The Natural State

Yep, that's what Arkansas calls itself.....The Natural State....and we
frequently count among our blessings that we can get there so easily.  A 3 hour drive on a Sunday morning (Nov. 2) landed us at Mt. Magazine, the highest elevation in the state, just in time to join a guided hike, lead by a park ranger.
The 12 of us on the hike were well-prepared with stocking caps and gloves as the wind and 'real feel' temps kept it in the 20's.  The brilliant sunshine featured all the trees and plants that Don (the park ranger) educated us on and his dry wit was the perfect accompaniment to this good,
mountaintop hike.  We even got to taste berries (y' know you're not supposed to do that in the wild) because this guy 'knew his stuff' along the trail.   After our hike we enjoyed a splendiferous meal at the Mt. Magazine lodge....when you walk in and smell BRISKET do you even need to look at the menu.....really?  So good!

The next morning we arrived at our
destination for the week: Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park.  This lodge was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp and has recently undergone a renovation to
update the facilities and yet preserve much of the natural design. Our room wasn't ready yet and the day was sunny and warming so we set out on the Seven Hollows Trail (infamous in our family history as being called 'the death march' when we set out ill-prepared for this 5 hour 'moderate-to-difficult' hike with Laura, Allyson, and Brian in 1989).  We thoroughly enjoyed the hike, the ups and downs of it, the beautiful displays of color, crossing a stream and

climbing over Turtle Rocks.  We
stopped at the Grotto to have our snack about 2 1/2 hours in.

Reminded us of a 'Colorado sky'

You've been in situations like this:
the pictures just don't do it justice, right?

There were several cave openings to explore which all narrowed to 'crawl spaces' very
quickly.

We started out in coats and quickly
began to shed layers.

the next two days wee drizzly and
rainy, so we enjoyed the lodge and short
walks, wearing our ponchos.

The Great Rooms at the lodge, with their
pinion wood-stocked fireplaces and comfy chairs
were great places to read, talk and be inspired
by someone else's efforts on a jigsaw puzzle.  I
was so inspired by this one that I started one
of my own.



The tiered flagstone patio at the lodge was
the perfect place to watch the sunset (the first
night) and watch the clouds move through the
valley the next two evenings.

When the rain stopped, late in the afternoon
on Wednesday, we headed out for a 90 minute
hike on Cedar Creek Trail, taking care to gauge
our time so that we'd be back to the lodge
before sunset.

This is an amazing place, and one of our favorites, to enjoy the beauty that Arkansas
has to offer.  And the history contains a love story, so that's also an intriguing part of the
attraction.

http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/


We will return!