Life at a "Swell's" pace

Crystal Springs, Arkansas 🠊 Rowland, Oklahoma

We said our goodbyes to everyone except my parents, sister, and my niece. Kendra and Natalie came with us to downtown Hot Springs to fill our water bottles for our trip back to Oregon. We walked around downtown and took a few pictures. We were sad to leave Hot Springs, but we had to get on the road before it got too late. Natalie rode with us on the bus back to Crystal Springs. We had one last goodbye with everyone before we were really on the road back to Oregon. We stopped at the old gas station, and café my mom used to own. The liquor store (Lewis Liquor) is still in operation and ran by someone I graduated high school with. I stopped in to say hello and goodbye to him, while we stopped to visit one last time with my family. After tearful goodbyes to everyone, we got on the road finally around 9:00 p.m. We drove a few miles down the road and pulled over at a gas station near Mountain Harbor to readjust things and collect our thoughts. All three of us were sad to leave, especially looking out of the bus windows and seeing everyone in my family crying. It's a shame that we live so far away, but I love our life on the west coast. It's a hard choice to make, but 20 years ago when we made that decision to move, I still don't regret any of it.

Skylar and Daddy (Papa) walking around my parent's yard and talking. I was on the bus folding and handing clothes and noticed the moment. I loved looking up and seeing my dad talking with Skylar about things.

Daddy took us on a hike on the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) to see the bench my dad sponsors in memory of my Nana, who passed away in 2011. Hardy and Calvin were already in the backseat of my dad's truck and was ready to go. It was a wonderful bench in her memory and it warmed my heart to have my dad take us there. I could tell that my dad must go here often when he rides his bike and seats at the bench. My dad and my Nana were really close and it breaks my heart for him that she is gone. I took several pictures of the bench to have for my own memories and thoughts. My Nana was a neat lady. She always had a different view on life than most and I feel I got a lot of her insights and perspective. We all miss her so much, and I feel our whole family hasn't been the same since she passed.

The plants were just as I remembered as a kid walking in the woods pretending to be brave. The picture on the right is a seedpod, but it looks like a fossil.

We stopped at the water spigot that poured spring water from the hillside. This water spigot has been here since I was young and when we would ride our bikes over the hill and along the trail we would stop and fill up our water bottles. I love that I was able to share all of these experiences with Skylar. He enjoys the same things I do and he and I both had a great time spending the afternoon with my dad.

We all gathered back at my parent's house and took a lot of pictures for everyone. It's been a long time since we were all together like this, so it was nice to be able to take pictures and cherish the moment that we did have.

I had to take pictures of the bus sitting on my parent's property. It was so funny walking out of my parent's house and seeing the bus sitting near the barn. Definitely a cool story to add to our book of life.

Jeff sprayed out the filters and cleaned up the engine. We are working up plans to get a better flow of air to the engine to cool it off better, especially after going through Moab, Utah.

We said our last goodbyes to Will and his family, and Ryan. We would be seeing everyone else again, but they were driving back home and Ryan had to go to work. It was bittersweet, but we will be making this trip again, hopefully in 2026.

Skylar made sure we avoided hitting anything as we came down the driveway, including my dad's small pine tree he was trying to protect.

We filled up our water bottles at one of the many Hot Springs Mountain Valley Water dispensers downtown. This particular water fill system is maintained by the Hot Springs National Park with the city maintaining it daily.

Another first experience for Skylar. He was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but we moved away when he was six months old. Each time we come back to visit he gets a little more experience of the area where his life began. Time goes by so fast. It makes me cry typing this out. I wish we had more time.

Skylar, Kendra, and Natalie.

The sad goodbyes. I made sure to take a picture to look back on when I got homesick later on down the road. I felt like I was the one being left behind and they were all leaving me. It was a strange feeling.

🠊 Crystal Springs, Arkansas

April 9 and April 10 we drove to my brother's new house he just bought. He had signed papers on the house a few days before and hadn't moved in yet. We got a tour of the house and the property, as well as the shop building on the property. It was in a good neighborhood, and that is one of the pluses, in our opinion. We sat on the back deck and waited for my sister and brother-in-law to arrive. Before we left my parent's house with my dad, we drove to Lake Hamilton School that morning to see how much the school has expanded. I graduated from Lake Hamilton and it didn't look anything like when I went to school there. I couldn't believe how much the school has even grown since I moved from Arkansas 20 years ago. After we spent the day with my dad, we headed back to my parent's house where my mom was making my favorite, chicken and dumplings. We all sat around my parent's dining room table catching up and enjoying the evening. We all still were talking about the eclipse and how incredible it was to watch together. (The sign below is a sign that still stands on the road my parents live on. It reads, "Crystal Springs Mercantile and Café" that my mom once owned in Crystal Springs. It was bittersweet to see it.)

On April 11 we went for a bike ride with my dad and sister on the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail and through areas of Downtown Hot Springs. It was a nice ride and a good time to spend with our dad. Downtown Hot Springs looks the same as I remember. I wish I could get home more, but living in Oregon it's hard. I am glad we were able to fit in this many days to visit.

On April 12 we cleaned up the bus and threw away trash, wiped down surfaces, and organized clothes and food. We ended up leaving a few things with my parents because they didn't work out on the trip. One of the items was a freezer basket we bought at a yard sale that we were using for sodas, but the amount of space it took up wasn't feasible. My mom said she would find something to use it for. We also let the ducks swim in my dad's pond and my dad said it was the first time that any ducks have been in the pond. Just knowing our ducks were the first made me really happy. My dad had a smile on his face while they were swimming around, and that made us even happier to see that. Later in the day we went to the kid's baseball game. My nephews and my brother did a great job at the game and I always love seeing kids play baseball. They always get distracted and play in the dirt, or with butterflies. It makes the games more enjoyable. After the baseball game we went to my sister's house and had dinner. Skylar and Natalie rode around on the ATV and Kendra showed me her garden, flowers, and some newly hatched birds in her birdhouse. She thinks they are Robins, but she wasn't sure. We ended the night on a good note and headed back to my parent's house for the night.