Big Cedar

We spent a fun-filled three days at Big Cedar just north of the Missouri line. We met Ed and Becky for lunch and enjoyed a beautiful view of the lake while we ate.  

We spent lots of time visiting with Becky, my BFF, who was so gracious to invite us to join them.

I loved our media room. Only problem was there wasn't enough time to spend any in front of a tv.

This was only one of four tv's we had downstairs. Becky and Ed had four more upstairs. 

 We preferred to spend our time either watching Ed cook or eating!

What perfect weather for a walk over to the fire pit where we had a great view of Table Rock Lake. The nearby hot tub and infinity pool are closed for winter.

Chess anyone? What fun times we have when we visit our NWA friends. (northwest Arkansas for outsiders.)

We picked up a few geocaches on both the trip up highway 7 and 65 and the return down 65 and 9. I thought this fire hydrant was quite well done. I spotted it immediately but can imagine others might not.  It is made of wood and the top lifts off to reveal the cache.   

A visit from Gunnar

We are so glad that Leon's grandson, Gunnar, has stopped by to visit. He is returning to California after getting out of the air force in New Jersey. Fall is in the air and roasting marshmallows in the back yard seemed to be in order.

We are taking advantage of the nice days before cooler weather sets in.

Gunnar is even getting in on the shed construction and kitchen remodel. Leon and I are sure happy to have his help.

Some time is spent spiffing up his car such as getting the muffler welded back on and getting new brake pads. Notice the little gadgets inside the wheel even have a new coat of red paint.

The first really chilly day found us in the Ouachita National Forest visiting with our geocaching friends for the chili cookout and bubblegum blowing contest. Gunnar was honored for his service in the military and got to go first in line for chow!

He also found his first geocache and now knows what a cypress tree looks like. Lots of hunters were camping on Lake Nimrod as it is deer season. Geocachers wore blaze orange to keep from getting shot by the deer hunters.

 Lake Nimrod with still a little fall color showing.

When Gunnar joined the air force I believe that Leon was the taller of the two, but not any more.

On the road again

We left Jonesboro fairly early in order to pick up three geocaches on our way to Helena for the King Biscuit Blues festival. Music was already ringing out over the river and we were running late!  First stop was Lake Poinsett State Park where we found the cache, copied the code and moved on. Here I finally spotted the obvious difference in the flat delta land to the east and Crowley's Ridge. It is not so steep but just a natural land division that runs for many miles through northeast Arkansas.  Cotton appeared quite ready for harvest throughout the region.

Parkin was is one of several archeological state parks with informative little museums in this part of the state. There was also a guided tour which we did not take the time to take. They offer all sorts of programs at these parks; not just displays of arrowheads and pottery. 

Fall is definitely in the air.

At Village Creek State Park we had a wonderful hike in the lush green forest. Yes, I did trip over a LARGE root that crossed my path. It was my first time this year to wear my hiking boots and I guess I just didn't get it up high enough. Village Creek is on the Trail of Tears and Old Military Road. When we left there we found ourselves between Forest City and Wynne and had lunch at Colt.  

After Parkin we finally located the newest state park. Mississippi River State Park fooled us as it is located in the St. Francis National Forest. Since it is too new to be on our old maps we just knew it would be outside the national forest but alas, they have a special use permit. We finally located the little park with a nice campground located on the shores of the lake. It appears there are a couple more campgrounds and perhaps when the visitor's center is complete we will return and learn more. Many of these state parks are on little lakes and I guess it is a good thing I left my pole at home this time! We went to all of the state parks on this map except for the three to the west of 25. That is another trip.

While we were having lunch in Colt the rain began. I did slip and slide while looking for the last cache and Leon finally climbed out of the van and located it. We decided at that point that we did not want to stand in a cold rain to see Bonnie Raitt or anyone else at the King Biscuit festival and that we would try it another year. Home again, home again..jiggety jog.

Along the mighty Mississip

We left the comfort of our Jonesboro campground early to go pick up another state park cache. This one in Manilla honored Herman Davis for his service during World War I.  The Arkansas farm boy and war hero was 4th on Gen. Pershing's list of 100 heroes of WWI.

Harvest was evident throughout the northeast part of the state where agriculture reigns. 

Cotton and rice are probably the two major crops in the area. 

At Wilson we were treated to a display of artifacts that Dr. Hampson found on his 5,000 acre farm from 1927-1941. There were a lot of red and white Nodena pottery and effigy vessels. The Nodena was a subculture with specific archeological traits such as the red and white pottery. They were part of the Mississippian cultural period that extended from 700-1650.

The property was covered with old cypress trees that we couldn't resist. Oh and there was a geocache at the Hampson museum state park also! Why would I lie there with a smile on my face?

Who wouldn't when you look up into the graceful cypress trees.

Leon was enthralled with the large round bales of cotton down the road. He had never seen cotton baled in rolls.

After wandering the backroads we visited the nature center in Jonesboro near our campground at Craighead Forest City Park. There is quite a nice display provided by Arkansas Game and Fish.

Click on some of these links and pretend you were riding along with us!

Jonesboro area geocaching

Fall is finally in the air and it is time to go geocaching. There are 52 state parks with geocaches and on this trip to northeast Arkansas we will get a few. On the way to Jonesboro we stopped for our first cache at Jacksonport State Park.

I love these old county courthouses. This one was built in 1869.  We started to take the small tour inside but the folks were ready to go home.  Jacksonport was once a thriving river port in the 1800s but it declined when the railroad bypassed them. The county seat was moved to Newport in 1891.  They have a nice little campground here where we stayed once before but this time we were headed to Jonesboro.

In Jonesboro we were delighted with Craighead Forest City Park. The $10 fee was suitable and the people were really friendly. Within ten minutes the host pulled up with a load of wood for us. Now that is a first! The large park has nice jogging trails, bike trails, fishing on the lake and so much more! 

The next morning we began another state park loop. Leon stepped on a weak branch and nearly did a roll into the lake at Lake Charles State Park. The picture doesn't show what a steep incline he was on. He did find the cache but not right there! A nice hike along the Mockernut Trail was our first in quite some time!

Not far down the road we arrived at Powhatan State Park. There were several old buildings around the courthouse. John Randolph came to Arkansas from Virginia and the town Pocahontas was named such because he was a descendant. Well if we check our history we learn that Chief Powhatan was Pocahontas' father. This restored 1873 courthouse was the center of a busy port on the Black River, a major shipping and distribution point for northern Arkansas.  

The displays inside tell about the history and culture of early Lawrence county and this steamboat and ferry landing. I never really thought much about making buttons from mussel shells.

We stopped by the Black River for our peanut butter and jelly picnic before venturing to more parks on the list.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Finally it was time for the cataract surgery for Leon in Little Rock, but first, we should explore Pinnacle Mountain State Park. After a short hike up a small hill I was afforded a beautiful view of  the Arkansas River. 

And there is the mountain the park is named for. Some day we might hike that but perhaps not all the way to the top. This is in such a beautiful area just west of Little Rock but town is coming that way fast!

Since the 5th wheel is still getting the a/c repaired we opted to return to Little Rock in the van and be in close proximity to the University of Arkansas Medical School for Leon's 6 a.m. appointment. The nice shuttle driver led us to the War Memorial Stadium parking lot where the employees park. Not only could we stay there but a shuttle runs about 4 times an hour if we needed it.  OH! I forgot to put water in the van. Before we go out to dinner let me take care of that but alas, I forgot to put the drain plug back on also! 

We then headed over to the Starving Artists' Cafe in the Argenta District in North Little Rock to meet Darla and Chris.  The Salty Dog band entertained us while we sipped martinis and dined and then we enjoyed the taping of a live radio show featuring tales from the south. We were happy to not have to drive back to Hot Springs. 

The cataract surgery went very well and Leon is amazed at how much better he can see. Then he looked in the mirror and realized it wasn't all good! An older guy was looking back at him.

Exploring Scott, AR

It was beginning to feel like fall and Leon had an early doctor appointment so why not go camping nearby. We got all set up in Maumelle campground along the banks of the Arkansas River on the outskirts of Little Rock and planned to explore the area for a few days first. What?! The a/c doesn't work? Well it didn't feel enough like fall that we would camp without it so away we went to Scott, population 72, to get it repaired. After trying out a new unit we left the trailer and headed off to play! Seems there was a problem with the wiring that would have to be researched.

First,  we might as well get the two geocaches in Scott. What fun! We stopped at Toltec Mounds just down the road. This archeological park has a small museum where we learned more about the early inhabitants of the area. They weren't actually Toltec Indians from Mexico but Indians of the Plum Bayou culture who lived in the area from 600 to 1050.

The 18 mound complex was the gathering site for the Indians who lived in sturdy houses and farmed, gathered wild plants, fished, and hunted. The mounds were there social and religious centers. I hope they had a way to deal with all the mosquitos we encountered in the area.

Just a couple more miles down the road we visited the Plantation Agriculture museum.   In another day on  this flat land alongside the Arkansas River were farms aplenty fourteen miles from Little Rock. The display had a plethora of old farm machinery...

 and cotton was king. Much of the equipment in the area was brought to the park to share this technology no longer seen.  I found the cotton gin building to be most interesting. I don't recall ever seeing a cotton gin. First, the tractor or mules would pull the loaded wagons up to a chute that sucked the cotton up into the building.

 The Dortch Gin building has a fully restored ginning system that was operated by the Dortch Gin Company. The gin was powered by steam in 1919 and later Dortch added a diesel engine, new gin stand feeders, and electric motors.

Seeds from the cotton were harvested and sold also. The seed warehouse, built in 1948, was constructed to accommodate huge piles of seeds which were stored and bagged for the Robert L. Dortch Seed Farms.  There was a cotton belt railroad spur at the side of the building.

Back in the museum we saw all sorts of items from the cotton days and Leon reflected upon how he used to pick cotton!

We didn't stay long enough to use the spinning wheel but Leon was off to a good start. It was time to go to the house.