We crossed the Mississippi River on the 13^th and have driven over 700 miles across Arkansas from the river delta farm country to the Ozark Mountain hill country.  We stayed in 6 very different RV parks.  And we have seen some beautiful country.   The Natural State really fits here.

We left the kids last week and went to another of Arkansas’ wonderful state parks just 30 miles up I-40.  Petit Jean State Park sits atop Petit Jean Mountain just south of Morrilton.  We got a great pad close to the visitor center and got settled in. 

We took off on a nice 1 mile walk on the paved bike path to the Cedar Falls Overlook.  The falls are the most famous and the most photographed of the 18 falls in the Arkansas waterfall guide.  From the overlook, the view was tremendous.  But to get back to the park, we took what we thought might be a good path along the gorge edge.  It was much more strenuous than we expected but we persevered.

Back at the RV, we decided to dress up a little and go out for dinner at the park lodge.  The effort was rewarded with chicken fried steak and a beautiful sunset.  And we learned that the hike to the base of the falls begins at the lodge and made that the plan for the next morning.

 The hike begins with switchbacks and steps down 200 feet to the riverbed, and then another mile thru the woods and along the river the falls.   Again, we were rewarded for the effort with a wonderful sight.  But I must admit we were a little leery of the return to the top up the steps and back to the lodge. This time we had worn our good hiking shoes, brought water, and were in no hurry.   We made it back and felt very proud of the accomplishment!

Last thing, we drove around the park to visit three of the other overlooks at sunset.  Each one offered a different vista down to the valley below.  It was a fitting end to an eventful day and a beautiful evening.

We took an hour canoe trip around the lake the next morning before leaving for our next spot. A few days ago, northwest Arkansas had been hit by a series of storms like other states.  And we were notified that the park we had reserved in Rogers was damaged enough that they had to close for a week.  I shopped around for an alternate and took the first one even though it was further away by a few miles. 

We booked our first KOA campground just outside of Eureka Springs.  The drive was full of steep roads with twisting curves.  But again, the scenery was beautiful.  “The Boat” with “Moonshadow” tagging along behind chugged up and down with hardly a whimper, although a big hit on the fuel economy.   The camp was different than we had been in up to now and we were tucked in between other RVs.  But it was still comfortable with full hookups.

Our next day was a trip into Bentonville (home of the Walmart headquarters) to visit the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  We had been there before during Covid where the museum was closed but the grounds were open.  This time the museum was open, and the grounds were closed due to the wind damage and fallen trees around the park.

Gail’s friend, Bonnie Fowler (from back in the 80’s in Dallas) who now lives in Tulsa, agreed to drive over for a get together and see the museum as well.  We had a wonderful visit that included a free guided tour of the art gallery.  It was a “walkup” tour, but we were the only takers and had the guide all to ourselves! 

And now we are set to leave Arkansas.  Our last day plan was to do a walk-through Eureka Springs but rain limited what we could see.  On the way into town, we stopped at the Thorncrown Chapel which is very similar to the Anthony chapel at Garvin Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, but it was by actually designed by E Fay Jones. The town is a very touristy small town with an old history also revolving around the natural springs and their medical benefits.  It was a fitting end to our Arkansas natural adventure.  On to Missouri!