Roadbook #3 – Gilbert, Arkansas

After the awesomest wedding in Conway, Thomas and I hit the road to Gilbert, Arkansas. Gilbert is a small town – no, really small – like population of 63-small – and it’s nestled along the Buffalo River in the Ozark Mountains of north-central Arkansas. Gilbert is the home of Danny & Elvie Elliott and their Ozark International Hostel (where we were going to meet up with some other guys and spend the weekend).

Gilbert’s finest restaurant – actually, it’s only restaurant, The Gilbert Cafe, is just down the street from the hostel. And on an average night, you’ll be able to hear a local musician pick away at his guitar and banjo played through an amp that’s mounted to the back of his 4-wheeler. I think he likes Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line” because he plays it quite a bit.

On a REALLY good night, a band of hillbillies will come in, clear the floor, set up some chairs and a mic and play some of the best Ozark bluegrass you can imagine. And these are hillbillies with the overalls, barefeet, pointed hat and even the missing teeth.

But I digress…

Thomas and I arrived late on Friday night and pretty much went straight to bed. On Saturday morning we had breakfast, played around, and got ready for our 2-3 hour float trip.  I’m proud to say that none of us tipped over on our way down the Buffalo and no one got sunburned either.

Taking a swim / snack break during the canoe trip...

Saturday night was dinner at the Gilbert Cafe, bananas foster back at the hostel  and then our obligatory fogata (Spanish: a bonfire) out in the front yard. And you can’t have a bonfire without roasting marshmallows!

Sunday morning we hit the road again for Fayetteville and caught the Spanish Mass and met with some friends before heading back home to Alma. It was a long trip, but it was a lot of fun.