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VISITING PETIT JEAN STATE PARK

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #59

Today's travel day was very close to our target of towing THE POD around 100 miles at a time. 100 miles is usually enough to get a change in scenery and a chance for a new adventure.

A bend in the Arkansas River

This area of Arkansas is relatively flat with several tall plateaus visible in the distance. The last ten miles of today's trip we saw a rather predominant plateau on the horizon. Turns out that was exactly where we were headed, Petit Jean State Park.

Before we hit the road we purchased a National Geographic book which lists the four or five state parks in each state. It is what we use to decide which state parks to visit. The book's recommendations aren't based on the parks campground, actually some don't offer camping at all, but more on the overall appeal of the park.

In Arkansas, Petit Jean is one of those recommended parks. The campground is large with several waterfront sites located on Lake Bailey. There are hiking/biking trails, a lodge with a decent restaurant, a scenic drive and many panoramic valley views from several overlooks due to it's location on top of a tall plateau.

In the springtime there is the stunning Cedar Falls, but as you'll see in our slideshow, it's not so stunning during the fall season.

TUESDAY - We are only visiting for three nights here so today is our day to get out and explore! We visited several overlooks and hiked to a couple of shallow caves. We ate lunch in the lodge's restaurant and traveled along the short one-way scenic drive inside of the park.


Another thing I did today was to locate a geocache. Imagine my surprise when I found out there was one hidden just 400 feet from where I was sitting in THE POD. With just a little bit of extra searching I was able to locate it about 40 feet from where the coordinates had me looking.

PETIT JEAN STATE PARK

The burned out 1940s YMCA camp on the Eaternmost Point of the state park.
The panoramic view from Stout's Point
The Arkansas River flows south and east to the Missisasippi River
One of the many U.S. Army Corp of Engineers dams along the Arkansas River
The westerly view from the CCC overlook along the scenic drive
The view from end of the Cedar Falls Overlook trail.
Can't see the falls? See the wet spot on the right?
How about a little closer look!
Even closer still.
Here is what the stunning Cedar Falls looks like in mid-October
But you would miss the Fall Colors if you visited in the spring.
Bear Cave at the base of a huge rock formation.
These are known as Turtle Rocks because they resemble turtle shells.
Approaching the Rock House Cave.
Outside the Rock House Cave looking in.
Inside the Rock House Cave looking out.


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