Tag Archives: Arkansas

Pinnacle Mountain State Park~ Little Rock, AR

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We got to Pinnacle Mountain State Park right before the visitor center closed.

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Me, “They have alligators in Arkansas?”

What?

No clue.

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We went on the scenic overlook trail right next to the visitors center.

Really short walk.

All the walks on our trip were easy and short.

I was told I had to take it easy by my doctor due to a back injury so every walk was around 1 mile or less.

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Lizard!

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We also went on the Arkansas Trail loop.

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It is the Arboretum as well so lots of signs with information about the trees throughout the walk.

My second oldest read every single sign.

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These little machines would tell you information about the area if you cranked them.

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There was a constant debate of who’s turn it was…

Thank you park people for the fun crank machines that helped my kids work on their sharing skills.

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Speckled Kingsnake?

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That is him slithering away in terror…

Our crew scared him.

ha

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We did not stay very long at this park and I really want to go back when we can do the pinnacle hike!

It was too steep for this trip.

I was also constantly battling to get checked into the hotel before the kids bedtime.

Not sure I ever accomplished that goal…

Parkin Archeological State Park~Parkin, AR

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I was not sure if this place would be a hit or not but then they showed us the weapons…

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They showed an educational video and let you play with the weapons at the end.

Smart move.

Bribery is always wise.

Ha

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This was the spot of a huge American Indian Village that they think was visited by Hernando de Soto in 1541.

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Brave move giving all of my kids weapons.

I stayed back to “document” better.

Or to not get maimed…

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My kids with blow guns?

Sure.

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Wonder Woman in training.

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I love walking around historic sites and trying to picture what it used to look like.

The mound is where the chiefs house stood.

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There is an old school house there from when a mining town was here.

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Such a fun and interesting stop.

Parkin Archaeological State Park

Hot Springs National Park ~Hot Springs, AR

I was a little uncertain of this park when I realized how close to Hot Springs it was.

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It ended up having a really nice campground with nice trails though and you really could not tell that you were close to the city.

Backpacker.com recommends the Sunset Trail loop but it was too long for our one night stay.

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We started on the Dead Chief Trail and took a few others to make a loop.

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We got to listen to a nice waterfall all night from our campsite.

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It really is a beautiful setting for a campground.

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I would recommend staying here if you like to be close to town while camping or if you were just using it as a stop while traveling(like we did).

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I did not want to leave until the sunrise was done.

It was so beautiful!

Do you like to camp far away from everything or close to town?