AR BOW, Round 2

I just can’t say enough good things about the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program! My first workshop was in September of 2007 when I attended the AR BOW weekend in Ferndale, AR. I had such a good time I knew I’d have to do it again. In April of this year, I attended the LA BOW in Pollock, LA. Despite a few differences in the setting and setup, overall it was the same great experience. This past weekend I went back to the AR BOW for a repeat performance.

Two friends rode with me to the facility at Ferndale on Friday morning. One attended the LA BOW with me last spring; the other had never attended a BOW event. The fourth person in our room was a woman from California whose husband’s family has land in our community. They’ve just started spending some time in Arkansas and that’s why she signed up for the program.

The Arkansas program gives preference to first-timers, so this time I didn’t get all my first choices in classes. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “bad” class, so it really didn’t matter. I was just glad to get in to the program at all. Friday afternoon I took Stream Ecology. We got lots of hands-on experience testing the water in a nearby stream for chemicals, turbidity, temperature, etc. We used nets to take samples and find out what types of bugs were present… which also help determine the “health” of a stream. Saturday morning I made lots of neat things in a Nature Crafts class. It was fun despite the injury I received from a hot-glue gun. There are some folks that just shouldn’t be allowed to use glue guns….namely, ME! Fortunately my injury didn’t keep me from having a great time learning to tie flies in my Saturday afternoon class. Everyone made five: an Olive Wooly Booger, a Scud (fresh water shrimp), a Peacock Soft Hackle (nymph), a Cone-headed Shad Streamer, and an Elk Hair Caddis. My final class on Sunday morning was Basic Duck Hunting. I’ve done a fair amount of duck hunting in the past, so it was pretty much a refresher course for me. I haven’t been in quite a few years, though, so it got me psyched up to go again this year.

Just like last year, the food was wonderful; there were lots of great door prizes and fun freebies just for attending (as well as give-aways in the classes) and fantastic entertainment both nights. Sponsorship is generous and the raffle items are top quality. Various BOW programs handle their raffles differently, but in Arkansas each participant is given five tickets to risk as they choose. I spread mine out between the three fishing packages available. I was thrilled to win the first raffle announced: A Pflueger Lady Trion spinning combo rod and reel with a Shakespeare 2-tray tackle box (filled with goodies)! I only had one ticket on that item so it just goes to show…one is all it takes!

My next goal is to attend a Winter BOW somewhere. There are several states that host them and I’ve already started doing my research. I’m not really a cold weather person, but I figure I can handle it for just one weekend!