Last week I had the opportunity to make a quick trip back to Arkansas to see family and friends. It was my first visit since Christmas and it seems like 5 days flew by entirely too fast. With every trip home growing farther apart these days, I always have a brief list of things that must be accomplished:
- Visiting with immediate family and grandparents that live in town
- Enjoy some good homemade meals
- Spend time working with my dad around the farm and auction barn

This trip included every one of those aspects. My family, grandparents, and a few cousins came over to the house for a great meal where my dad grilled burgers and we had all the fixings. My parents made sure I had a few more fulfilling meals through the rest of the week as well.

I had the opportunity to go to work with my dad for a few days. Our cattle auction is on Tuesdays, so most of our work usually surrounds that to-do list. This usually includes hauling in cattle for farmers who are selling a calf crop or entire herd that week, along with feeding some of the stocker cows and calves we keep around.

For this visit, we had to make a trip to Northeast Arkansas to haul cattle for a farmer who was selling out his entire herd. A few years of drought, combined with high input costs, and appealing auction prices have made this sort of trip a common occurrence.
What made this hauling trip a little different was that we were headed to Goobertown. Most folks may think I’m pulling your leg, but no, really. There is a town just outside of Jonesboro called Goobertown. Travelers even make it a regular stop to pick up the infamous t-shirts.
