Tuesday, April 15
We left Oklahoma
City early this morning under sunny skies, and more
importantly, calm winds. A beautiful day
for traveling. We're headed to...
Arkansas
More specifically, to
Petit Jean State Park is in
Morrilton, (north central) Arkansas. The
park sits atop
Petit Jean Mountain on the
Arkansas
River in the area between the Ozark
and Ouachita
(Wash i taw) mountain ranges.
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| going up the mountain... |
Petit Jean is Arkansas'
first state park. It was built by the
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) beginning in 1933 and completed in 1941.
According to legend, Petit Jean was actually a young 18th
century French woman. When she discovered that her fiance planned to explore
the Louisiana Territory, she cut her hair, disguised herself
as a boy and managed to find a position as a cabin boy. She survived the voyage
and the expedition began their exploration. Once they had reached the area of
the mountain, the young woman became ill, on her deathbed she revealed herself
to her fiance, and was buried on the mountain, not under her own name, but
under the name she had been known by on the ship "Little John".
After we set up,
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| we're right on Bailey Lake |
we went for a ride through the park. Along with year round camping, Petit Jean State Park features 21 miles of hiking trails, waterfalls and scenic overlooks. We decided to visit the overlooks...
Our first
stop was at a Scenic Overlook featuring the Arkansas River
and the grave site of Petit Jean....
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| Arkansas River... |
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| grave site of Petit Jean |
Next we stopped at Cedar Falls Overlook...
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| lots of switchbacks... |
Our next stop was the Palisades
Overlook...
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| sandstone |
Then onto the Mary Ann. Richter Memorial Overlook...
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| elevation 1025 feet |
Last stop was at the CCC (Civilian Conservation
Corps) Overlook
Simply beautiful. A great way to end a great day!
Wednesday, April 16
Another beautiful day today.
Sunny with highs in the low 60's.
We decided to take advantage of the many hiking trails throughout the
park.
The first trail we chose was
Cedar Creek Trail winds along a scenic section of the Cedar Creek
above Cedar Falls. Constructed by the CCC in the early 1930s,
this trails rock steps and bluffs create a few difficult places. The rocky mountain stream, high bluffs, and
thick vegetation make Cedar Creek Trail perfect for experiencing local bird and
plant life.
The trail length is 1 1/4 miles, with lots of ups over rocks
and downs, again over rocks. Cooper
thinks he's part mountain goat!!! The
trail head was at the pioneer house...
and continued down into the small canyon below. It was rocky hike, but absolutely
beautiful...
Coop was off leash for most of the hike (I know, I know
against park regulations). We were the
only ones hiking this trail and due to all the rocks it was safer to keep him
off leash. He was very good, would come
running back whenever we called to him.
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| and we're off! |
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| rocky trail |
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| with lots of ups |
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| and downs |
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| the dogwoods were beautiful |
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| taking a break |
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| lots of drinks along the way |
We didn't see many birds, however Coop and I saw a fox. We heard it rustling in the bush above us,
Coop took off chasing it. I saw it's red
tail as it ran off. Coop was a very good
boy ~ he came running down the hillside as soon as I called him. Ron missed the excitement ~ he was a ways
behind us shooting pictures.
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| we stopped at Leaning Rock |
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| and checked out a few caves... |
We continued following the pink as the trail looped around, up
and down until we reached the end of the trail back where we started at the
Pioneer House.
Thankfully, we'd packed our lunch! After a leisurely lunch, we decided to hike
the Bear Cave Trail. This trail, which
was only a 1/4 mile in length, led us under, around, through and over these
gigantic rocks. Although there is no
true cave, the huge rocks form a number of rock shelters and narrow
passageways. According to legend, the
last bear killed on Petit
Jean Mountain
was in this area. The cathedral of rocks
running down the center of the trail loop is believed to have been cut out by Cedar Creek
long ago. This passageway is called
"The Eye of the Needle."
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| beautiful trail |
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| Coop's looking for Ron in the cave |
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| eye of the needle |
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| yep, that's the trail. right through the eye! |
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| coop was way in front of us going as we walked through |
As it was still early enough, we decided on one more short
hike. We decided to hike Rock House Cave
Trail. This is also a short trail of 1/4
mile. Rock House Cave is not a true cave, but a large
rock shelter. Rock House contains
evidence Native Americans once lived on or near Petit Jean Mountain many years ago.
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| this part of the trail was a rock field...arrows painted on the trail pointed the way |
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| we continued through the turtle rocks |
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| to the cave |
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| hieroglyphic |
Thursday, April 17
We awoke to another beautiful day. Cloudless skies with
temps in the low 70's. A perfect day for
a hike. So hike we did. We decided to hike the Seven Hollows
Trail. This 4 1/2 mile trail is one of
great diversity ~ from hardwood forest, to immense rock formations created by
centuries of erosion to the starkness of the rock fields supporting near
desert-like conditions. Despite it's
name, Seven Hollows Trail passes through only four of the most interesting
hollows.
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| and we're off!! following the blue |
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| a field of dogwoods |
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| the trail got pretty steep in places |
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| and took us through and over rocks |
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| follow the blue! |
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| coop standing under the natural bridge |
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| coop!! you're going the wrong way! we need to go up again...the grotto is just down the trail |
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| Black Rat Snake. this is the longest snake (about four feet) we've seen in quite awhile |
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| coop taking a break |
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| following the blue through the rocks... |
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| trail is getting much easier... |
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| notice the red in the sandstone? |
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| half a mile to go... |
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| and we're finished!! |
We've had a blast hiking these trails. Two of the trails we hiked, Seven Hollows and
Cedar Creek Trail have been awarded National Recreation Trail designation.
Friday April 18
We don't normally travel on holidays (today is Good Friday)
however, it's time to hit the road once again.
We would have liked to have stayed another couple of days here at Petit Jean
State Park, however the
Park is full for the weekend. As there are more trails to hike, we will be
back!! Hopefully, we'll be able to return this Autumn.
Today is another beautiful day and a great day for
traveling...
We headed back down the mountain...
We're only traveling about 100 miles today. Destination:
Hot Springs!
