News

The Pavillion

A pavillion now stands on Eleven Acre Island. Centrally located in a grove of
towering pines and dogwoods the pavillion is a delightful refuge from the
weather. Food preparation is easy even for a large group in the open air stone
kitchen equipped with a 41,000 BTU gas grill with heat-tent burners and large
griddle. The large timbers for the pavillion were placed by hand and are rigidly
held in place by deeply bolted angle iron.

While constructing the pavillion we stumbled
upon one of Cadron Boy's caches inside the
hollow of an old stump. Sealed inside a small
leather wrap we found a few dried mushrooms,
acorns and seeds and a tattered worn-out bible
(to our knowledge Cadron Boy cannot read).
We left his belongings as we found them with a
tootsie roll--both were gone the following
morning.

We are in a drought! Although swimming and fishing have been nothing less
than delightful--paddling has been a drag! This has given ample opportunity to
develop our swim holes and enhance our waterways. Several tons of rock have
been moved to develop some outstanding playholes. When the rains return this
fall and the water rises we invite you to come rodeo with us and surf our new
waves.

Wow! For our second annual 4th of July bash we
invited the entire community of Guy to come join in on
the festivities--there was swimming and diving from
the rocks at Cabin Hole, lots of good food--barbeque
chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.--and of course,
plenty of fireworks. This year the fireworks were
launched from the upper field--near the future bath
house--so that they could be seen for miles! We had
a blast!

Batesville Mountain Campground may always be our most scenic campground
but the steep terrain and its limited access prevents us from developing it into a
full-fledged facility (plus we like the idea of having a more primitive and rustic
campground on the river). So our energies have been focused on improving
Pinnacle Springs Campground--and as we thin the tress and improve the shoals
it may just surpass Batesville Mountain in beauty. We have about a dozen
designated campgrounds on Eleven Acre Island now plus a pavillion (see
below). Future plans include a playground, a second pavillion, more campsites
and another cabin.

Road Building

One of the first things paddlers and campers will notice upon entering Pinnacle
Springs Campground is our new roads. First, Cargile Lane is now paved right to
our front gate and future store. Even more important to those who remember the
muddy, steep road down to our river access and Eleven Acre Island is that tons
of gravel have been hauled in and the road graded so that even the oldest jalopy
should have no trouble making it down--and up--the hill. We also have a new low
water bridge spanning the slough to Eleven Acre Island and the campground.
With our labors come many interesting tales.

Road building takes its toll! After this accident
we had to beg Roger's Quarry to deliver the
more than 400 tons of gravel that was needed.