Last year 2025 was the crazy train of scaling the Old Farm in Southern IL back and moving what was left to NewHome in South East Missouri (SEMO) twenty two 7 hour round trips. And before that sorting, selling off or giving away everything I was not keeping and then packing and loading everything I was keeping. I finished that up the Second week of June and then took a 3 week vacation to Coastal NC Jacksonville area and came back the second week of July with my Fiance from Richlands NC. Then it was go like hell building everything we wanted (Can see my other post about all that LOL) Finished building all of that and part of the 2026 to do list as a bonus. So got a couple years of building done over 5 months. I kind of went dormant from December to present plotting out the 2026 plans Then that blizzard began and made the hibernation and 2026 planning a lot more justifiable We ended up with 18 inches of snow in our little valley. That is a lot of snow for SE Missouri followed by 3 weeks of just COLD -2 to +20. Yeah I know not cold for a lot of you but damned cold for SEMO and Southern IL for weeks. We somehow managed to struggle through it Even though we were nearly at the point of starvation by the time it started to warm up again. After the warm up and the snow was gone or we started venturing out and exploring the rivers and lakes access points and campgrounds and parks in the Mark Twain National forest that is going to be the bulk of our 2026 activities. This is the Current River Van Buren Public Access. It is about a 90 minute drive on snakey roads from NewHome. We have been checking out the public and private access points from Baptist Camp up by Salem MO down to Van Buren and Van Buren is where we ended that days exploration. We waited until HWY 34 was cleared before we took off exploring. Those snakey roads are crazy when they are snow packed and melt and then refreeze! Got a picture going over the St Francis River coming out of the St Francois Mtn Range. We live in the foot hills of the St Francois Range. A large part of why I chose to buy NewHome here in the Ozarks where I did, was because of the number of Rivers and Lakes within a 90 minute radius of home. The Current River being the Farthest out, then Clear Water Lake and the Black River, then the St Francis River and finally the Castor River only 10 minutes West of us. Then the Mark Twain Forest and all of the parks and conservation areas and that is just along HWY 34 between here and Van Buren. We really have not even started exploring North up HWY 67 to Farmington and that area yet. McDonald's in Piedmont has became our stop and take a break and have a snack and coffee primary stop. We have also been gearing up for the 2026 adventuring over the winter. Our last Kayak arrived yesterday. It is a battleship of a Kayak A Brooklyn 13 Pro Tandem with a 800 pound weight capacity. We needed something that would hold us and 3 nights worth of gear and supplies for longer trips on the rivers doing camp as we go. This one achieves that and is super stable as a bonus, you have to pretty much have to work to roll it over. I love the Pelican Catch PWR 100 Kayaks they are versatile in propulsion and can be a paddler, a battery and trolling motor or a 3hp Gas Job Outboard and have a 500 pound weigh capacity. The PWR 100 is a straight up designed for fishing Kayak. I am a Pelican Brand in General fan so I got a Pelican Catch Mode 110 to see if it would be a viable addition to the fleet LOL. It is 325 Pound weight Capacity very comfortable and can handle a lot faster water than the other two. It is also a sit on top fishing style Kayak. I am not a fan of the sportier sit in Kayaks at my age of 57 LOL I want Comfort and I not much interest in doing fast moving white water now days. It has enough weight capacity for me, is really stable, comfortable and leaves enough capacity for 85 pounds of camping gear and supplies for a night or two of camping along the rivers. We have been talking about it and are going to buy two more Kayaks another Mode 110 and another PWR 100. The Mode 110s are lighter and don't draft very deep and we can each be in one on the faster rivers with more gravel bars and not have to get out and drag over much. The PWR 100s are going to primarily be for the lakes and rigged with 4 stroke 3hp outboards and paddles. A lot more fun to motor around lakes than it is to paddle around lakes LOL. Lorrie has two more Kayak's at her place in NC. that she used on the inter coastal waterway. We are debating whether to leave them there to use when we go back to NC a couple of times per year, sell them or bring them here. LOL we really don't need 7 Kayaks here and it is fun on the intercoastal waterway in them. Yeah I knwo OPSEC Blah Blah Blah I don't care about all of that nonsense, if someone feels the need to track me down out here with Ill Intent I hope they bring lots of stuff for me to take from them. Every building and piece of the property around the buildings and the bridge and road have cameras watching and recording everything that sets the motion sensors off And sends a alert to my phone or the Chime in the house and lets me watch a recording or real time. So not a lot happens here or approaches here that I don't know about instantly NewHome is in a small Valley at 600 feet Elevation surrounded by big hills or small mountains ongoing debate as to whether they are small mtns or big hills LOL. I could care less either way. The Peak of the NW is like 900 feet elevation and the peak of my backyard is like 800 feet elevation. If I drive the side by side up it is a big hill, if I walk up it is a big mountain LOL. The Road where it Ys to the right is my private bridge over the creek and road. The neighbors on the other side of the valley are great folks and I have formed very good friendships with them. We are all on about the same page on everything including watching each others properties and mutual protection. And we have the same malfunctions with the Trashy Inbred Hill Folk toward the front of our road. A colony of Convicts, and Drug Addicts........ Not much different in that regard than my old road at the old farm. As long as they keep their nonsense up there we get along great. When their dogs are digging under my fences and killing my chickens and the .45-70 barks they know they just lost another dog I tried to get them to keep their dogs contained for Months....... After losing 50+ chickens to them..... I just shoot them now and call the Sheriff and report I killed another one of their dogs so there is a record of it in case it escalates beyond dogs and chickens. And I am polite I do throw the dead dogs in the back of the side by side and dump the bodies at the end of their driveway. Because I am nice like that I have nothing against the dogs and it sucks for them that they have POS owners. Overall it is totally peaceful here with very low property taxes, no one really bothers us at the end of the road, great adjacent neighbors. A good field of fire and crossfire for any trouble that comes down the road. A nice little creek out front that clearly marks the North Property line and provides me with endless rocks for my various rock projects. And just overall a great place that I chose to call my place to retire. Both Myself and Lorrie are retired yeah fairly young. So we can stay home on the weekends and do our camping and watering through the week when there is almost no one else on the water or in the parks and campgrounds. LOL I have made the mistake of being on the current river on holiday weekends with so many people, kayaks and Canoes that it was like 3 days of bumper boats. I have been on it through the week when you might see 4-5 other people over 4 days. I am just not a peoplely person, I mean I don't dislike people until they do stuff like talk and breathe and I just don't like that. What I do like is driving off into the St Francois Mountain Range to the rivers, lakes, natl forest parks, trails and camping Monday through Friday Morning knowing it will pretty much be just us and not having to deal with very many people at all. And the people we do run across being about like us in the regard. Being Retired young enough and in good health to enjoy it...... Yeah I made a good life plan on that one I looked at a lot of RVs and Campers and they are just really expensive JUNK even the alleged higher end models So when I was selling off my trailers, I traded that big 8x24 Homesteader Cargo Trailer down for this new 7x16 Homesteader trailer and got a few thousand back in the deal. We are going to convert it to our travel trailer, RV and camper. I bought some RV windows for it, laminate flooring, A potable and grey water tank and pump system, some cabinets and a 8' hardwood counter top, A 5000watt quiet run generator that barely makes a hum, and a queen size bed. Now we just need to cut out the windows, weld in some laterals and put the windows in and put everything together. Trailer itself if I had bought it $8000 the Stuff to convert it $4000 Still need a Roof Mount AC/Heat unit and a awning on the side estimated $2500 for those. So for $16,500 We get a Custom, rock solid Camper that is 1000X better quality than the Junky ass Modern RVs and Campers that cost $20,000-$50,000. Makes sense to me LOL. And the final recreational project is going to be converting the 12' Utility trailer into a Kayak and Gear Hauler. Pretty simple really put a frame in the stake pockets on the trailer that raises the Kayaks 2' over the trailer rails with Eye Bolts for straps and some cradles to haul up to 4 Kayaks 2 on the floor and two above. Or 2 Kayaks above and gear below. The Car/suv can pull this with ease. I refuse to pay the crazy shuttle fees folks charge for picking you up at the river take outs or driving your truck and trailer to the take out point. LOL We will take the Truck and Car and do our own shuttling. Even burning the extra gas it is a lot less than the shuttle services. Yeah I hit a big rock with the trailer lack and bent the hell out of it LOL. This is why we should always raise those jacks all the way up And that is where the program is at right now. Just planning, touring and exploring and enjoying life.
Congrats on your new life . Sounds pretty damned nice. You've sure been thru a whirlwind of situations in the short period of time I've been on this site ,, and for the most part ,, you've come out better throughout them all. I'm looking forward to your summer pics from the lakes and rivers . And some of them monster fish you're gonna pull out of them rivers . Congratulations to the both of you ,, and best of luck for your future.
Looking forward to the Rainbow Trout and Small Mouth in the current rive and the Smallmouth and Walleye in the Black River below the Clear Water Dam.
Thank you for sharing how things are going. I enjoy hearing how other people are doing. Loved watching you do the ponds at your old place. Sounds like you have a great place to retire to. I used to love being on the water in my sail boat. Sometimes being slow and quiet about dawn can be one of God's greatest gifts. It was good to sit quietly and watch nature at its best.
Good to hear all is going well for you and that your in good health and good spirits. 4 cycle, 3 horsepower outboard?? That's no kayak, that's a creek boat. Looks like fun. Must be nice to go paddling where there are no gators.
