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JoplinOutdoors.com Newsletter October 2018
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Let’s get less trashy! We will be joining forces to remove trash from Redings Mill Bridge to the Joplin Falls by way of Wildcat Glades Park. So, put on your best trash collecting outfit and meet us at Wildcat Glades Creek Pavilion on October 6th at 9:30 a.m. This will be physical work. Sturdy shoes are required. Wear sunscreen and remember you will be outside. We will provide pairs of gloves and trash bags. Everyone who pre-registers will receive a water bottle. If you have specific questions, please contact Lauren at lcopple10@gmail.com We welcome kids over 10. However, kids must be accompanied by an adult. Liability waivers will be required.
At the Siloam Springs Kayak Park. This two-day course will be an action-packed, and fun-filled weekend! Our ACA certified instructors have a wealth of knowledge to pass on to you & your family about self-rescues and rescuing others in a river environment. This course does not have any prerequisites. Although, this is the preceding course to the ACA L3 one day course that we teach throughout the summer. These courses fill up fast! Sign up today at ArkansasOutdoorOutfitters.com . Cost $135 for two days! For questions or needing equipment, please
call Rob at 479-957-8118.
Location: Creek Pavilion at Wildcat Glades Park Cost: Free due to Wildcat Glades Friends Group membership donations. Ages 7-12 Pre-registration is strongly suggested due to limited space. To register email robin@wildcatglades.org Discover which animals are nocturnal through various activities. Continue the adventure with a twilight hike. Expand your knowledge of nature through this great opportunity.
Fall Hike with Craft – Nov 10th at 2:00 PM – 5:30 P.M.
We are teaming up with our friends over at Wildcat Glades Friends Group to put on our first kids hike. So bundle up and join us as we explore Wildcat Glades and the creatures that call it home. After we are done exploring join us for crafts. We will also have a photographer on hand to provide parents with free fall portraits of their children. To register please email beccasbigsmile@gmail.com.
News & Announcements
More SUP Classes Next Year
JoplinSUP.com held its first classes this year with huge turnouts. Both Kenneth Bogle and Matthew Brogan were very happy with the success and turn out of the classes. However, as the season changes so does the interest in being on the water. So JoplinSUP.com has decided to end classes for the year and will plan to start again next May.
Last Lap Kayaks Season Ends!
Last Lap Kayaks will end our rental season on October 31st. We are still available for personal shuttling year round. We will see everyone next year on May 1st. Thank you. Call (620) 210-1378 for more information or visit http://lastlap.joplinoutdoors.com/
Group Cleans Shoal Creek
Last month JoplinKayak.com cleaned four miles of shoal creek with huge success! With the help of landowners and over 20 volunteers, we were able to pull several truckloads of trash and tires. Here is a short list of just a few things we pulled out. 72 tires, 85 bags of trash, 2 shopping carts, 2-55 gallon drums, sheet metal, and much more.
It all started on Sunday morning, August 26th, 2018 on a special trip to the Buffalo River for the day. I was excited, as this was my second time in the last three months to be going there and experiencing once again what I call heaven on earth!! Little did I know that this time it would be different, little did I know that at some point that day I would experience being in the moment – in the now – where nothing else matters but those few seconds of life!
I’ve always had a love for the outdoors and for nature. I have always loved to fish and be on the water but somewhere through the years, I feel as though I lost that; I lost myself and who I was and what I like to do. It’s funny how life and how relationships can cause that. This year though, that all changed for me on my first trip to the Buffalo River. I visited Ponca, Arkansas, going hiking at Lost Valley and Hawksbill Crag (also known as Whitaker point). I was captivated. I was in awe and I was in heaven. So my love for nature was refreshed. I came back home and started looking for more local trails, started fishing more than ever and even found a local group in town, Joplin Outdoor Adventures, where I made new friends and started volunteering my time. I feel as though I’ve developed friendships that I know will last a lifetime. It’s funny how we get all wrapped up in life, the city life and technology, we get lost in it if we aren’t careful. It captivates us and takes over, and we forget what is really around us. We forget what has been placed in front of us – our surroundings, that thing called mother nature and how beautiful she is, how refreshing and how good it is for the soul. All of this is what led to the most surreal life experience on a Sunday evening, at The Lost Valley Eden Falls in Ponca, Arkansas.
A group of us went for the day to explore and hike to have fun together and embrace and share the love of nature and all her beauty. We went for a hike at Lost Valley in hopes that just maybe there would be enough rain that Eden Falls would be flowing. Sure enough, we got back there and water was flowing. Three of us in the group decide to hike up to the very top where there is a cave and in the back of this cave, behold there is a waterfall. I knew this waterfall was there but had not been back to it before. We get to the top and start to admire the beauty, even the salamanders that live within, we slowly work our way back towards the waterfall room. Walking, crawling, wiggling our body around the tight spaces in order to get back there. We reach the back and I was just in awe. I was captivated and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was a waterfall in the cave that was unreal.
What happens next no words can truly describe, but I do know it was surreal. I make my way up to the waterfall and stand under it with my head looking up and arms spread out wide, the cold water just pouring on me and overtaking my soul. I was in awe. I was in the moment, nothing in the world mattered for those few seconds. Every worry I had in life, every concern, every heartbreak, all the bad, stress, sadness, depression was just gone. I was truly in the moment. To some, this may sound crazy and bizarre but I truly felt like I had an out of body experience for those few seconds! We spent a few moments there in the cave then made our way out. All I could think of was WOW and what just happened. It made me stop and think about life and what other experiences are out there like this for us to experience. I want to experience that as much as possible.
I say all this to tell everyone to take time to stop the business in life and look at nature and her surroundings, stop and breathe in the air, find a local trail or body of water, take the unbeaten path at times. If you’re driving down the road and you see a body of water, a field of flowers, an overlook, a sunset or even just the night sky, stop everything, pull over and take in the moment. Let it overtake you, let it seize your soul let it have control. Capture it and never let it go. I promise you this: if you do, you will feel something different, something real and refreshing, and possibly something so amazing words truly cannot describe it.
Founder Notes
Huge thanks to everyone who has helped with all the Demo Swaps and River Cleanups this year! Without members like you, we wouldn’t have an awesome group as we have. Thank you to the Mods and Admins of the different pages that fall under Joplin Outdoor Adventures. You all do a wonderful job keeping the drama and spam in check! Without you, our pages wouldn’t be considered so friendly and helpful to others. Let’s continue to help each other as we move forward.
Kenneth Bogle
