Buffalo River Trails

Winter's Beauty

2012-01-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

The Buffalo River area of the Arkansas Ozarks is beautiful any time of year. Winter is an excellent time for hiking. The temperatures are cooler and with most of the leaves off the trees you can see through the forest easier. A recent heavy rain perked the creeks and rivers of the area a few days ago and provided an opportunity to see some wonderful waterfalls. The Lost Valley hiking trail is located near Ponca, only minutes from Rimrock Cove Ranch. An easy trail to hike, it's a good choice for families with children. Even though it is easy, the beauty is still abundant. I made the hike with my pal Rhonda and we spent hours photographing the water along the way. Eden Falls is the large pour off at the end of the trail. A must see if you are in the area. These are some of the photographs I captured on yesterday's outing.

Eden Falls:

Plenty of fall beauty to see

2011-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here in the beautiful Ozark mountains the fall colors are making a good showing despite dry conditions for most of the summer. The autumn weather is perfect for just about any outdoor activity, but here at Rimrock Cove we tend to favor horseback riding and we hope you will, too. We have plenty of openings in the coming week so give us a call. We will be happy to arrange a guided trail ride for you. 870-553-2556 for reservations.

Morning prep time

2011-08-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Mornings are usually so pretty here. Good thing, because it's time to get ready to go riding. Here are a few shots from our "getting ready to go to work" time of day.

Scenes around Rimrock Cove Ranch

2011-08-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

It's August and it has been an incredibly hot summer all over the country, including here. We finally have some rain and relief from the heat. I was out for a ride on my mountain bike and stopped to visit some of the horses. It was so great to finally have clouds and I had to capture that in my photos of 4 month old Cici hanging out with a gelding, Tom.

I turned to go back to my bike after taking the photos above and this is what was going on. The young Suffolk mares are always curious about my bike even though they see me on it often.

Busy Trail Day

2011-02-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

There's a wonderful February warm up going on right now and it's a great time to get outdoors. Several guests have come out and enjoyed horseback riding with us in this nice weather. Don't pass up the chance to enjoy a peaceful ride through the countryside. We are also tapping the maple trees right now so there's plenty of fresh maple syrup in the pantry.

Bye Bye Mr Snowman!

Just for Fun

2011-01-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

During the busy spring, summer and fall seasons I find it hard to just get out and shoot some photos that are just for fun. Lately, there really hasn't been any excuse. We got a little snow a few days ago here at Rimrock Cove Ranch and Ben (our young stallion) just happened to be outside for the night when the snow came. He got a little excited about breakfast to say the least and wanted to show me how high he could jump. If you think a big ole draft horse can't get some height you've got another thing coming. This boy can get some air... and buck... well, take a look.

March snow

2010-04-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Late in March we experienced a spring snow that amounted to about 17 inches of deep wet white stuff. It was very pretty. The next day the sun came out and the snow began to melt slowly. Temperatures rose to the mid 50's and it seemed balmy out. It turned into a great day for a trailride. We had some guests scheduled to ride and the roads were open enough for them to come out to Rimrock. It's not everyday that we get to go out and ride in the snow in the sunshine with our sleeve rolled up. What a beautiful day!

Maple Syrup Season

2010-02-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

During the spring, summer and fall our visitors often ask if we get snow here in the winter. I always answer yes, but not a lot. This year is different. Here's another snowfall that is absolutely beautiful. Great to go with our Maple syrup gathering and cooking season. Now is the time to come out and join us as we go out into the woods and gather the sap from our maple trees. You can go for a ride on our horse drawn wagon and help collect the sap. We have a small sugar shack this year for the cooking process and you can come in and watch that as well. Stonewall cabin is available at the winter rate right now so jump on the chance to get here and be a part of the winter season. It only lasts another month! And the maple syrup..... it's really great.

Snow and a full moon

2010-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

Wow! We've had a beautiful 6 inch snow and last night a beautiful full moon. Stonewall's cabin looks warm and cozy, just like a Christmas card. What a pretty night.

2010-01-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

How bout a Special for the upcoming Valentine's Weekend! Come stay with us over Valentines Weekend and enjoy a FREE (yes I said free) portrait session. From Maffei-Albers Photography. This is a $100 value. Call us to reserve the cabin at 870-553-2556.

Apple Cider Time

2009-10-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

It's fall now and that means it's time to make apple juice here at Rimrock. We do it the old fashioned way (of course). Make plans to come out and go horseback riding, the fall colors are happening now and will be changing over the course of the next month!

Abby

2009-04-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Jackie was due to foal around April 10 and we were watching for signs that she might deliver soon. On Monday morning, April 6, everything appeared normal, but not neccessarily ready for a baby. We had made arrangements to take our cabin guests out for a hayride and horseback ride at lunchtime. We left out on our ride around noon with a pregnant Jackie in the pasture. Upon returning after a few hours we were suprised to see a pretty little red foal standing beside Jackie.... in the middle of the day! It was certainly an exciting thing for our guests to see, too.

My husband and I talked about it and thought we might name the little filly "April".

When I saw our guests the next day, they asked what we had named the foal and I told them. One of the little 4 year old girls thought that was a sweet name for the baby horse. That little girl's name is Abby. After a while, I talked with my husband about it and we decided that maybe a better name for the filly would be "Abby", after our sweet little guest. The name seems to fit well. Abby is healthy and energetic and it is a joy to look out the window and watch them from time to time. If all goes well, Abby will one day become one of our saddle horses.

Driving Ben

2009-03-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

It's an annual happening....early spring field work.

Every year in the fall after the last hay cutting, we put some of the horses out to graze in the hay field. They usually stay there during the fall and into the winter. Naturally they leave behind a lot of manure piles and in the spring, before the grass begins to grow, the piles have to be busted up. The guys who left the piles behind are the ones who have the honor of pulling the drag to spread the manure piles. This year our young stallion "Ben" was ready for training so he got to get in on all the fun. He is the one in the middle. That's "Ike" on the left and "Gus" on the right. Ike and Gus are brothers and work together well. Ben has been working with them for the last two days and is doing great. I have been the outrider on horseback so I was able to capture some photos. Enjoy.

Approaching Spring

2009-03-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new blog site for Rimrock Cove Ranch, legendary horseback riding facility in the upper Buffalo National River area of the Ozark Mountains.

Winter's ice storm was harsh on our area, but recovery continues. We have been working hard to reopen our trails for guests to enjoy riding again this year. Spring is so close and we always look forward to it... it's fun to see all the wild flowers reappear, each in turn, and to remember their names and where they bloom from year to year. The days will warm and the opportunities for outdoor enjoyment blossom along with the trees and flowers.

Saying "goodbye" to winter soon, I hope to keep you posted on the activities and events at Rimrock Cove for the coming year. Maybe you will want to join us..... visit us at www.buffalorivertrails.com .