Thursday April 18, 2019
2:30A: BOOM! A clap of thunder loud enough to wake just about anyone. The storm continued and eventually tapered off around 6A. At 6:30, the electricity went out. The power returned and the rain all but stopped. It was a good thing since I did have a full day planned.
My biggest goal for the day was Mt. Magazine State Park. That’s where you’ll find Signal Hill. At 2,753 feet, it’s the highest point in the state of Arkansas. It’s also an easy high point to bag. The state park was less than a half hour drive from the motel. Along the way there are even a few scenic overlooks. By now the rain had stopped and the weather guessers were saying the threat of more rain should be over by early afternoon. They were wrong.
The first stop as usual was the very quiet visitor center. I had a long chat with a park ranger about trails. I explained I wanted to do the high point, and then I had the rest of the morning. She suggested a trail with a nice overlook.
But first, Signal Hill. There are two approaches to the summit. One trail gets you there in a half mile. The other will take you three quarters of a mile. I took the shorter one. Much of the hike is like this...
As a local would explain to me a few days later, “it’s not that our mountains are high, our valleys are really low.” This part of the park is a big loop road. There’s also a secondary loop road out to another series of overlooks.
After a brief stop at the park lodge to use the wifi, it was back in the car and headed back towards the visitor center. BTW, this is the view from the lodge.
The North Rim Trail begins at the corner of the visitor center parking lot. It runs 2.2 miles. Dill Point is an overlook at about the one mile mark. That was my goal. The trail itself was fairly level and easy. There were two scheduled stream crossings. But, I was assured there were plenty of large, flat stones to walk across. However, with all the overnight rain, the stones were underwater. There was even a third stream of runoff. All good though. The view from Dill Point.
This is the point where I turned around to head back. When I arrived at the point where I could see the parking lot, it started spritzing. Back in the car, I took a moment to put my camera back in the pack and fold up the trail maps. By then the rain had increased. By the time I pulled out, it was steady. The weather gods had been kind, at least for today.
The rain hadn’t let up by the time I arrived back in Paris. I would have liked to walk around a bit. Instead, I settled for lunch at a place called The Grapevine. It was your basic comfort food, Arkansas style. My grilled chicken sandwich did indeed come in a bun. Instead of mustard or mayo, it was dripping with gravy. Unexpected, but quite good. But, once you picked it up, there was no putting it back down again.
My only other plan for the day was a loop hike to a place called Bridge Rock. But, the weather gods had other plans. It was raining again, heavier than before. So, I took a few shots of cows grazing in yellow mustard flowers and made my way to Russellville, my home for the night.
I arrived at the Clarion Inn around 3P. The rain was supposed to taper off much later in the day. So, I just settled in, made a cup of tea and was grateful to be dry.
As rain does, it eventually stopped. And it left me this...
Coming Up,
Sometime my timing really stinks, but not tomorrow.
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