Thursday, June 14, 2012

Vacation Jasper, AR!

Jasper is one of my favorite spots in Arkansas.  It is a beautiful little community on the Buffalo River.  We have been several times, and usually stay in the Ozark Mountain Cabins.  Except for that time we stayed at the Ms. Frances House, but that is another story.  A good one :) (except for the whole losing the keys in the river part).  And once at the Little Switzerland.  But mostly, we stay at the OMC's.  I love Jasper.  Here's how we always start the trip--with a photo op at the overlook/rest station.  When we stop here, I know we're almost there!
As soon as we got to Jasper (which was after 7:00), we had to go straight to the river.  Grace insisted.  So Clay, Andrew, and Claire unloaded our stuff at the cabin, and Grace and I started wading and playing on the shore.

The next day we went to the river at the Kirby area.  We started out the morning with the river all to ourselves, and Grace and Clay fished while Andrew slept.  Then we all played in the river.
That night we cooked dinner at the cabin....we brought green beans from our garden, roasted veggies, and Clay grilled steaks.  Best meal I've had in a long time!
Here's some fun at the cabin....
My favorite Gracie quote of the vacation:
Me: "Grace, keep an eye on Claire so she doesn't eat any dirt."
Grace:  "Mom, let her explore the world!"
The next day we were back at the river, this time just down the road from our cabin.  Grace is a river rat.  Andrew and Claire also enjoyed, but Grace could live out there!
So Andrew's brand new floaties had a hole in them :(  We took turns with the pink ones.
Where are we Andrew?  "The Bufawo Wi-wa!"
Claire's tent

Our view from the cabin

And our attempts at pictures on the front porch.

More river fun

The owners of the cabins have a dog.  Grace adopted him for the duration of our Jasper vacation.
And on our last day in Jasper we went to the Wildlife Museum.  Andrew pointed to the fox in the background and asked if it was the big bad wolf :)
 I love Jasper.  And I love sharing it with my family!  I'll post about part 2 of our vacation at Big Cedar Lodge next!

2 comments:

Townsend said...

GREAAAAAT POST!!! i'm SOOO JEALOUS!! did you eat at the jasper cafe too?? LOVED all the pics!! and totally laughed out loud with Gracie's "let her explore the world!" comment!...followed by her adorable picture. LOVE IT. andrew's floaties too..hehee!
good for you for exposing the kids so early to camping and all! I'm really hoping to be up for a trip this fall!! xoxo

Layla and Jason said...

Great pictures! What a fun trip. The kids are adorable. And, I think Claire is absolutely gorgeous!!