Tag Archives: Arkansas

Queen Wilhelmina State Park ~Ouachita National Forest, AR

Last month I went with my men to the Ouachita National Forest.

It is one of my favorite places to go near us(about 3hrs) and we have gone several times.

This time we went on the Arkansas side and it was a wonderful surprise.

We stayed at Queen Wilhelmina State Park and it was really nice!

The bathrooms were clean with very nice showers and the campsites well maintained.

parking

We went on the Lover’s Leap Trail after getting the popup set up.

The trail entrance is near the lodge in the park.

overlook loversleaptrail loversleap

The only downside to this park is the playground being nowhere near the campground.

It is over by the lodge.

slide happyslide myboys popup creationary popupscenes screen creationary2 sunsetpopup

There were a lot of airstreams there!

So pretty!

The next morning we drove out to the Upper Kiamichi trailhead so we could hike the 5 miles back to the park.

We had planned to hike to our popup trailer and eat lunch, then hike back to the vehicle at the trailhead.

ouachitatrail trail break borderstatepark

The trail is pretty overgrown with a LOT of poison ivy.

But it is beautiful.

The boys and I ended up staying at the park instead of hiking back and Nick ran back to the vehicle(there are a lot of perks to having a husband that runs…).

That way the boys got a chance to ride the cool train they have that goes around the park!

It is a little pricey but it was fun.

train rest

The boys rested then we went to see a fire tower nearby that you can climb.

Then we checked out the town of Mena and got something to eat.

firetower steps towertop top down

Sometimes you can watch the sunset from up there!

We took some pics at some of the lookouts then we ended the evening climbing the tower again for some shots.

sunset3 sunset2

The next morning was cold and foggy where we were.

I love that weather but my youngest was not supposed to get his ear wet so we went down towards Mena a bit.

It was warm with little to no rain there!

fog earthquaketrail pinecone

We went on the Earthquake Ridge hike sometime while we were there.

I just do not remember when!

It was a lot of uphill!

There is some easy hiking right outside Mena at a Vistor Center though.

We did some hiking there also.

They were nice well maintained trails with some handicap accessible trails.

help

We packed up and started the journey home.

We stopped at a vistor center on the Oklahoma side that we had not been to in a while.

I noticed that as soon as we left the Arkansas side of the National Forest for the Oklahoma side it was like someone threw a switch.

The lookouts and trailheads were overgrown and neglected.

okside bridge

Since I live in Oklahoma I was a little saddened by the obvious neglect on our side of the forest.

We will definitely be traveling a little longer to go to the Arkansas side again!

If you have not been and live in the area, make the trip!!!

It is an absolutely beautiful place to see!

Hobbs State Park, AR

We went camping over Memorial Day.

I do not usually camp on that weekend because that is what EVERYONE is doing…

My boys are getting old enough now that they really enjoy it though so we planned a camping trip, two days before.

It was stressful…

I ended up choosing Hobbs State Park in Arkansas as the place I wanted to hike.

Unfortunately they do not offer any camping other then backpacking.

I was not prepared to go backpacking so I chose from a list they offered of other campgrounds on Beaver Lake.

I am not good at last minute planning.

The campground I chose ended up being an HOUR away from Hobbs State Park!

Yay me…

It was called the Starkey Campground and is run by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

It is close to the lake but the camp sites themselves are farther away from the water then I thought they would be.

And there is no hiking trails at all.

Thankfully nearby was the Beaver Lake Dam campground and they did have a couple trails(they were full for the weekend).

Sunday evening we went on the Dogwood Overlook Trail at Beaver Lake Dam Park.

Although the park was pretty crowded there were not many people hiking at all.

We only passed a few people near the entrance and no one farther in.

It is a really difficult trail and can be hard to follow at times.

The boys LOVED it!

My oldest said this was the trail we should hike on from now on.

You have to cross the highway at one point and it is hard to see the trail marker but it is there!

Thankfully I found this blog post by Arklahoma Hiker and she tells you it is there and to bring water(we would not usually for such a short hike).

The boys really liked all the different terrain and the difficulty of this hike.

Also they enjoyed the wildlife…

We went down to the river afterwards to check it out.

The water is crystal clear and so beautiful!

The water level must have just recently risen.

Beautiful light.

We did not really have anything else planned for that evening so we headed into Eureka Springs.

It is such a fun town to explore!

I highly recommend at least driving through it if you are in the area.

The houses and businesses are built into the mountains it is so interesting to look at.

We stopped at a ice cream shop for a little treat while there.

On Memorial Day we made the hour trek to Hobbs State Park(next time I will choose a campground that is closer).

We decided on the Pigeon Roost trail.

It is 8.4 miles to do the whole thing or 9 miles if you take a wrong turn…

Poor Maddie she had no clue what she was in for.

They found something.

Just a little garter snake.

Kind of pretty.

We were going to stop and eat lunch at one of the backpacking camps that were about 4 miles in.

That is when we figured out we had taken a wrong turn.

They ended up being about 5 miles in.

Not too bad except we kept telling the boys we were almost there…

We kept telling Maddie that also.

I think she is assuming we are done for the day.

Nick thought he was going to have to carry her.

She really needs to get more exercise.

We let the boys dip their feet in the water when we were almost done.

Probably a mistake since my oldest decided he forgot how to get his shoes on.

7 miles in is not a good time to decide that.

I was focused with getting to the vehicle and buying the biggest sweet tea I could find not reshowing my six year old how to put his foot in a shoe.

Miraculously he did remember and we made it back.

Even though I was tired(it takes me a while to get myself acclimated to hiking in the heat).

I really wanted to check out the parks visitor center.

It was opened in 2009 and is a beautiful building.

The boys were very happy with the number of touch screens they had.

We used them to identify some of the snakes we had seen on the trails.

Someone(could have been anyone) decided to buy the boys slingshots…

They have not killed any animals so far.

Not from lack of trying though!

I did tell them if they kill it they are eating it.

My youngest seemed to see that as an incentive to try harder…

8yr Anniversary ~Buffalo River, AR

To celebrate our 8yr anniversary (WOW! That is a long time!) we went to Branson via the Buffalo River.

We were actually just in this area for my birthday last November but I love it so much I wanted to go again!

We have never been to the Compton trailhead so it was a nice change for this trip.

We went towards Hemmed-in Falls and then over to the Buffalo so the total trip for us was around 6.5miles.

pathway

It is a beautiful trail but very strenuous.

It was a lot of downhill, then back uphill on the way back.

Lots of berries lining the trail.

The river is at a record low!

I have never seen it like this.

Crazy.

Halfway back up.

This pic makes me laugh.

Nick’s knee was hurting pretty bad (someone took him on a really hard on the knees trail) and I knew he would not be smiling so I was trying to not grin like a fool.

Apparently when I only slightly smile I look like I am mad.

I was really tired from not much sleep the night before so I will blame it on that…

We stayed at the Hilton on Branson Landing in Branson, MO.

It was a nice hotel and in a great location but everything extra (including internet and parking!) cost extra.

Nick is not a fan of Hilton Hotels because of all the extra fees.

I made Nick take my pic on the balcony.

Our balcony had a great view of the fountain show that they do on the hour.

The next day we headed back to the Buffalo to go canoeing.

We had to drive farther east then we have ever gone to get to a part deep enough.

I liked the outfitter we used, Buffalo River Outfitters.

They had good service and got us into the water quickly.

 

I LOVE this river!

It is so breathtaking.

I had Nick getting us really close to this rock so I could use it in the foreground of my shot.

I did not see the snake sunbathing on the rock until Nick pointed it out.

You would think since I live in Oklahoma and we have poisonous snakes I would watch out for these guys more…

We tried to get as close as possible to get a good pic but he hid in the rock when we got closer.

 

We followed this guy (we just happened to be going the same way) for a while at the end of our trip.

I love Heron’s they are so beautiful!

If you are looking for a place to eat while playing on the Buffalo, the Ozark Cafe in Jasper, AR was a pleasant surprise.

They had an interesting building, good food, and friendly people.

They have also been in business for over 100yrs!

There is also a zipline tour offered in Ponca at the Buffalo Outdoors Center as well as canoe trips, ect…

Lots of hiking, beautiful ozarks, and a beautiful river!

Such a beautiful place to enjoy nature!