For the last couple of weekends, James and I have been exploring part of the Ozark National Forest just northwest of us. The first Saturday, I was able to talk him into a picnic! I am a big picnic person, but him...not so much. There is a nice overlook on Highway 7 in the forest, so we stopped there to have lunch.
I made homemade pimiento cheese sandwiches with a new recipe that James was crazy about. I've made pimiento cheese a thousand times, but never really felt like it needed a recipe. This time, I used a little trick that I saw over at Deep South Dish. Yum!
After lunch, we headed a few miles down the road to the trail head at Pedestal Rocks. It was an easy, one mile hike to the rocks. The trail back was a little tougher, but there was a ton to see along the way.
(Hi Jeni!)
We came across a bush of this neat flower/berry. Does anyone recognize this?
Poison ivy everywhere!!!
And finally, the showpiece of the trail! It is difficult to tell in pictures, but this rock is huge.
We got off of the trail a little and explored the many caves. Camping is allowed here (we saw the remains of a recent campfire) and I really hope I can find the courage to stay here one day.
This past Sunday, James and I decided to go for a drive. He loves to drive and I love to ride, so this is one of our favorite things to do together. (Plus, I kind of feel like calories consumed in the car don't count, so I love stopping at convenience stores and packing little snacks for the road.) At the last minute, we decided to take a dirt road marked "Richland Creek," a place we had read about and always wanted to visit. Not too far down the road we came across this very photogenic spot on the creek.
We continued driving and wound further and further into the forest.
The road crisscrossed back and forth over the creek. We saw tons and tons of kayakers.
And out of nowhere, this amazing rock wall.
(Again, hard to tell, but this was huge...like, at least 4 stories tall!)
The road was very rough and we were in our little car, so it took us about 2 hours to go the total 20ish miles. The view on the other end was equally beautiful.
I loved this little shed in this green field. Behind it, you can barely see the steep rock walls on the bank of the creek.
Our trip looped us back to Highway 7 again and we stopped at the overlook for a break.
I am continually amazed at how beautiful Arkansas is.
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