Tornado Memorial in Mena

I drove up to Mena after lunch for the dedication of the memorial to those who died in the tornado April 9, 2009. As I was sitting around this morning thinking of all the reasons not to drive up that way it occurred to me that after all that the fine people in Mena/Polk County went through I could take three or four hours and go help them honor those who lost their life in the storm. I was glad that I was there. The cold, my truck said it was 28 degrees when I arrived, kept the crowd down but it was a good event. Anna Cress, Judy Lobner and Albert Shaw lost their lives in the tornado and are memorialized on the monument.

The second photo is one I took on top of Iron Mountain. The picture doesn't do justice to the real thing. When the sun would peak through the clouds and hit the ice that was coating the trees it was just beautiful - it seemed almost as if the limbs would glow.