No doubt some New Year's Eve campfires will be blazing in our little corner of the Ozarks. One sure way to jazz up the festivities is with the high flying flames of a chimney log.
What's a chimney log you say? Just a hollow log that's placed upright on a glowing bed of campfire coals. An updraft through the hole in middle sets the inside of the chimney log on fire. Pretty soon a plume of flame three feet or higher comes shooting out of the top of the chimney log, much to the delight of New Year's Eve revelers.
Not any hollow log will do. The ideal chimney log is one cut with a chain saw so that it'll stand upright in the campfire. If the hole is about the diameter of a coffee cup, you've got yourself a perfect chimney log.
A smaller or larger hole is OK. We're not talking rocket science, just chimney log science. A log that stands upright about 18 to 24 inches or taller works well.
Celebration broke out during a little weekend firewood cutting expedition over at Camp See No Deer, the little woodlot where a few of us archery hunt. We spied a dead oak tree that had toppled to the ground. The red oak was easy firewood because we could drive the truck right up to it.
Imagine our merriment when we cut into the trunk and saw it was hollow. Oh happy day. A treasure trove of chimney logs from one tree. When the sawing was done, we loaded the six best chimney logs on the pile of firewood in the truck bed. Bring on New Year's Eve.
To get your chimney log party started, get a good campfire going. Keep adding wood, maybe roast some hot dogs or make s'mores, until there's a good sized bed of coals.
Now place your chimney log upright on the coals. Poke around the campfire with a stick so air can be drawn up the into of the hollow log and out the top like a chimney.
This big updraft quickly sets the inside of the log on fire. Tongues of flame appear first, licking from the hole at the top. Pretty soon fire and sparks are shooting out the hole like a blow torch gone wild. You don't get pyrotechnics like this at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion on the Fourth of July.
The show lasts a good long while while the chimney log burns from the inside out and eventually falls apart. One chimney log is usually enough. But if you're gonna ring in the new year at midnight, better make it two.
There are videos on YouTube of chimney log fires flaming away. There's one where some wisenheimers decided to stuff a propane cylinder into a chimney log. Do not try this at home. To see why, type in Arkansas blow log + propane. I think some of our own Northwest Arkansas home boys star in this video.
So happy New Year's everybody. Here's to great times in 2017 and a chimney log at every campfire.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip.
Sports on 12/27/2016