We are moving!

Well, the blog is anyway. After playing with wordpress for the past couple of months I realized that we would be better served over there so here it is, the new Arkansas Outside site: http://arkansasoutside.wordpress.com/ Feel free to let me know what you think. I will be bringing some of our links over in the next few days but all the posts are already there. Thanks and see you soon.

Eagle Watch!

Sure, it's not Arkansas but we do have eagles.  Check out this live cam of an eagle nest in NJ, complete with the babies!

Little Rock is such a cool place...

Last night we decided to check out a little concert at a church nearby. After dinner we walked through our neighborhood to the church (about a mile away) to see the Central High School Jazz Ensemble do their annual concert. They had a special guest, Wycliffe Gordon, a jazz trombonist. Check out his bio, this guy has serious cred! It was a wonderful concert that even the 13 year old enjoyed.

To think, we could walk from our house to a concert featuring a top-notch New York jazz musician. The church was packed with very appreciative listeners and everyone seemed to stay awhile afterward for a reception. A little food and a nice walk home. Life is Good!

From the Ozarks to Wine Country a Weekend of Toads, Mudbugs and Music!

What to do this weekend? Well, here are some ideas...

Ozark Society Sets Outings - The Ozark Society Highlands chapter will host hikes and canoe trips in the weeks ahead. All are welcome, whether an Ozark Society member or not.

Arkansas Wine Country Bike Tour - Ride thru scenic Arkansas Wine Country along the Arkansas River Valley in the tour of your choice -- 17 mile, 35 mile, 100K, 80 mile, or 100 mile tour. All tours will end at the Post Familie Winery. A champagne brunch co-sponsored by the Post Familie Winery will be available to EVERY cyclist at their facility in Altus until 2 p.m.

28th Annual Toad Suck Daze - Toad Suck Daze is a FREE ADMISSION festival. A 3-day festival of food, family and fun held on the streets of downtown Conway, Arkansas. This 'Laid Back Weekend' occurs annually the first weekend in May and has something for the entire family: arts & crafts, 'Toadal Kids Zone', a carnival, local and national entertainment, food, rock wall, petting zoo, 'Stuck on a Truck', 5K/10K, golf tournament, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, magicians, and so much more! Toad Suck Daze is also home to 'The World Championship Toad Races'.

Free Music in Basin Spring Park -Eureka Springs, Friday and Saturday performances run from noon-6 p.m. Sunday shows from noon-4 p.m. Join us for the May Festival of the Arts kick off week end.

10th Annual Crawfish Boil, "Bugs, Bands, and Bikes" - One of the regions most exciting events. In addition to playing host to hundreds of pounds of the best crawfish around, complete with the "Celebrity Crawfish Eating Contest," it now hosts a "Battle of the Bands," a Bike show and one-day motorcycle rally, a motorcycle parade, a pool tournament, and more!

Pickin' in the Park - Join musicians from all over the region for three days of pickin’ and singin’ and lots of fun! Bring your instruments and lawn chairs and sit down to play, or just listen to some great bluegrass, gospel, and old-time country music. Professional and non-professional musicians are welcome.

Also remember that May is National Bike Month. So in the immortal words of Queen, "Get on your bike, and ride!"

Fresh Meat!

This past Saturday Lisa and I went to an Adventure Racing Clinic in Burns Park. Lisa wanted to go to learn more about orienteering (the job I usually have during the race) and I wanted to help the organizer. It was a cool class and covered basics of gear, training, orienteering, a short mountain bike ride, some bike maintenance and a few tricks of the sport. Lisa has a new respect for giving me time to take proper bearings and will be helping me more with estimating distance traveled.

It was nice to see all the newbies there. We need more people in this sport and Arkansas is surely one of the best places in the country to adventure race.

Sunday took us to the Little Rock Zoo. We hadn't been in years and you can tell that they are working hard to improve it. They are enlarging a lot of the animal areas including a badly needed larger elephant area. We had lunch in the new Cafe Africa and later stopped for some funnel cake. It was a great day to be outside and I'm happy to report that the zoo is not only alive and well but improving. We finished the day there with the raptor show. A few years ago a dosent at the zoo took us on an afterhours tour and we got to go in the raptor cage. Lisa got to feed a dead mouse to an eagle (hand feed!) and the little one got to feed a kestral. She recognized many of the birds in the show from our previous visit. It was like seeing old friends.

Just another great weekend to be outside in Arkansas!

It's going to be busy weekend outside!

I can't believe the choices we have for outdoor fun this weekend. I posted a few the other day but here are some more:

• Paddle For The Planet - 350 canoes and kayaks paddling on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Natural State, to promote environmental awareness and stewardship. For years the mantra of the environmental movement has been to “Think Globally and Act Locally.” That’s exactly what this event is all about.
• See Arkansas First - The See Arkansas First program will be in Heber Springs this Friday April 24, 2009, encouraging Arkansans to take advantage of the wonderful attractions and activities available here in Heber Springs and the Greers Ferry Lake Area.
• Volunteer to work on trails - The Eureka Springs Outdoor Alliance (ESOA) is seeking volunteers to continue developing hiking trails at the Oak Hill Wildlife Area on Saturday April 25.

So have a great weekend folks!

Getting warmed up for Earth Day 2009

Being outside is a really good thing!

As we approach Earth Day 2009 I just wanted to share a few stories that I have collected recently about the importance of our outdoor spaces. These are not necessarily about Arkansas but since we are the "Natural State" it seems that Arkansans saw the value of Nature at least as a marketing tool to appeal to some of our inherent needs. Check these out:

• Natural Happiness - Why should we care about nature? Should we care about it for its own sake — or for our sake, because it happens to make us happy or healthy?
• It’s Almost Earth Day, And Your Mother Could Care Less - Yippee, it’s almost Earth Day. The annual celebration of the best of our intentions to help change the world and save our planet.
• Another Kind of Green Marketing - Green marketing. “Greenwashing.” Green is the hot color for marketers these days, but there’s an old-fashioned kind of green that most of us overlook: no, not money… trees.

Here are some ideas for getting outside this week:

• Adventure Racing Clinic - Learn how to get into this awesome sport. You can do it and you wouldn't believe the self-empowerment you get from completing your first adventure race. Come join us to learn more.
• Sunset Kayak Tour - View the magnificent Delta sunset while listening to the sounds of nature all around you.
• 1st Annual Lake Fayetteville Outdoor Festival - Don't miss the first annual Lake Fayetteville Outdoor Festival, which will include the following events: Group mountain, road, and bike path rides, family hikes at the lake, all-day paddling -- try out a new boat for free!

Have A Great Earth Day Folks!