Another trip to Petit Jean
State Park near Morrilton, Arkansas on another picture-perfect weekend.
.JPG "Behind the waterfall (Cedar Falls)") |
| Behind the waterfall (Cedar Falls) |
Cedar Falls were only
slightly flowing Friday afternoon when we made our way down the chiseled path
from Mather Lodge to the Cedar Creek bridge and took the short hike to the base
of the waterfall. The water level was low in the fall’s splash pool so we
navigated the bolder rim and made our way behind the waterfall to get a view
from the cliff-face looking downstream.
.JPG "Bear Cave") |
| Bear Cave |
I had hoped our visit to
Petit Jean in late October would coincide with the color season, but all was
still green, we were probably two weeks early for the fall colors. The skies were overcast and a slight drizzle
greeted us as we climbed out of the river valley at Blue Hole late in the
afternoon. Fortunately the canopy was
thick enough to keep most of the water off of us. By the time we crossed the
highways and entered the Seven Hollows area, the rain stopped and the sun
peaked out for a short moment. As
always, Bear Cave area proved one of my favorite stops, as we lingered long
enough to climb on a couple of the rock formations before heading back to the
lodge.
.JPG "Rock House Cave") |
| Rock House Cave |
.JPG "Turtle rocks above Rock House Cave") |
| Turtle rocks above Rock House Cave |
After a restful night in
Mather Lodge, Saturday greeted us with sunny skies and moderate temperatures. I walked a portion of trail that was foreign
to me that morning, heading NE from the lodge and making our way to the Cedar
Falls Overlook and then on to the Cedar Creek Trail connection just below the Pioneer
Cabin; this added a couple of miles to the upper falls leg of the hike. Crossing Cedar Creek the trail parallels the stream
back to the north side of the falls, then ventures on to Rock House Cave and a
large collection of turtle rocks. After
visiting the cave we retraced our route and returned to Mather Lodge.
.JPG "Petit Jean grave site above Arkansas River") |
| Petit Jean grave site above Arkansas River |
Sunday morning had us
preparing to leave the park, but we took some time to travel Red Bluff Drive
and visit the two west facing overlooks.
After leaving the park, and as we descended the mountain, we stopped at
Petit Jean’s gravesite and overlook and enjoyed an elevated view of the
Arkansas River valley below.
As always, the trails were
uncrowded, the lodge clean, and the park staff was hospitable, making Petit
Jean State Park one of my favorite weekend get-a-ways.
.JPG "Behind the waterfall (Cedar Falls)")
.JPG "Bear Cave")
.JPG "Rock House Cave")
.JPG "Turtle rocks above Rock House Cave")
.JPG "Petit Jean grave site above Arkansas River")
