Thursday, June 23, 2016

A Tour of the Delta Resort & Spa near McGehee.

In the heart of the Lower Arkansas Delta, tucked away from the highway and far from the hustle and bustle of any city, you'll find a remarkable retreat.  Come with me and explore the Delta Resort & Spa.

Grav and I headed down on a warm June day to visit the facility located between McGehee and Rohwer off Arkansas Highway 1.  We turned onto Bucksducks Road and headed to the conference center and pro shop to meet with Cindy Smith, a friend of ours who is promoting the resort.

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on

We started off in the pro shop, Duck Pro Outfitters, where you can go for all sorts of things, including souvenirs and sodas, ammunition and books and all sorts of other stuff. The pro shop is where you begin your adventure. There are a lot of adventures to be had at the Delta Resort & Spa.

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on

This sign caught my eye. Amidst all the outdoors items, a spa treatment seemed a little out there. But hey, what's better after a hard day of shooting?


This map at the pro shop gives a good idea of the immediate area around the conference center.  Here you can see the center, restaurant, the Delta shooting sports complex, both lodge hotels and more.


Cindy took us from the pro shop into the restaurant, 43 Grill & Bar, which has a fine complement of photos restored from negatives of early McGehee and the area.  The original photographer, William Joshua "Billy" Seamans, was once the president of the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association.





We planned to come back and enjoy the restaurant later, so we walked on into the Great Rivers Hall.


This facility is perfect for any sort of function. A lot of weddings are hosted here, and there's a house band that comes in and plays weekly.  Upstairs is a conference room, great for breakout sessions.


A long porch lines the distance between the restaurant and the end of the convention area.


On this particular Wednesday, there were few out to shoot, but on the weekends it's usually pretty busy.  We passed by this shooting area on our way to look at the accommodations and spa.


The Delta Resort & Spa offers RV hookups in addition to the hotel rooms I'm about to show you.  The area is large, allowing for bigger vehicles to have space to manuever.


There are two lodges at the Delta Resort & Spa - the Bucksducks Lodge and the Banfield Lodge. Both offer hotel rooms for travelers.  The Banfield is a typical exterior corridor hotel, while the Bucksducks lodge offers more upscale amenities.

We headed to the third floor of the Bucksducks Lodge to view the spa... which has two chambers for massage treatment.


A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on




The spa offers all sorts of manicures, pedicures and treatments.

We headed downstairs to check out rooms and suites in the lodge.


Each room has its own climate control system, deluxe linens and beds, oversized bathrooms and closets, and - this is so cool - the fastest internet I've ever encountered at a hotel property.

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on




A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on




There are a number of connecting rooms and suites available, including this suite with two bedrooms that offers a large living space in-between with dining area, sideboard and couch.


Future plans for the resort include a swimming pool, which will be located somewhere to the right of this small pavilion.

There's a gorgeous lagoon full of cattails and clear water by the lodges.


We went in to see the locker area.  These lockers are for duck hunters and other sportsmen who are going out on guided hunts when they're at the resort.  This is where their guns, waders and other equipment is stored.


A typical locker holds a lot of gear.


Guided tours are exactly that - you go out with a duck guide who meets you in the early hours of the morning, helps get your stuff loaded into a vehicle, takes you out to an area where ducks are a-plenty, ensures you have a good time hunting and helps you when you return to stow your belongings away.


Now that we'd seen a good portion of the resort, it was time to go out and shoot. I'll be honest, it has been many years since I had fired a gun, and I was a dolt and forgot my ear protection initially.  The clays got away from me.

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on



However, Grav turned out to be an excellent shot, nailing more than half of the clays in a session at the five stand.


The five stand is an area where clays are projected out of five separate machines angled across a small field.  Grav would yell "pull" and the operator would pull the lever, activating one of the five stands.


A video posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on




We explored the back area of site, too, set up for skeet.

A photo posted by Grav Weldon (@lordgrav) on




On our way back to the center of site, we ogled the beautifully carved eagle on this old tree.  This ditch will eventually be a small bass lake.


Before going in to dinner, I took a few more photos of this shooting area. A week earlier, the place had been packed with individuals attempting to qualify for the Olympics in Rio.  How cool is that?


We dined at the 43 Grill and Bar that night, and I shall soon share that story with you. All I'm saying is, you have to have a steak and you MUST have the Duck Nachos.

Learn more about the Delta Resort & Spa at this website or call (877) GO-DELTA.

2 comments:

  1. I enjoy what you guys tend to be up too. This kind of clever work and coverage!

    Keep up the very good works guys I’ve you guys to my personal blogroll.

    Alfred

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your picture & video about shooting.
    Nice share!
    Jerry

    ReplyDelete

Be kind.