Timberlane Ranch Good Morning Journal — October 12, 2026
Timberlane Ranch Good Morning Journal
October 12, 2026 — Morning
Al Timberlane — Timberlane Ranch, Alberta Mountain — Leslie, Arkansas — Music Highway 66
Good morning, everyone.
This is the Timberlane Ranch Good Morning Journal, and we have just come through a very full week.
We brought you the O.K. Trading Post Front Porch Jam, and while we were there, we had the privilege of honoring Sam Speaks.
We also honored Denise, one of the founders of the O.K. Trading Post Front Porch Jam many years ago in Mountain View, Arkansas — a wrangler, an entertainer, and an important part of the history of one of the great places in the Ozarks, the O.K. Trading Post.
While we were there, we also met some of the amazing Ozark Arkansas influencers who came to help tell people about the O.K. Trading Post, Blanchard Springs Caverns, and the tourism story of the Ozarks.
They were there filming, taking photographs, and helping tell the stories of this great tourist area, and we thank them for coming to the O.K. Trading Post Front Porch Jam.
Their visit also gave me an opportunity to share some of the history surrounding Jimmy Driftwood and Blanchard Springs Caverns.
Jimmy was deeply involved in preserving the natural and cultural heritage of the Ozarks, including his work connected with protecting the Buffalo National River.
I shared the story of Jimmy going to Washington, D.C., and talking with a senator about the caves around Blanchard Springs and Sylamore Creek. People rode horses there, played music there, and knew there were remarkable caves in those hills.
According to the story, attention was brought to the caves, they were investigated, and the rest became part of the history of the Ozarks.
That is the kind of story that reminds us how important it is to preserve the history, music, land, and traditions of this region.
We also had a great group of musicians on the platform.
There were Russ and Katie Phoenix, Trudy and her granddaughter Autumn, Barbara from Fifty-Six, who performed some of her own original songs, Dawn, Elvis, Margaret and Bruce, and Jacob, Liz, and David Austin of the Jacob Austin Band.
Margaret is especially well known for playing the spoons, bringing that old-time rhythm and personality right into the music.
And those names are only a few of the people who have played at the O.K. Trading Post Front Porch Jam at different times.
Over the years, when the venue has invited us out for old-time picking and grinning on the porch, musicians have gathered there, instruments have come out of their cases, and people have simply joined in.
That is one of the things I love about the O.K. Trading Post Front Porch Jam.
It is not just a stage.
It is a gathering place.
It is the kind of place where people can come together, pick a tune, sing a song, tell a story, and become part of the day.
I also had the opportunity to tell a few stories myself.
One of those stories went back to Johnny Cash and his early years.
Another reached into the history of Jimmy Driftwood, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton.
Jane Fonda came to Mountain View while researching Ozark mountain culture for the film The Dollmaker, and Dolly Parton was also part of that visit to the area.
There are photographs connected with that history at the Jimmy Driftwood Barn, and it is another remarkable chapter in the story of Mountain View and the people who have passed through these mountains.
Then, after the music, the stories, and a very full week, we loaded up and headed north to Michigan.
We traveled on Southwest Airlines, and our experience was excellent.
The people were courteous and kind, the flights were smooth, and we appreciated the professionalism of everyone who helped make the trip go well.
We traveled through the Little Rock airport, the Nashville airport, and the Detroit airport, and everyone we encountered was extremely courteous.
And as we walked through the Nashville airport, I turned and there was Brian Allison performing at Ole Red Nashville Airport.
What a great thing to see.
Seeing a working musician performing right there in the airport was another reminder that live music can show up almost anywhere.
It reminded me again of what we had just left behind in Mountain View — musicians gathering together, whether it is on an old-time porch, outside the Dulcimer Shoppe, at the Jimmy Driftwood Barn, or on a stage in an airport.
Music has a way of finding a place to live.
So it has been a full week.
Music.
History.
The O.K. Trading Post.
Old-time picking and grinning.
Friends.
The Ozarks.
Travel.
Live music in Nashville.
And family.
Sometimes life gives you a week where almost every part of your world seems to come together at once.
This was one of those weeks.
Good morning, everyone.
I’m Al Timberlane, and this has been the Timberlane Ranch Good Morning Journal.
Imagine tomorrow today. Put your faith in God, and He will move mountains for you.
— Al Timberlane
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