TRANSIT OF VENUS

Hello Fellow StarGazers!
Just a reminder that today- June 5th -Venus will be transiting (crossing in front of) the sun. This only occurs in 8 year pairs every 110 years or so. The last one was in 2004, the next one won't be until 2117!
There is an EXCELLENT video and article at LATIMES.COM that explains what is happening and how scientists used the transit of Venus back when Captain James Cook was sailing to Tahiti (the last time it happened prior to 2004) to measure it for purposes of determining the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

The article also tells how you can view it safely. In Arkansas it is visible starting around 5 p.m.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-venus-transit-20120601,0,3065385.story

Astronomy is looking up! (but not directly up....at the sun, that is).

Have a great weekend! Oh, what to wear to the transit.....

MEMORIAL DAY 2012 SLIDE SHOW

WHITE RIVER WALLEYE

Look what they are catching in the low water!
This is an 11.5# walleye caught around Crooked Creek on the White. And more customers are catching smallmouth on our stretch of the river than ever before...

Water is wade-able to the Buffalo River and all along the shore below the cabins.

Tribulation Trout

Saturday had low water and the big ones were biting!

OUR NEW SIGN!

 We are very excited about the new sign being created for the resort.  After five years of patching the old one, the termites finally won the battle and we gave in...

It looks very much like our old sign, except that the rivers will be blue, the star (indicating the resort) will be red, and of course, the buffalo remains white.

Look for it when you arrive for your next visit "where the rivers meet".

See you on the river!

Hike to the Cross

IF YOU DON"T HIKE THE MOUNTAIN YOU CAN"T SEE THE VIEW

I have posted various times about the old rugged cross that overlooks Buffalo City from the top of the bluff that rises straight up from the opposite bank of the White River across from the resort. We have an article in the office that gives the history of it back to the mid-30's. Many customers make an annual trek to the top at some point during their stay, and now people come from all over just to be ferried across the river so they can climb and find the geocache hidden somewhere up there.

On Leap Day- when the high winds came through- the cross disappeared from view and we didn't know for certain whether it had blown down or blown away. Many people stopped into the office to express concern that the cross "was missing". We made arrangements with our church youth group to hike to the top and assess what needed to be done to ensure the cross would again take up its post, but before they managed to plan it, two anonymous hikers re-erected it just in time for Easter.
Next time you are headed to the resort, make you sure you look for it from the road because once you arrive, you'll be too close to see it unless you do the hike.

We're Havin' A Heat Wave...

We're breaking records today and yesterday with the high temps. (Clear and currently 84 degrees!) The weather is really nice for our Spring Break guests. Everybody is catching lots of fish- we had a guided fishing trip out this morning, several jonboats rented, and plans for canoe & kayak rentals tomorrow.
We are selling lots of firewood because tonight is going to be gorgeous! Jupiter and Venus are still visible just after sundown and Mars and Orion can also be seen. Our friend is bringing his high powered telescope down to the resort and has offered to let anybody who is interested participate in the star gazing party. There's not a cloud in the sky...
After dancing toward each other in the sky for months, the two bright planets finally come together tonight (March 13) in what's known as a conjunction. At their closest point this evening, they'll be separated by a scant 3 degrees as they hover above the western horizon. (Your clenched fist held at arm's length covers about 10 degrees).
Wish You Were Here!!!