In order to celebrate the at least temporary end to stifling summer heat, Hannah and I took a little day trip down to Devil’s Den State Park near Fayetteville, AR. I have been there many a time and thought I had seen all there was to see at this park.
The trail we selected was called the Vista Point trail (if you have a horse they are also allowed on this trail, but really, who wants to ride a horse anyways). The Vista Point trail is a 9 mile loop that ascends Mt Olive and goes around the back side of the mountain to a spot called… “vista point”.
I would tell you about how cool Vista Point was, but we never made it because the trail was intersected in several areas by mountain bike trails which were very poorly marked… meaning in some spots we had to choose between 3 or 4 paths… with no signage whatsoever. Eventually it became obvious we were no longer on the vista point trail but by that point our concern was not being lost, but being struck by lightning in the massive t-storm that was rapidly approaching and crashing way too close for comfort.
Finally I conceded that the only way we were getting back to the car was to go the way we had come from. So we stopped in a really cool rocky pine grove and had lunch. That’s when the sky opened up and it started to pour. I say “pour” because to say it rained would not fully illustrate the situation. For the next 3 or so hours we hiked back to the car in rain that was so heavy that a kayak would have been a more appropriate way to navigate our trail.
Having said that, it was still a fun time. Here are a few more pics…