It's Dogwood Time at Beaver Lake, Arkansas

Denisa was a little disappointed that we had missed dogwood season this spring. We saw evidence that those signature white petals had already fallen to the ground on hikes in east Texas. But it looks like we have finally traveled far enough north to see these lovely white trees at their peak bloom here in Arkansas!

We visited Hobbs State Park, just outside Rogers, Arkansas, on Scenic route 12. After a stop at the visitor's center, we had maps and information for several different hikes. We were glad to see that each of them showed us beautiful examples of these iconic spring-blooming trees.

On our ranger-guided hike to the site of the Winkler Mill, Ranger Steve explained the placement of the Winkler's long-gone mill and homestead. Steve kept apologizing that he couldn't walk far or fast. But then he explained that he was going to St. Louis for open-heart surgery in four days. We hope he will be walking the Arkansas hills at a quicker pace soon!

It was nice to stroll with an expert on the local history and flora. Denisa got to ask Steve all her plant questions. For example, she now knows that this green plant with the interesting purple tops is called deadnettle.

She also asked about these umbrella-like green leaves that we have often seen in the forest. He explained that the single-leafed plants were the males. But a double-leafed plant was a female, and it would form a single bud in the junction of the two leaves. If you look carefully, you can see a single green bulb on a stem between the leaves in the picture below.

That bud will form a single flower, and we found this one blooming on our trail. The plant is called a "Mayapple" because of this blossom that appears in May. The single fruit will ripen in the summer. We'd never noticed this flower before, and we learned that early settlers used the little fruit to make jellies.

When she asked him about the small yellow flowers on tall stems, Steve rubbed his chin and replied, "Those are called small yellow flowers on tall stems." See how much we learn from hanging out with rangers?!?

Steve also gave us great information about the best place to launch our kayak onto Beaver Lake. He told us to drive down this little-known gravel road. Bonus! It's also lined with more dogwood trees!

The road ended in the lake, and we launched our inflatable kayak there. Denisa will point out that a row of white-blooming dogwoods can be seen on the shore line behind her. 

We've heard of Beaver Lake often, and it lives up to its good reviews. The water is so clear that we can see our oars and all the way to the rocky bottom of the lake.

Rock walls surround the lake--topped with dogwood trees.

It's a popular lake for fishing, and we also found out that skiers love it. Even though the water was only 63 degrees today, this hardy skier was wearing a wet suit to get in her first slalom of the year. This cove had colored buoys designed to ski around, and she was having a great time jumping the wakes to cross between the floating buoys of the ski course.

We love kayaking down the narrow inlets and surprising critters that don't often see visitors. We found a large group of turtles poking their heads above the water to check out their kayaking visitors.

Birds also love Beaver Lake, as we saw ducks and Canadian geese congregating on the water.

It's a great kayaking lake, with narrow inlets to explore. On this natural side of the lake bordered by Hobbs State Park, there were no private docks or houses--just nature. We ended up kayaking all the way from our put-in spot on road 604 all the way to the tip of Rambo cove.

We were having such a good time that we lost track of how low the sun was in the sky. We certainly had to pick up our pace and explore fewer coves on the way home. 

But we did have to make a detour to the other side of the lake when we spotted this bald eagle keeping watch from the branches of a dead tree.

During the course of our stay, we hiked the 4.4-mile Dutton Hollow, and the 1.8-mile Shaddox Hollow trails in Hobbs State Park. It certainly is good to feel well on this trip to Beaver Lake, and get to wander among more of God's wonders like the beautiful dogwood trees!

Coming back to the Campground where we waited out Covid

 Seven months ago, we had reservations at Prairie Creek Campground on Beaver Lake. Near Rogers, Arkansas, it is a beautiful area with hikes filled with tall rock ledges.

Our campground seven months ago overlooked Beaver Lake, and we really wanted to get our kayak on that clear water during our visit last October.

These rolling hills of Arkansas have some nice hiking trails that we had planned on being on last fall. But we started showing symptoms of Covid on the drive to Prairie Creek Campground last October. It was in Rogers, Arkansas, that we went to the urgent care office and got our positive Covid test. 

So even though we spent eight days at this campground seven months ago, we didn't get to experience any of it. We were stuck in the motor home, watching the leaves turn to their fall glory, but unable to hike or kayak or sight-see. That's why we decided to come back to the same campground this spring

We even reserved the very same camp site where we started our stay here last time. It was so nice to get to be outside this time, enjoying the rocks and spring wildflowers!

A few miles down Scenic Highway 12 is the War Eagle Mill. We visited the big red barn, where they sell flour and various mixes that contain their milled ingredients.

Powered by the moving water of the War Eagle River, that big wooden water wheel (or one of its three predecessors that were destroyed at this location) has been spinning around at the edge of this waterfall  since 1832.

The top floor in the mill has been converted to a restaurant, where they cook up tasty dishes from those mixes. We were a little early for lunch and late for breakfast, but next time we would make an effort to eat here.

We both walked across the bridge, and a passer-by offered to take our picture.

We'll remember that this single lane bridge is not tall enough nor strong enough for the motor home, but we could drive our pickup on it. A fellow camper had told us about a destination across that bridge and down the dirt road.

The private land-owner put up a sign with a set of rules that includes "No ATVS, No Guns, No Dogs, No Loud Music, No Fireworks, and No Camping." But if you follow those rules and put $2 in his box, you are welcome to spend some time down on his river property.

The tall rock cliffs look a little like a cruise ship plying down the War Eagle River.

But the star of the show at this stop were the butterflies that were congregating on the damp rocks on the shore for some reason.

While they graze, they are content to have their wings open for a perfectly posed picture. They don't mind having a curious wanderer very close, taking photographs.

When we look closely at the tiny dots of color that make their intricate patterns, it feels like we have wandered into another of God's wonders.

It was a butterfly smorgasbord, as Denisa enjoyed taking pictures of several types of butterflies.

We tried googling for more precise names, but we think all of them are some version of the swallowtail butterfly. But that google search did teach us that this group was "puddling." That's when they suck up mineral-laden moisture through their proboscis. We must have found some good minerals here near War Eagle River.

When this butterfly closed his wings, the pattern on the back side was even more intricate

Again, a close-up of a butterfly wing is a wonderful wonder!

While we heard plenty of birds in the trees around us, the only one that posed for a picture was this green heron.

As we crossed back over the bridge by the mill, we are glad that we made this trip back to Prairie Creek Campground and Scenic Highway 12. We have more places to explore that we'll blog about next time. But we'll always remember this as the place where we waited out the symptoms of Covid. It reminds us again of how we are blessed to be healthy, and able to explore beautiful places that once were off-limits to us. 

In search of the Forts in Fort Smith, Arkansas

As we left Queen Wilhelmina State Park, our GPS took us down a narrow highway with a warning sign that warned of a "Crooked and Steep" road ahead. It wasn't exaggerating! It was one of the crookedest and steepest roads we have ever seen, and also one of the narrowest roads we've ever taken in the motor home. What a way to start a driving day!

We have been in the western edge of Arkansas, and today's drive actually dipped us into Oklahoma (where the speed limit went up by 10 mph) . . .

and then back into Arkansas for our destination in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

A city with a name like Fort Smith must have a fort somewhere, and we went in search of it. We found Fort Smith National Historic Site, right in the middle of town. The fort walls are long gone, but a few old buildings remain. In the background is the old fort barracks--re-purposed into a jail--then re-purposed into a courthouse--then re-purposed into a national historic site visitor center. They are all closed now because of Covid restrictions.

We were still able to wander the old fort grounds, and peek into the fort commissary--which was re-purposed into living quarters at some point of its history.

The courthouse is where Judge Isaac C. Parker presided. His nickname was "the hanging judge" because he sentenced 160 people to death without a means for appeal. Our outdoor walking tour took us to the gallows where those inmates were hung. While other buildings here might have been re-purposed over the years, there's not much else one can do with a structure that includes trap doors in the floor.

We actually walked through this area on a second day, and we noticed a small crowd gathering on the lawn. We also saw men dressed in period uniforms standing around one of the cannons. It was a strange sight to see their military garb from the 1800s topped off with their 2021 Covid masks.

How lucky can we be? We arrived just in time for the 2:00 park program. It included a very informative talk from the park ranger, explaining the details of how cannons were used in battles, as well as the ammunition choices that he displayed on the table in front of him. 

Then they fired that cannon right in front of us!

National park regulations demand that the cannon must cool for ten minutes. So the ranger used that time to describe the specific job that each soldier will perform to keep this team working through a battle. Now we knew to watch each man's mission, as they fired the cannon a second time. The re-enactors are required to wear ear plugs, but you can see their reaction to the repercussion as the smoke cleared a second time.

We visited this area twice because it is close to the downtown farmer's market on Saturday morning, and it's also a nice beginning or ending point for the walk along the river. We walked the trail to the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas Rivers in Fort Smith.

Fort Smith is home to another present-day fort. We are actually staying at the William O. Darby Campground, right beside Fort Chaffee. We visited the Barbershop Museum one afternoon, and learned about the part this fort played in more recent times. We found out that our timing was great once again, as this museum is rarely open. Run by volunteers, it has been closed for most of the past year.

The main reason that people come to the Barbershop Museum is to see the chair where Elvis Presley got his first military haircut when he came into the army at Fort Chaffee. 

Elvis was only at Fort Chaffee for his processing for several days. In fact, the army delayed his haircut and shots until he finished the movie he was starring in. They brought him to Fort Chaffee under the cover of darkness, but the press and their cameras still found ways to take pictures of the entire process.

That's how Denisa could stand beside a picture of Elvis's picture here in the barbershop.

The last two barber chairs aren't from the original military barbershop. They were moved here from another local shop. Their historical significance is that Bonnie and Clyde, the infamous bank robbers, got their hair cut sitting in those chairs.

Fort Smith has had a military presence ever since it was established. That is probably the reason it was chosen as a national veteran's cemetery location. We have driven through several of these cemeteries across the country, as a solemn reminder of the men and women that fought for the freedom that we enjoy.

During our three-day stay, we found one other "fort" in Fort Smith. We visited the river walk next to the Arkansas River and found this great bike/hike trail that is sponsored by FORT--Friends Of the River Trail. We started next to the Arkansas River . . .

and then headed over a pedestrian bridge . . .

to find that it connected to miles of paved trails. This trail sometimes went along the highway . . .

and along tree-lined creek beds. We started our ride with cloudy cool weather, and had to remove our jackets as we enjoyed the blue skies during our 15-mile ride.

Along the way we rode our bikes around the brand new U.S. Marshall Museum. It's a beautiful building built in the shape of the five-pointed star that marshals wear on their badge, and it will be opening soon.

We also rode under the sweet perfume of locust trees in full bloom. This is one of Denisa's favorite smells, as it reminds her of the big locust tree in the back yard of our first house. Mark went off-road to snatch a stem of blooms so she could smell them all the way home.

Of course, Denisa stops to take wildflower pictures even on a bike ride. We're used to white daisy-like flowers, but these had pale pink petals.

Our only wildlife sighting was this blurry blue bird, singing a sweet greeting as we approached on our bicycles.

We didn't even know this bike trail existed when we started out this morning, and it took us all the way to a tiny town park on the edge of the river with a view of an elevated train track section.

We rode our bikes all the way to the abrupt end of the trail, and then headed back into Fort Smith on this very nice (and level) biking opportunity made possible by the FORT (Friends of the Recreation Trail).

Besides the nice level biking trail, we also found the FORT had built wonderfully unlevel bicycle paths for the more talented cyclists.

Mark tried parts of the trick course . . .

but Denisa knows her limits. She was satisfied to ride her bike through the children's course of tunnels.

Likewise, Mark rode his bike down the winding path to the amphitheater stage that is built on the Arkansas River . . .

while Denisa was satisfied with her decision to stay at the top of the train depot with the words "Fort Smith" emblazoned over her head.

During our three-day stay in Fort Smith, Arkansas, we had good timing in finding several "forts"--Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Chaffee's Barbershop, and the FORT bike trail.