We’ve made it to our next stop on the Josh Turns 40 World Tour; Ray and Karen’s nearly 400 acre private property located deep (I’m talking like we don’t have service for 20 miles give or take deep) in the heart of Big Fork, Arkansas. We are directly in the center of Ouachita Mountains and we have free range of the entire property.
Ray is a kind, soft spoken story teller and Karen is the knows no stranger, is going to take care of you so well you’ll never want to leave southern grandma. And bonus points - they adore kids.
They have 7 large ponds here that are stocked and spring fed. The photo below shows just one of those ponds. The spring on their property that feeds into the ponds is ice cold, crystal clear and pumps thousands of gallons of water an hour. Crystal Geyser Water actually fills their trucks up at Ray and Karen’s spring and has a small plant about 30 miles east of here. If you’ve ever had Crystal Geyser Water, you’ve probably drank from Ray and Karen’s property.
There are 4 resident bald eagles that we can view from the sunroom along with cattle, bear and deer. As we pulled in and were greeted by Ray, a giant 8 point buck casually strolled through the front yard like a friendly neighbor. Ray told us we’d see more deer than we’d even bargain for. Josh was too busy drooling over the deer to hear that part.
We were sad to see Ray making the trek alone to greet us. He said it was too hot for Molly, the canine welcoming committee everyone loves so much from the reviews. I can’t wait to meet her.
The house is an older country home with basic, older furnishing. It reminds Josh and I both of a lot of our childhood. The road itself, though much longer, reminds me of the road that takes me back to my Uncle Ronnie and my great-grandpa Bowman’s property.
One of the creeks that run through their property, Kate’s Creek, has quite the Indian past and is a geology geek’s playground. You cannot keep me out of my uncle’s creek and I can promise you won’t keep me out of Ray and Karen’s.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I was really wanting to surprise Josh for his 40th by specifically searching for places off of the beaten path that could incorporate all of the things he enjoys doing. It’s a trip that is specifically tailored to him. It had started as a plan to surprise him with a trip to Vegas including his friends and ended this way. I’m so glad it did 
I cannot wait to see the stars here at night. There is not a soul around for miles except for Ray and Karen. The property itself mixed with Ray and Karen’s perfect amount of hospitality is going to make this a “come back to” spot. I cannot wait to bring the kids here one day.
And I really can’t wait to play with the baby cow that was born yesterday. I see you back there, you sweet little milk carton, and I’m going to snuggle the shit out of you.
Ray and Karen are retired school teachers with big hearts, kind smiles and are made from head to toe with the nearly extinct southern charm. The ‘bake you muffins and dropping them off while telling you if you catch any fish from the pond they’re happy to fry it up for you’ kind of charm. They are amazing.
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