Hot Springs AR Blog

The place for Lake Hamilton news and views, Hot Springs happenings, updates and additions to the Hot Springs AR Info website and sometimes just Clay's opinion! Something you'd like to ad? Feel free to comment at
hot-springs-ar-blog.blogspot.com or by using the Contact form.

Aug 21, 2008, Lake Hamilton 2008 Drawdown Schedule

Entergy has released the Lake Hamilton & Lake Catherine Drawdown Schedule for the 2008 season. Actually, it came out in the June 2008 issue of Entergy's "Life on the Lakes" newsletter, I just failed to put it in the blog until now! Here it is, just as it appeared in the newsletter:

Aug 18, 2008, New Dog Park for Hot Springs

That's what it's called - the Hot Springs Bark Park! And it will be located at the corner of Shady Grove Road and Hollywood Avenue along Hot Springs Creek. Isn't it about time Hot Springs had a dog park for off-leash play and exercise? Well, we think so! That's why the Hot Springs Bark Park Association is working hard to make it a reality!

Visiting the park will be absolutely FREE and open to all (as long as you follow the rules!). We're shooting for an October ground-breaking and we can use all the help we can get!

The City of Hot Springs has graciously donated the land and $40,000 to start the project, but the Bark Park needs volunteers to help maintain the facility, and money to help complete the project!

Get more info on the Hot Springs Bark Park, and we hope to see you there!

Thanks.........Clay

Jul 25, 2008, Stolen car fished out of Lake Hamilton

Some of you might find this interesting; I was called out by the Garland Co. Sheriff early one morning back in May. It seems they were checking out a tip on the whereabouts of a stolen car when they ran up on a stolen boat in the same area. The boat is what they called me for but I just had to stick around and see what unfolded...

Jul 23, 2008, It is alive!

Hey Boys & Girls,

Sorry I've been silent for so long. Life gets in the way here too, just like it does at your house. Boy, have we got some catching up to do!

Lake Hamilton seems to be as busy as ever, despite high fuel prices and a poor economic outlook. Perhaps my theory is finally proven correct?

Jun 9, 2008, Guardian Asset Protection Services

Guardian Asset Protection Services - Who keeps an eye on your Hot Springs assets when you're away?

Nov 24, 2007, Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving went well. Mine was interesting in that I happened to come into possession of my Grandfather's memoirs...

...Edmund Davis Hays, now age 94, was not a famous man by any means. He is a WWII vet, having served on the USS Lovering in the pacific theater, but was no hero either (except perhaps to my family). He's just a regular American, an "Average Joe" whose story happens to be awe inspiring...

...you know your Grandparents well, right? That's what I thought too...this is not the barrel-chested, often gruff and somewhat cold at times Grandfather I thought I knew!

...I will not attempt to relay the entire story but offer a quick summation for your amazement:

Born in 1913, Urbana, IL; Mother died from injury during a storm at age 9, 1923, after which he became the primary caregiver for his younger brother; Father forced to leave to find work, he and younger brother stayed in boarding houses or rented rooms off-and-on from 1925 to 1932 (met my Grandmother at one of these); first "real" job, "water boy" on road construction crew in Emporia, KS at age 12, 1926, using a bicycle he talked the hardware store owner into giving him on credit; started working the area's wheat fields at age 13, 1927; graduated high school in 1932, now assisting his Dad in supporting younger brother; hit the road in search of work, 1935, thumbed & rode the rails all over western US; married my Grandmother, moved to Climax, CO for mine work, 1936; bought farm land, moved to AR, 1939; joined US Navy, 1943-45. And one particularly timely reference was Thanksgiving dinner, 1936...beans, in a half-cabin, half-tent outfit on top of a snowy mountain in sub-zero temperatures.

...at this point I realize I know absolutely nothing of hardship! Plus, I've learned there was a whole other side of my Grandfather I never knew about, and I have a thousand questions I want to ask him...
(Click link below for "the rest of the story")

Nov 10, 2007, It's done! My lake is gone : (

Well, it's done, my beautiful Lake Hamilton is down for the season and as usual, my spirit went right down the drain with it! Speaking of drains, they (Entergy) didn't mess around this time. They usually take it down 6-8 inches a day but somebody yanked the plug and it dropped about 3 feet in the first 2 days! Ease up there fellas, it's harder to maintain/adjust our docks and such when you go so freakin fast!

The process should've been done by yesterday although I noticed this morning that they took it a little further last night. I adjusted for 5 ft. people! Now they've screwed us all up yet again but they'll probably let it come back up a bit. My neighbor had a booger of a time getting his boat out this morning and had to move it to the outside of his dock so he can go fishing later.

Here's a visual reference for you; this first shot was from late summer with the lake at normal level. (That's me by the way, going by in my rescue boat towing a disabled vessel.)



And here's the same basic shot I took yesterday after the draw-down...



Note the visible seawall under the gazebo and the "instant" beach! See what they do to our view? And it'll stay like that until early March next spring! Yuck! Yeah, I know it serves a purpose but still...Yuck! Winter is dreary enough as it is.

On to other subjects: Has anyone been spamming those fools at Westboro Baptist Church? (See previous post "How can we stop this?") Well I have! I also added them to my Google Alerts to help keep up with what they're planning next.

I wonder what they'll do for Veterans Day? Burn our flag at Arlington Cemetary? Wouldn't surprise me, but I'd sure like to be there to instruct them in the proper way to insert a flag pole into Rev. Fred Phelp's ass! (I'd ask you to pardon my language but Ass is a word often used in the Bible. However, in all honesty it is not the reverends donkey I wish to impale!)

Until next time...Love ya!
Clay

Oct 27, 2007, The Fog

Man it was foggy this morning, I couldn't even see across the lake...Which reminds me of one memorable moonlight cruise a couple years ago. My wife & I, and another couple had been out for dinner by boat...So we run into the fog just before the bend...At one point, if she hadn't yelled out "One, two, three, four lights in a row, that's So & So's house, turn right!", we would have run aground right then and there!

What was your most harrowing boating experience? Next time..........Clay

Read the rest at...

Oct 15, 2007, Boat Storage and Winterization Guide

Yes, even in the relatively warm winters of Arkansas it is still important to properly winterize your boat. It's not just about freezing temperatures...I finished a new page in the "Boats & Boating" section, Boat Storage and Winterization Guide, that explains the different types of boat storage, the need for winterization, and where you can get it done in Hot Springs...Sure, if you're handy and know a bit about boat motors you can winterize yourself but if you don't do it right...if you make one little mistake...the after affects can range from poor running conditions to a cracked engine block! Hence the need to have it done correctly...Clay

Oct 10, 2007, Reader thinks blame is misplaced.

On Monday, Oct. 8th, "Anonymous" wrote:

"Do you think Entergy should do more to make boaters aware?" YES - they should be held responsible for mistakes that are made on the lake where they are appointed as the AUTHORITY.

You ever hear of Accountability or Responsibility? Your memory must be on vacation as you omitted the Parks system and Corps of Engineers.

Kudos to the boat owner for having the courage and conviction to ask: "Why don't they mark dangerous, shallow areas?" If more Americans would grow a set like this guy, and question authority more often and more vigorously, just maybe these people who come here would be made aware of any & all shallow and dangerous areas in the local lakes.

Tourists come to Hot Springs and spend their money in the local economy so that YOU and the other citizens in Hot Springs do not have to carry the local economy on your back pocket (a.k.a. wallet).

I am a regular reader of this blog and I use the above rant to show the absurdity of the "blame everyone else" crowd.

What the heck ever happened to "personal responsibility"?

Oct 1, 2007, Weekend boating accident raises safety issues on Lake Hamilton.

The Boat Safe phone rang about 8:30 Saturday night (9/28) with a message from the Garland Co. Sheriff's Marine Patrol Division; a boater was stranded after running aground on a small island. For those of you who are familiar with Lake Hamilton, it's that tiny atoll just off shore in front of Willow Beach, the one that just looks like a bush in the middle of the lake.

The bush, in fact, is what was holding the 27 ft. pontoon boat and it's crew when I arrived! Just when I thought I'd seen it all - here's a big 'ol boat, completely out of the water, teeter-tottering on top of a bush, in the dark! Keep in mind that during our initial contact, before my departure, the boat owner told me the boat was o.k. and just needed to be freed from grounding. Obviously he had not viewed the scene from a vantage point that revealed his actual predicament!

Fortunately, the boat was able to continue once I had it off the bush and floating again, which was no easy feat mind you but I'll save you the details. The passengers however had all suffered from the initial impact; the driver hit the dash/console hard enough to break the steering wheel and the two passengers were also thrown violently forward, one possibly breaking ribs in the process. I followed them to their cove to make sure the boat made it as they were eager to get the more injured passenger to the emergency room.

Please note they were asked if they needed an ambulance when they called 911 but declined saying they were "o.k.". Now, you might ask "Were they familiar with the lake?", or "Should they have been out after dark?" but what the boat owner asked was "Why don't they mark dangerous, shallow areas?". The "they" he refers to is Entergy Arkansas, who owns and controls both Lake Hamilton & Lake Catherine.

Some areas are marked but very few and you basically just have to take your chances with the rest unless you are very familiar with the lake.
Now my question is:

Do you think Entergy should do more to make boaters aware of shallow and otherwise dangerous areas?

Feel free to comment. Please be safe out there and thanks............Clay

Sep 18, 2007, Hot Springs Camper & RV Dealers

Camper & RV Dealers in Hot Springs AR

Sep 11, 2007, Specialized Marine Repair

Specialized Marine Repair - Prop work, fiberglass & gel coat, custom canvas & canvas repair.

Sep 9, 2007, Hotels and Resorts in Hot Springs,AR

Your on-line guide to hotels and resorts in Hot Springs, AR.