Lite Camping

[Mallette]

For me, that means only a 2 channel system with a sub. I mentioned I was pleasantly surprised at how good the old LX-5's sounded in the garage. When I set up at Camp Lillian (our Cossatot River area property in Arkansas) I found many large bull pines had fallen across the drives since our last visit 4 years ago. My kind neighbor lent me a brand new John Deere with a blade bucket and I had a ball shoving them aside and clearing the drives. People are really awesome up there...big difference from Houston. We have a couple of trailers there, but one I am having hauled off and the other badly needed cleaning out so we took the pop up. After getting the well pump going (water is from an underground reservoir in granite and is some of the finest I've ever tasted...cold, too) and the power up, I put one speaker each under the bed wings of the camper and the sub under the floor. First up was "Shall We Gather at the River?" from the Gothic CD's I've been crowing about lately. I was stunned at the imaging and after only a little twiddling of the sub, the crossover was smooth, seamless, and the amount of bass from that little ol' Advent cabinet was astonishing. I promply confirmed this with Midnight Oil "Diesel and Dust." After dark, it was Michael Murry at St. John the Divine and his marvelous rendition of the Frank Chorale in B Minor. I suspect the hill folk found the sound of this mighty organ pretty strange emerging from the woods, as the night was dead still, cool, and cloudless. I moved back about 40 feet and the imaging was amazing. I expected the sound to dissipate rapidly without walls, but I suppose the underside of the bed wings sort of focused it.

Next moring it was Jimmy Buffet for my Florida wife...some concessions must be made.

After a big afternoon at the river getting my shoulders pounded under the falls and riding with the kids down the rapids on floats we spent the evening with the Stones and Byrds. Seemed appropriate. I closed this evening about 11pm with my piano recording of Stuart Wayne Foster. This is the gospel...as the last 30 seconds of Clair de Lune were playing, my wife and I were in total reverie with our heads back looking up at the stars through the trees, and the International Space Station traversed through our vision...at last I HOPE that's what it was. What a great sight at a great moment.

We did a lot of listening over the next days and I never changed my thoughts that the sound was extraordinary. Bass solid and clean to at least 50, imaging excellent with the wide stage only these Lineaum tweeters can provide, and no standing waves (no place to stand[]).

Back to work tomorrow.

Dave

[lwhaples]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

Larry

[IB Slammin]

Dave,

I saw your earlier post when you were in the prep stages of the trip, and meant to ask. Where on Arkansas Earth is Cossatot River?

You must know that we Arkies go to Houston for vacation.[]

Old Dallas boy in AR. for decades,

tc

[Daddy Dee]

The Cossatot River is a little north of Hope toward Mena.

[Mallette]

Dang. Sorry about the size of that picture. Forgot to resize.

Resized this one...just to show a raft-eye view of this marvelous river.

[Mallette]

Well, the secret has been out a while anyway...

The Cossatot runs from just south and east of Mena and empties into the Little River north of Ashdown. When I first went up there in the 50's the road from Wickes to the river was so bad we always used two cars as one was likely to get stuck, have a flat, or lose an oil pan. However, this bit of the river is spectacular and still so clean you can (and should) drink it. Cold and spring fed. In the summer, it is class 1 or 2 canoeing. In the spring and winter, it can be class 6 or suicide. I've seen it rise 20 feet in 30 minutes.

Now, it is an Arkansas State Scenic River and my little four acres and a spring adjoins the Primitive Area. I am in the planning to remove the largest pines with the aid of a Forester to allow my land to return to the proper hardwood/pine mix of the primitive forest.

Highly recommended...since they've just opened a 2.7 million dollar visitor center down the road and there is no point in not telling everybody...

Dave

[Mallette]

I might add for you Canoe/Kayakers...Cossatot is Caddoan for "Skull Crusher."

[IB Slammin]

Well, the secret has been out a while anyway...

The Cossatot runs from just south and east of Mena and empties into the Little River north of Ashdown. When I first went up there in the 50's the road from Wickes to the river was so bad we always used two cars as one was likely to get stuck, have a flat, or lose an oil pan. However, this bit of the river is spectacular and still so clean you can (and should) drink it. Cold and spring fed. In the summer, it is class 1 or 2 canoeing. In the spring and winter, it can be class 6 or suicide. I've seen it rise 20 feet in 30 minutes.

Now, it is an Arkansas State Scenic River and my little four acres and a spring adjoins the Primitive Area. I am in the planning to remove the largest pines with the aid of a Forester to allow my land to return to the proper hardwood/pine mix of the primitive forest.

Highly recommended...since they've just opened a 2.7 million dollar visitor center down the road and there is no point in not telling everybody...

Dave

Not familliar with the river, but know the region, and it is pretty country. Being so close to the Buffalo River, never looked down south. Nice looking water down there.

tc

[Daddy Dee]

Dave,

Beautiful pic on the river.