As fellow guests raved about the wonderful cottages at Mountain Harbor Resort, the striking, undeveloped landscapes around Lake Ouachita and the friendliness of the people, I felt a strange sense of hometown-like pride. I say "strange" because I don't live in Arkansas. In fact, I've never lived in Arkansas, and I've actually only stayed at Mountain Harbor a half a dozen or so times over the years.
Still, I felt a sense of ownership, and I think that goes back to the friendliness of the people. Folks like Chris Elder, a local angler I've gotten to fish with several times, and resort owner Bill Barnes have a way of making you feel so much at home that when you return for visits you're eager to share the area's virtues with anyone who hasn't been there before. When Barnes asks if you need anything at all, you can tell that he really means that question and that he is genuinely pleased that you've chosen to visit the resort that his family has owned and operated for more than 50 years.
I'm back in my real home in northeast Georgia, but I know I'll be back to Lake Ouachita and to Mountain Harbor Resort, and I have no doubt that I'll again feel right at home and will swell up at least a little with pride when someone talks about a great day of striper fishing or the beauty of the mountains that surround the lake.
