This weekend I left town with my two closest friends to see what we could find in northwest Arkansas. As usual, we left late Friday evening during a thunderstorm (after all, camping isn't any fun unless it's during a storm where you're going to get wet.) I admit, I wasn't too excited to go camping in the rain, but I always get over it once I get out of town and start down the road. I made a little reference map of our stops along the way, so be sure to follow along!
We ended up getting to Lost Bridge South (Marker #1) campground around 10:30 or 11 that night and thought as if we may have eluded the severe thunderstorm I had seen looming on the radar just 2 hours before. We pitched the tent, and I unrolled my Therm-a-rest mat on the ground outside the tent and just lay there under the stars. There was a slight breeze and it felt so good that I actually fell asleep after about an hour of getting relaxed. Tyler followed suit and we ended up sleeping on the ground until about 3 a.m. when raindrops woke us up. So we crawled into the tent and not a moment later the clouds opened up and it poured till the sun came up. We always complain about sleeping in a tent in the rain AFTER we get back from the trip, but when you're actually in there while it's raining, and you realize that you COULD be outside getting soaked, you never really feel like you're in a that bad of a situation. Once the sun came up, we rung out all our gear and packed up everything.There was a sign by the lake telling of the history of Lost Bridge but I won't bore you will all the mundane details, but I will tell you that it reflects a little of how backwards the Ozarks can really be.
Our next stop (Marker #2) was Pea Ridge National Military Park. This place was pretty cool and I thought it was really interesting. There is a video in the visitor's center that is well worth watching as it explains in detail exactly what took place during the battle, who was involved, what their strategy was and how everything played out. For five dollars you can drive around and look at all 
the areas of interest including the Elk Horn Tavern, and a lookout at the top of the mountain (we call them mountains) where you can see the majority of the battlefield. Tyler and Daniel also did a re-enactment in which Tyler sustained a groin injury compliments of a Civil War cannon....I know you're wondering...don't ask! I can now say I have visited 3 Civil War battlefields: Wilson's Creek, Gettysburg, and now Pea Ridge. I've been on a little history kick lately...first it was Williamsburg, and now it's Pea Ridge.Moving on...we ate lunch in Rogers, AR (Marker #3), where they were having some sort of a festival that Tyler and I wanted to walk around and look for somewhere to eat at, but Daniel was being weird about it, so we just ate at McDonald's. Did you know that Daisy has their BB gun warehouse and air gun museum in Rogers, AR?
On to Hobbs State Park (Marker #4), this is a pretty big area that is a combined State Park and Conservation Area located on the south side of Beaver Lake. Driving around a little, we found a public boat ramp where we jumped in the water to cool off a little. There was a dog named Chester that lived in a house near there that wanted to play the whole time, so we just kept throwing sticks and driftwood into the water for him to retrieve.We found a couple trails that we stopped to look at. The first one was the Historic Van Winkle Trail. This one was only a half-mile or so, but it was kind of cool. They really put a lot of money into this one to make it handicap accessible, as there is a
paved path and concrete tunnel under the highway. There really wasn't much to see other than some old stones from building foundations, and a spring they used to keep things cold. The most interesting thing I saw was an old road that was used for supplies that led to the Elk Horn Lodge (pictured to the right) which we had seen at Pea Ridge earlier. The road is grown over since then, and now parts are flooded by Beaver Lake. The second trail is Pigeon Roost Trail, which looks pretty cool. We picked up the map of the area, and if I get a chance I'll scan it and post it. This looks like an area that would be cool to come back to. There are 2 loop trails, and one of them has some camp sites on the north side of the loop that overlook Beaver Lake.Leaving Hobbs State Park we found a place called War Eagle Cavern (Marker #5), so we thought we'd stop to check it out. I was surprised to find out how nice this place was. They had a small restaurant on site you could eat at, and a gift shop. They give 2 different tours of the cave, one is a guided tour that goes about a half-mile into the cave, and the other is a longer tour where a guide follows you, but doesn't lead, in order for you to explore where you want to go. I think we'll probably come back here to try this out sometime.
On our way to find some dinner, we stopped again at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (Marker #6). Tyler and Daniel paid to go in, and now I wish I would have. We arrived about time for dinner for all the big cats. They feed them chicken donated from a Tyson plant, and from what I heard, it was gruesome. If I'm ever around here again, I'll probably stop in to see what it's like inside. There's nothing quite as awesome as watching a 600 pound cat crunch through a chicken.
We ate dinner in Eureka Springs (Marker #7). If you've never been here, it's worth just to go and see what it's all about. I really like just seeing the architecture because it's so different than anything around our area. I like stopping by on my way back from somewhere else, but I don't think I'd ever make it my primary destination. There are a lot of good places to stop and eat, and the atmosphere is great!
Our last stop was Roaring River State Park. It's not on my map, but it's just north of the Arkansas border south of Monette, MO. I went here as a kid, but you know how that goes, everything is different and you don't appreciate what's around until you grow up. It's a spring that feeds the Roaring River where they have a trout hatchery and designated fishing areas with a pretty decent camping area. It's a pretty popular place and it can get pretty crowded during certain times. I think I'd rather go to Bennett's Spring instead, it just seemed nicer.It was a pretty good weekend, but I'm tired now...and it's time to go back to work and school. If you enjoy my commentary let me know, it's good to hear feedback on what I write. Feel free to leave comments, that way I know who is reading!
