Hello Arkansas!

There’s a bend in the Buffalo River that will always remind me of love. Not the easy, fair-weather kind, but the kind that’s quiet, grounding, and true. I didn’t grow up knowing this part of the Buffalo, but I fell in love with it the same way I fell in love with Jarred Grinder: fast, deeply, all at once.

The first time he brought me here, he told me he felt like he was part of the land, that it was a very special place to him. It’s a special place for me now too.

Meet Jarred

Jarred isn’t just my boyfriend. He’s my life partner, my home, my peace, and my greatest adventure. His family name, Grinder, is woven into this place, and the land seems to know it. There’s something about the way he moves here, the way he pauses to take in the river, the way his shoulders relax the second the water comes into view, that feels like the world aligning.

Being here with him feels like belonging. He’s the kind of man who listens as much as he speaks, who finds calm in simple things like the hum of cicadas, a cast line, or a cold drink after a long day in the sun. Out here under the open sky, it’s just us and the steady rhythm of the river, and somehow that’s everything we need.

The Grinder Name and the Land That Holds It

The Grinder family has deep roots in these hills, and that legacy lingers in every gravel road and weathered tree line. The name itself, once an old English word for a craftsman or mill worker, fits perfectly: patient hands, enduring work, quiet pride.

You can feel those generations in Jarred. He carries the same steadiness, that unspoken bond with the land. There’s a respect here, not ownership but kinship. The kind that understands the earth gives what it can, and you take only what you need.

Our Place of Peace

When the world starts spinning too fast, we load up the car and head north toward the Buffalo. That drive has become our ritual, windows down, playlist humming, everything slowing the closer we get to the water.

Days spent here are simple and good. Fishing the quiet bends, swimming until the sun dips behind the ridge, camping out beneath a galaxy of stars. The fire crackles, the air cools, and we talk about everything and nothing. Sometimes there’s no talking at all, just the sound of the river and the feeling that we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.

This is our peace. This is our reset.

Where the River and Love Keep Flowing

To most folks, Grinders Ferry is just another stop along the Buffalo River. But to us, it’s sacred ground, a place that ties the past and present together, where love feels both rooted and free.

Each visit reminds me of what it means to belong, to the land, to the moment, to someone who makes the world gentler just by being in it.

The river keeps moving forward and so do we, steady, sure, and side by side. Because love, like the Buffalo, doesn’t stand still. It flows.

-Kelsey