Life in Little Rock sounds great to me

The Little Rock Regional Chamber’s initiative Life in Little Rock sounds great to me. 

I liked Jack Thomas’ list of some of our recreational offerings: “Arts, hiking, biking, kayaking, hunting, fishing, music.” The Arkansas River is an incredible resource for family recreation, and I think lots of Little Rock folks may not know of some of its offerings. 

For the last several years I’ve spent time daily on the Arkansas River Trail. I pick up litter both on the trail, but also along the river bank, sometimes in my canoe. Here are a few things I have observed as people delight in our beautiful city.

During duck season, it is common to see hunters put their boat in at the River Mountain Park boat ramp. They use the Army Corps of Engineers’ maps of the Arkansas River and find a spot. The ramp is a half-mile from the I-430 bridge, and as one hunter told me as he showed me his ducks killed that day: “And I can do it before I go to work.” 

September was Canadian Goose season. I saw two young men down there two days in a row, and they showed me the three geese killed on one of those days. And then they’re off to work.

Lots of fishing goes on from River Mountain Park. It is common to see bank fishing, but I have counted as many as 16 vehicles with trailers at one time. Some are serious about it. One couple fishes down there not only because of their love of bass fishing, but because they keep their skills and equipment tuned up for bass tournaments. Last week the man was fishing near Jimerson Creek Bridge, about a hundred yards from the Big Dam Bridge. He told me that while it was slow that morning, the last few days in his words he had “hammered” them. He takes pictures and releases the bass.

For five years, at least one of our sons has participated in the Rock City Rowing program. You can see the boathouse right next to the River Mountain boat ramp, and the kids and boats are often out on the Little Maumelle River. It is a small program but competitive. Our team has had two girls go onto college on rowing scholarships. I like it for our kids because it gets them outside on the water in nature with a group of kids who value fitness. 

It seems to me to be like a church camp regatta, a very healthy activity. We don’t have the eight-person boats, but we do have several quads. It is a great spectator sport for the bank fishers. 

Multiple times in my life I have made vacation trips for outdoor recreation where my accommodations were farther from the water than the distance from my home in Little Rock to the River Mountain Park and the Arkansas River Trail. What was I thinking?