Monday- to Yellville we go

We tried to leave about 10 am this morning, but Betty needed to rent a car about 11, so we didn’t leave Little Rock until noon. Mom touched base with Burpee and Ella Marie (my grandmother’s brother and his wife) and she had fixed dinner for everyone and they were going to hold it for us. The drive up was really nice- we briefly stopped in a small town to go to the bathroom and set off. The scenery was just beautiful- Old growth forests and everything is green…

We went through the town of Yellville and kept driving along Highway 14. We got to their house about 3:30 and after introductions and hellos, we sat down to the most delicious dinner. I don’t usually like ham, but this ham was so tasty and not greasy at all. We had boiled potatoes, corn, cornbread, and pinto beans. Afterwards, we had Ella Marie’s famous chocolate cake, which I think it the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. In fact, it was nearly gone by the time we left. I also got a chance to meet Tina- Scott's wife- and her two boys. She is a ton of fun and has a yearling quarter horse, so we were instant friends. I think Daniel, Cary's husband, was a bit wide-eyed, being a city boy... but he started to relax, even though he was futiling trying to keep pests from biting him.

We ran into Charlie (My mom’s cousin) and his wife, Sue. They took us up to see his sister’s goat milking operation. I had not dressed for the occasion and had on flip flops and shorts. The absolute last time I will do this. We got to see a real, live goat milking operation and how she rotates the goats in and out. (picture: goats post milking)







Afterwards, Charlie took us up to see his beef cattle and his old cow milking operation (no longer in use). He was telling us a lot about the economics of raising beef cattle. (picture: beef cattle)


I really wasn’t feeling well at this point and almost fell over a few times- my head was so filled. We left soon after that and I took a hot bath to soothe my muscles. The motel- cabins actually- were suspicious first, but turned out to be really nice. Mom and I headed back over to Burpee’s house and stayed from 8:30 until 10:30- which is way late in these parts, but we spent sometime talking to my mom’s cousin Dandy and her brother John. We went back to the motel and only saw one car on the way home