Jim Dailey

The trail is easy … just follow the old road … at least that’s what the trails book indicated.  Well, “easy” it was not.  The old road has fully returned to nature … small saplings, tangles of shirt shredding briars, piles of downed ice storm branches, trees and logs to be navigated around, stepped over or crawled under.  In two hours of bushwhacking we had covered only six tenths of a mile.  At this pace we feared there might not be sufficient time to continue to Sandstone Castles and return to the car before dark.

Fortunately, in just over another half mile, the trail opened up, we made much better time and … WOW, all our efforts were rewarded with our first successful visit to Sandstone Castles.

The entire Richland Creek Wilderness area is awesome but I believe we may have found a place almost as spectacular as Twin Falls.  Plus, this can be appreciated whether the creeks are flowing or not.

Located high on Big Ridge at over 2000′ this bluff line is a nature photographer’s treasure trove. There are  cavernous rooms large enough to shelter a Boy Scout Troop of campers.  There are connecting passageways, naturally carved windows overlooking the Richland Valley, and numerous natural bridges, massive columns and hundreds of yards of etched bluff lines.

       

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Skyscrapers of Stuttgart Arkansas

Stuttgart, Arkansas is a small farming town with a rich history.  It is not only the largest producer of rice in the world but is the home of some of the best duck hunting in America and the host city for the annual World Duck Calling Contest.

Last week, the Arkansas Parks,Travel and Tourism Commission held its monthly meeting in the new magnificent Grand Prairie Center.  This 63,000 sq. ft. building can seat up to 1250 in the Concert Theater and handle meetings, conventions and community activities with dining and breakout rooms capable of comfortably seating small to large groups in the hundreds.

On the fifty or so miles return trip to Little Rock, I took time to explore stopping first in another small town, England, dropping by the Mayor’s office and then in the spirit of Robert Frost, I took the road “less travelled by”.  The following pictures inadequately show the peaceful majesty of a bayou forest of towering Cypress Trees … what a special surprise.

Last but not least, on this 100 degree plus afternoon, I found a brief albeit pleasant respite from the scorching sun and treeless farms as I drove under the canopy of most likely 100 years old Pecan trees.  This brought back immediate flashback memories of my childhood when my dad took our family to Scott to buy fresh Arkansas Pecans.  The other photo is of the Civil War Campsite which was part of the Little Rock Campaign.

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In Arkansas we are blessed to have more than fifty State Parks.  Some are in obvious places conveniently located in population centers like Pinnacle Mountain Park. Some are small, more remote and difficult to access such as the Louisiana Purchase State Park which I wrote about in an earlier blog. Some are destination parks Like Petit Jean State Park and Mount Magazine.  Some are History and Heritage, some are Recreational, some have camping, fishing, boating and others have cabins with beautiful vistas. Arkansas parks are well managed, maintained and diverse.  In this blog, I will feature Historic Washington State Park in Southwest Arkansas.

There have been many times I have passed the exit on Interstate 30 near Hope, Arkansas only to speed by at 70 MPH with the thought “I need to check this out someday”.  Well, Saturday one week ago I did just that.  I pulled off the Interstate and drove the beautiful 8 miles to Historic Arkansas.  Not only was the meandering two lane road refreshing but my entry into the museum village can be summed up with the first word I uttered out loud … “WOW!!” I was flabbergasted and immediately felt I had just stepped back into the 1840’s.

There are some 30 plus blocks of buildings, homes, offices and shops impeccably restored to original 19th Century grandeur including period furnishings, many original. The Visitor Center museum/ticket office is in the 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse.

Rather than making this entry longer, there are a few pictures I took that tell the story better than I can write … Historic Washington, Arkansas is a must visit for anyone wishing to know more about our pioneer days and certainly about Arkansas’ Civil War role.  Washington served as the Confederate State Capitol of Arkansas from 1861-1863.

Arkansas Constitution of the Confederacy.

1845 Royston Home with period actor as tour guide.  He told me he had 39 slaves and fought in the Mexican War.

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Ok … I must admit, this is a pretty pitiful Christmas Tree.  However, as one can readily see, where the decor fails, the spirit prevails.

In December of 2010, my buddies, Bryan, JC and I were backpacking and camping in the Richland Creek Wilderness area.  Just for fun, JC’s wife had given him some glow sticks.  Well, you guessed it … as darkness crept into the valley,these colorful chemically activated lights found a home on a nearby scraggly cedar tree. That was 2010.

Fast forward to December 2011.  The Ozark Santas returned only this time with more Christmas ostentation in our packs.  We camped at the same spot, brought more glow lights plus, ribbons, battery powered candles, aluminum foil for the star, candy canes for the animals and stylish seasonal Santa hats for the three amigos.

Clearly this was and is a very unique way to share the Christmas Spirit with friends.  The tree may be lacking but we plan to return next year with even more creative ways to give this” Charlie Brown Cedar” a moment to glisten before all the creatures of the forest.

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Whether global warming is a scientific fact or not, whether humans are the cause or not and whether we can do anything about it or not is the conumdrum of the times.  Regardless, patterns of weather on earth today do seem to be more dramatic and irrefutably more extreme. One phenomenom which may not be weather related but can impact the weather is a volcanic eruption. The most notable of recent history in the continental United States was the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980. One can read the details, see the pictures and only begin to grasp a sliver of the enormity of this geologic event. I will attempt to share my personal feelings based on a climb to the rim with my friend Bryan in 2006.

Bryan and I were attending  a Little Rock Parks Department accreditation meeting and had gotten a permit to climb Mount Saint Helens.  Fortunately the day was grand and we were mentally prepared for this rugged, off trail, scramble gaining 4500 vertical feet in just a little less than 5 miles.

As we reached timber line the glow of morning painted a stunning backdrop silhouetting our first glimpse of  Mt St Helens and other mountains in the Cascades Range . The next couple of miles above timber was filled with razor sharp Volcanic rock from sand crystal size to car or house sized boulders. This section was more difficult on the return than on the ascent. The toughest part of the climb to the rim was the last three quarters of a mile.  Not only was it steep but  full of ankle deep volcanic ash in which each step forward resulted in almost one sliding step backward.

Finally we reached the rim.  I was speechless … breathless too … but was awestruck by the view of the enormous crater below us, the view of Spirit Lake and the majestic sight of snow capped  14,409 feet Mount Rainier.

I was struck by the incomprehensible power that literally obliterated the mountain top and evacuated one entire side of the slope.  The contrast with this surreal sight and the other still standing snow capped giants gave me an overwhelming insight into what that moment in 1980 must have been like.  And yet, here I was standing on this rim while Mount Saint Helens was and is being rebuilt at the rate of one dump truck load per second.  Even at that speed, it will take more than 100 years for the underground forces to refill the crater and for Mount Saint Helens to be what it was before 1980.

The hike down was easier but we were tired ,it was still dangerous and our brains were saturated with the sense of wonder  having seen in person the aftermath of nature’s power.  Be it  volcanoes, heat and cold, storms, floods or merely predicting the weather for a family outing, we inhabitants of the Earth, to some degree, are just along for the ride.

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