Cane Creek State Park, Arkansas

We arrived at Cane Creek SP on April 4. We had to drive all of 75 miles to get there. As I said in my previous post, we LOVE this place. On the drive in there were fields of flowers.

We had a good idea of which spot we wanted. Unfortunately, that spot was full, but we got another site overlooking the lake that was just as good. Kim thinks it is the best site in the park.

The view from Site #14, Cane Creek SP

Site #14 looking back from the edge of the bluff

Kim loved the site for many reasons. The view was perfect and there were trees to hang her hammock. Once she was set up, there was no moving her.

Kim in her element.

We really should have gone paddling that first day, but Kim was set and I was happy to take a hike. I sent for a 4 mile walk through the woods. The trails are well marked and have just enough ups and downs to make it fun and interesting. The trails are dual use for both mountain bikes and hiking.

There we lots of pretty flowers including the dogwoods that were in bloom.

Dogwoods in bloom are not easy to photograph

On Tuesday, I decided that I wanted to take a long hike. There is a suspension bridge about 3.5 miles from the trail head. That was my goal. The day was perfect. Sunny and 75 - That is our theme. It was even a bit breezy to keep me cool.

Long walk, but I made it. Cool Bridge

Suspension Bridge

I then had a choice to either come back the way I came or take a longer walk along the lake. If you don't know me, you don't know that I have one motto - I hate to backtrack! So, along the lake shore it was. Along the way, I met up with a couple of Mountain Bikers. I just said "hi" to them. I actually saw them twice as they went out and back on the same trail. They will come back into the story later.

Lots to look at along the trail. They also had a few benches to sit, rest and reflect.

I sat by this pond for a while and watched the fish try to take bugs off of the surface.

Great place to sit and reflect on your gifts that have been given to you.

The walk along the lake was a bit further and I completed 8 miles just before I made it back to my campsite.

When I got back to the campground, I was walking through when I noticed the guy that was mountain biking outside by his trailer. I stopped to talk. Bob and his wife Angie are from Southern California and are full timers. They tour around the country in their Hitchhiker looking for places to ride their bikes. They have been on the Road for SEVEN years. Wow, that is awesome. After talking for a while, I invited them over after dinner to talk some more around a campfire. Yep, I had a fire. That was the first one this entire trip. Bob and Angie did come over and we had an awesome time getting to know them and sharing stories from the road. We are all about the same age and we would love to see them again if our paths cross. So, Bob and Angie if you are out there. Please keep in touch.

We wanted to paddle on Wednesday, but it was too windy. I made a trip into Star City, Arkansas to get Diesel and buy a few groceries. I really needed a down day after the long walk the day before. The only downside to our time at Cane Creek was that we did not go paddling. We really wanted to do the paddling trail. Oh well, it was still one of our all time favorite campgrounds.

We were planning to leave Thursday and head to Russellville to see our son Michael and our Daughter in law Audrey and their two awesome boys, Connor and Cameron. They are predicting high winds later in the day, so we need to get up early. I will write about that trip and visiting the grand kids in my next entry.