin, AR. We were having our Ranger boat serviced in Bull Shoals which is right down the road from Flippin. Our tour guide was Mickey Woods; the Woods family started Ranger boats.

The plant typically employs about 800 people. However, with the downturn in the economy, the employment has been cut to about 500. It was also interesting that Ranger doesn't build inventory anymore. Every boat made in the factory has already been sold via one of the Ranger dealers. Each boat is being made "to order."

It takes about 6 days and 400 man hours to make a Ranger boat. That's a lot of labor. The making of a Ranger bass boat is very labor intensive. We didn't get to take pictures in the areas where the hulls and decks were made due to the solvent fumes. However, the process was very interesting.

I really thought how the hulls and decks were painted was really unique. Each deck and hull has a mold. The paint is sprayed into the mold as it is designed to appear on the surface of the boat; followed by a coat of black paint. After the inside of the mold is painted, the polymer is sprayed into the mold and allowed to cure. There are multiple steps and layers that form the deck and hull. However, when the cured polymer hull or deck is removed from it's mold, the surface is painted. That was really cool.

Here are some pictures from the "finishing area." The deck has been mated to the hull and the electronics, motors, etc. are being installed - all by hand.Here's a picture of Rosie and me with Mickey; he was a great tour guide and as you would expect, very knowledgeable about the boat business. Ranger makes not only bass boats but also salt water, walleye, and recreational boats. The walleye boats are their biggest seller with last year's number one dealer in Minnesota. Behind us are new Ranger boats being finished out per the new owners' requests.Here's a cutaway from a finished Ranger boat. All the open spaces between the deck and hull are filled with foam.Finally, here's a picture of Rosie by a 1974 Ranger bass boat. Obviously, bass boats have changed tremendously on the past 30+ years.We had a great time touring the Ranger factory. We both came away feeling even better about our decision to buy a Ranger boat. They really build a quality product from start to finish. It's a bummer that they didn't give out free samples - we would have been glad to take one.

Garvan Woodland Gardens - First Visit of the Spring

On Wednesday, 10-MAR, we made our first yearly visit to Garvan Woodland Gardens (GWG) in Hot Springs, AR. Since the winter was colder than normal, many of the flowers and trees are blooming later this year. To our surprise the daffodils were in full bloom and looked really pretty. We got several daffodil pictures in the Gardens.Rosie in the parking lot in front of a daffodil garden.Bob at the entrance to GWG.
Daffodils with Lake Hamilton in the background.
Very few tulips were in bloom - just some really hardy ones. Rosie is sitting by some of the "hardy souls" that were in bloom. The tulips should be pretty in a week or two - if we get some nice weather.
Other flowers and some of the trees were also either in bloom or just starting.On our way home we drove through Hot Springs - down Malvern avenue. The plum trees (at least we think they're plum and not cherry) were in bloom.Thank you, God, for Spring and a time of renewal. It's really beautiful!

Sam Gets A Haircut

Our dog, Sam, was getting a bit fuzzy - so we decided it was time for a haircut. Rosie asked for a medium cut since it's not really Summer yet. However, it looks like Sam got a Summer cut anyway. We hope he doesn't freeze! Here are 2 pictures of the "fuzzy" Sam.And the "not so fuzzy" Sam.Looks like he's been on a weight loss program. Luckily, we don't see many other dogs so he won't get embarrassed by his haircut. He's such a sensitive puppy!

Little Rock Half Marathon / March 7, 2010

Bob completed his 3rd Little Rock half marathon today. The weather was nice (cool, not too windy, no rain). Here are his results:

Overall place (out of all people in the half marathon): 387 out of 2898
Gender place (out of all men in the half marathon): 291 out of 1252
Division Place (out of everyone in the 55-59 bracket): 6 out of 76
Overall time: 1:52:25
Pace: 8:35 (not great but consistent)

Until next year!

Karen, Logan and Kayleigh Visit - Part II

We had fun playing with the Logan and Kayleigh and visiting with Karen over the next few days. Wayne and Delma Jensen - friends from HSV - gave the kids Easter presents. Logan enjoyed opening his Easter present - especially the candy. Kayleigh had fun with her pink bunny. Logan and Kayleigh enjoy each other and their bunnies.Logan also likes to "help" in the kitchen - especially when you're making goodies. Here he has his helper chair and is helping Gram cook.However, as we all know, the best part of cooking is licking the beater. I think he's ready to teach "Beater Licking 101", or maybe even an advanced course.Logan, Kayleigh and Bapa had a great time playing with the blocks. How high can we stack them before they fall over (or get knocked over)?Logan also got to do a little water color painting.Kayleigh had fun playing with the different toys at "Toy Central". She also kept her pink bunny close. Sorry we didn't get any Karen shots in this set of photos. However, she was the photographer most of the time. Maybe next time.

We had a great visit with Karen, Logan and Kayleigh. Thanks for coming up for Gram's birthday. We hope to see all of you again soon (after we rest up)!

Karen, Logan and Kayleigh's Visit - Part I

For Rosie's birthday (27-FEB), Karen, Logan and Kayleigh flew up from Houston to visit and help us celebrate. On Saturday we went to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission site in Little Rock and then over to the Peabody to see the ducks - especially since Kayleigh says, "Ack, Ack, Ack" for her duck sound.

At the AFG site, Logan enjoyed looking at the fish.Kayleigh is trying to catch a fish. Get that girl a fishing pole; she's ready to go fishing with Bapa!The Peabody is close to the AGF site, but we drove up any way. Here's a picture of the Peabody from the AGF center.In the elevator of the Peabody, the duck symbol on the tile floor is really neat.The gift shop has a wide variety of rubber ducks. Here's a small sampling of the ducks available. They even have an "Elvis" duck.Karen and Logan enjoyed the Peabody lobby as we waited for the ducks to appear. Logan is showing off his duck key chain.Here's part of the gang waiting next to the red carpet. The ducks walk down the red carpet and into the lobby fountain.

Here the ducks go into the water. Yeah ducks!Rosie and Kayleigh enjoyed watching the ducks in the fountain.We had a great day at the Peabody and enjoyed celebrating Rosie's birthday watching ducks with Karen and kids.

Birdy CPR

Sometimes we get birds running into our back windows and committing "suicide" (or maybe they're kamikaze birds). Some are just stunned but many die. The other day, a bird was killed after flying into the back window - with a loud THUMP. Soon after it happened, another bird came over and appeared to try and "wake up" the dead bird. It looked like "birdy CPR" to us. We got a video of the bird with his friend.